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Christmas Sensory Activities for Kids

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Christmas time is a great time for sensory activities for kids. They’re likely to be home from school more than usual, and I always found sensory things a great way to fill some time so I could get a little work done. Plus, in the Northern Hemisphere the weather might be kind of lousy, so it gives you