In this blog, we’ve put together our favourite ideas for Christmas themed outdoor play.

Christmas is an exciting time for school and nursery children. They are counting down the days until Father Christmas and his trusty Reindeers arrive with a sack full of gifts. The look of joy and excitement on their faces makes Christmas just that little bit more magical. Christmas also gives you the opportunity to get creative with outdoor play.

During the winter months, the children may be a little reluctant to play outside, especially if it’s particularly cold or wet. However, even though the weather is cold, encouraging children to get active in the fresh air is good for their physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Christmas themed outdoor play gives children the opportunity to be creative and imaginative whilst developing skills, such as communication skills, sociable skills and fine motor skills.

Make Christmas Treats In The Mud Kitchen

If you are lucky enough to have a Wooden Mud Kitchen in your playground, the opportunities for fun are endless. Mud kitchens are good for sensory development and will enhance key skills, including communication skills.

The little ones will love getting their hands dirty and working together to create Christmas treats. With the right kitchen utensils, encourage the children to make Christmas mud mince pies, a Christmas mud pudding or even mud cookies.

Create Christmas Decorations Using Natural Materials

Creating Christmas decorations using natural materials is a great way to teach children about nature and will encourage them to appreciate the environment. Spend some time outside collecting materials, such as pinecones, twigs and leaves. Then get creative in the classroom and make beautiful tree decorations, garlands or centrepieces.

These natural materials can also be used to decorate Christmas cards for mum and dad. Dried oranges and cinnamon sticks are also amazing to use when making Christmas decorations, and they provide a sensory element to the activity.

Creating Christmas decorations will improve a child’s fine motor skills and encourage them to be creative.

 

Turn Outdoor Classroom Into Santa’s Grotto

Outdoor classrooms are great fun whatever the weather. As Christmas approaches, tell the children you’d like them to turn the outdoor classroom into a wonderful Santa’s Grotto.

Have an open discussion with the children and encourage them to come up with ideas of how they can make the Outdoor Classroom look ‘Christmassy’.

Ask parents and other teachers to donate old Christmas decorations that they no longer need (you may be able to pick some bits up for next to nothing in a charity shop). Plus, make new Christmas decorations with the children in the class. Solar-powered fairy lights will make the grotto look even more magical!

Christmas Star Treasure Hunt

Children love treasure hunts – whatever the weather! Make gold stars out of card and laminate them before hiding them in various places outside. Split the children up into small groups and give them a map to find the stars.

On the back of each star, you can write a fun fact about Christmas, or the name of a popular Christmas Carol that you can sing in the classroom later.

Make Magical Reindeer Food

If you have the easy-clean wooden Mixing Table, fill each removable bowl with different ingredients to make Reindeer food. For example, fill one bowl with pumpkin seeds, one with porridge oats, one with sunflower seeds and one with glitter.

Then let the children get their hands messy and make their very own magical Reindeer food before sealing it in a little brown paper bag. Instruct the children to sprinkle the reindeer food outside their homes on Christmas Eve for Santa’s reindeers to enjoy.

 

 

Get In Touch

If you are looking for quality wooden playground equipment, we can help. At Discovering Days, we design, and manufacture quality outdoor playground equipment.

Our wide range of wooden playground equipment is made with love and care to ensure the utmost safety and durability. We also pride ourselves on meeting all playground equipment safety standards.

You can contact us here for more information or you can call us on 01282 416 755 to discuss any of our products.

Our staff are all fully trained in the design and manufacture of wooden play equipment for children and are experts in understanding what works best in the space you have. We have worked with a range of schools in the past and understand the challenges that come with creating playground equipment for children of all abilities.