DoodleGrove Christmas Activities for Kids: 12 Ideas Built on Free Coloring Pages
Looking for Christmas activities for kids that do not need a trip to the craft store? Every idea below starts with a free coloring page and ends with something real: a card for Grandma, an ornament for the tree, a garland across the mantel, a paper village on the windowsill. There are twelve of them, grouped into things to make and give, things to decorate with, baking-day and story-time ideas, and a few that work best in a classroom.
Every page linked here is free to print with no sign-up or email, and each one comes as its own US Letter and A4 PDF. Click a page name to jump straight to it in its collection. Most activities need only crayons or markers, scissors, glue and a little string or tape.
Christmas activities for kids at a glance
Use this table to pick an activity for the time and the children you have. The level is the same Easy, Medium or Detailed label you see on the site.
| Activity | Who it suits | Page levels |
|---|---|---|
| Color-your-own Christmas cards | Everyone | Easy and Medium |
| Paper ornaments for the tree | Younger kids with help, older kids alone | Easy to Detailed |
| Gift tags and wrapping | Kids who can use scissors | Easy and Medium |
| Stocking garland | Everyone | Easy |
| Snow globe window display | Everyone | Easy to Detailed |
| Paper gingerbread village | Older kids | Medium and Detailed |
| Cookie design sheets | Everyone on baking day | Medium and Detailed |
| Letters to the North Pole | Kids writing their first letters | Medium and Detailed |
| Nutcracker story time | Story time at home or school | Medium |
| Reindeer parade door | Classrooms | Easy and Medium |
| Ugly sweater day | Classrooms and parties | Medium and Detailed |
| Quiet corner for older kids | Older kids and adults | Detailed |
Make and give: cards, ornaments and gift tags
1. Color-your-own Christmas cards
A colored page folded in half makes a card that grandparents actually keep. Print the page, color it, fold it with the picture on the front and write a message inside. For a sturdier card, glue the finished picture onto a folded sheet of colored card stock.
Pages that work well as card fronts, because they have one big character and plenty of white space:
- Santa with a Heart, for a card to someone you love
- Reindeer with a Bow, simple enough for preschoolers
- Merry Christmas Reindeer Sign, with the greeting already on the page
- Santa Claus Lettering, with big bubble letters to fill in
2. Paper ornaments for the tree
Ornament pages are the easiest way to put kids’ work on the tree. Color the ornaments, cut around each circle, punch a hole near the top and thread a loop of ribbon or yarn through it. Glue each one onto thin cardboard from a cereal box first and it will hang straight instead of curling.
- Christmas Ornament Sheet: sixteen ornaments with a Santa hat, a reindeer, a candle, a mitten, a wreath and more inside
- Patterned Ornament Sheet: sixteen ornaments covered in stripes, dots, hearts, waves and zigzags, good for older kids who like patterns
- Big Christmas Ornament: one large ornament with bands of circles and diamonds, Easy and quick
- Ornament with a Big Snowflake: one bold snowflake inside a round ornament
A small group can share one sheet: each child colors four ornaments, and together you have a full set for the classroom tree.
3. Gift tags and wrapping
Pages with lots of small pictures turn into gift tags. Color them, cut each picture out, punch a hole and tie it to a present with the name written on the back. Plain brown paper wrapping with a colored tag looks like it took far longer than it did.
- Elf Hats, Shoes and Bells: a page of small elf hats, curly shoes, bells and candy canes, the right size for tags
- Christmas Things: a tree, a stocking, a present, ornaments and holly under big CHRISTMAS letters
- Polka Dot Present: one big present with a bow, which makes a cheerful card to tape on top of a box
- Candy Canes with Holly: two crossed candy canes, easy to cut around
Decorate the house: garlands, snow globes and a gingerbread village
4. Stocking garland
Color a few stocking pages, cut out the stockings and tape them along a length of string or ribbon. Hang the garland across a doorway, a window or the front of a desk. If you have more than one child, give each one a different stocking so everyone can find their own.
- Happy Stocking: a smiling stocking in a Santa hat and a striped scarf
- Stocking with Jingle Bells: a bow, two bells and a sprig of holly
- Snowflake Stocking: a stocking decorated with two big snowflakes
- Gingerbread Man in a Stocking: a gingerbread man peeking out with a candy cane
Write each child’s name on the white cuff at the top of the stocking before you hang it.
5. Snow globe window display
Snow globe pages are made for windows. Color the scene, leave the glass part light, then cut around the globe and tape it to the window facing out. A few dots of white paint or glitter glue inside the glass look like falling snow. Line several up along the windowsill and you have a small snow globe shop.
- Reindeer Snow Globe: a baby reindeer in a Santa hat, with Joy to the world on the base
- Santa Snow Globe: Santa waving next to a tree, with Merry Christmas on the base
- Gingerbread Man Snow Globe: one gingerbread man in a globe of falling snow, Easy for little ones
- Snowman Snow Globe: a snowman in a hat and scarf beside a decorated tree
6. Paper gingerbread village
No icing, no collapsing walls. Color several gingerbread house pages, cut out the houses, fold a strip of card behind each one so it stands up, and arrange them along a shelf with cotton wool for snow. Older kids can add paper trees and a road between the houses.
- Candy Cane Gingerbread House: candy canes at the corners and peppermints on the roof
- Lollipop Roof Gingerbread House: three giant swirl lollipops on top
- Gingerbread House in the Pines: a star on the roof and trees on both sides
- Two-Story Gingerbread House: the tallest house of the set, for the middle of the village
Baking-day and story-time activities
7. Cookie design sheets
Before a baking afternoon, give kids a page of cookie shapes and let them plan the decorations: which colors of icing, where the sprinkles go, which cookie gets the silver balls. It keeps little hands busy while the dough chills, and it gives everyone a plan to follow when the real cookies come out of the oven.
- Gingerbread Cookie Cutouts: a gingerbread man, a tree, a heart, a star, a candy cane and a flower
- Christmas Cookie Sheet: a tree, a stocking, a star, a heart and a snowman cookie around a gingerbread man
- Nine Gingerbread Cookies: nine gingerbread people, some with bows and Santa hats, a Detailed page for patient decorators
- Elf Decorating Cookies: an elf piping icing onto a star cookie, to color while you wait
8. Letters to the North Pole
Pair a Santa or elf page with a letter. Kids write their letter on plain paper, color the page as the cover, and fold the two together into an envelope. For younger children who are not writing yet, ask them to draw their wish on the back of the page instead.
- Santa Reading the Nice List: Santa in his armchair with a very long list
- Elf Checking the List: an elf in glasses ticking names off with a quill pen
- Elf Sorting Letters: an elf by a mailbox with a sack full of envelopes
- Elves at the Post Office: two elves stamping and sorting letters, a busy Detailed page
9. Nutcracker story time
Read or tell the story of The Nutcracker, then hand out one page for each part of the story. Children color while they listen, and at the end you can lay the pages out in order and retell the story together from the pictures.
- The gift: Girl Hugging Her Nutcracker
- The battle: Nutcracker and Mouse King Duel
- The journey: Path to the Candy Castle
- The dance: Sugar Plum Fairy
If you play the music while they color, ask which part of the story each tune belongs to.
Classroom and party ideas
10. Reindeer parade door
Give every child a reindeer page, then line the finished reindeer up across the classroom door as if they were pulling a sleigh. Easy pages are best here: each reindeer is one big shape that is quick to cut out, and every child’s looks different once it is colored. Add a paper sleigh at the front and a sign with the class name.
- Standing Reindeer: a smiling reindeer with a bell on its collar
- Walking Reindeer: a reindeer walking through the snow, good for the middle of the line
- Prancing Reindeer in a Scarf: one hoof raised, ready to lead the team
- Reindeer Family: two reindeer and a fawn among the trees, a Medium page for a group display
11. Ugly sweater day
Hold an ugly sweater contest on paper. Everyone colors a sweater page in the loudest colors they can find, and the class votes for the brightest, the funniest and the most patterned. It works just as well at a family party, where adults are often the most competitive.
- Gingerbread Ugly Sweater: a gingerbread man on the front and stripes on the sleeves
- Merry Christmas Lights Sweater: rows of light bulbs around big Merry Christmas letters
- Santa Christmas Sweater: a big Santa face framed by zigzags
- Bear in an Ugly Sweater: a waving bear wearing a sweater with a tree on it
12. Quiet corner for older kids
The weeks before Christmas get loud. A small table with a few Detailed pages and good colored pencils gives older kids, and tired grown-ups, somewhere calm to sit for twenty minutes. These pages have many small spaces, so they reward patience rather than speed.
- Elf Workshop: an elf with a hammer and a toy car under a big Elf Workshop sign
- Stained Glass Christmas Tree: a decorated tree on a background split into stained glass panels
- Steampunk Christmas Tree: gears, a clock, pipes and little airships
- Crystal Snowflake: a large snowflake made of faceted crystal shapes
FAQ
What age are these Christmas activities for?
Most work for younger kids with some help from an adult, especially with scissors. Pick Easy pages for younger kids and Detailed pages for older kids and adults. The table at the top suggests a starting point for each activity.
Can I print these pages for my whole class?
Yes. Printing for your class, family or group is free. Please do not sell the pages or upload the files to another site.
What paper should I use for ornaments and cards?
Plain printer paper is fine for coloring. For anything that hangs or stands, glue the finished page onto card stock or thin cardboard so it stays flat. Our printing guide explains how to print a page without cutting off the edges.
Do you have more craft ideas built on coloring pages?
Yes. For the autumn holidays, see our Halloween paper crafts for kids, which use the same color, cut and display approach.
More Christmas coloring pages
Every page in this post comes from these collections. Each one has many more pages on the same theme:
- Christmas Coloring Pages: Santa, stockings, presents, snowmen and sweaters (39 pages)
- Christmas Tree Coloring Pages: trees, ornament sheets, wreaths and lights (38 pages)
- Santa Claus Coloring Pages: Santa on the rooftop, by the fireplace and with his list (26 pages)
- Reindeer Coloring Pages: baby reindeer, reindeer families and the sleigh team (39 pages)
- Gingerbread Man Coloring Pages: gingerbread men, cookie sheets and snow globes (32 pages)
- Gingerbread House Coloring Pages: candy cottages, lollipop roofs and snowy streets (28 pages)
- Elf Coloring Pages: elves wrapping, baking, building toys and sorting letters (44 pages)
- Nutcracker Coloring Pages: the Nutcracker, the Mouse King and the Sugar Plum Fairy (41 pages)
- Candy Cane Coloring Pages: candy canes with bows, holly and hot cocoa (26 pages)
- Snowflake Coloring Pages: simple and fancy snowflakes, ornaments and winter scenes (37 pages)
- Christmas Animal Coloring Pages: bears, reindeer and penguins dressed for the holidays (16 pages)
Merry Christmas, and happy coloring.
Hung designs T-shirt artwork for a living and prints coloring pages for his own kids at home. Every page on DoodleGrove is prepared for print the same way he prepares work for his clients.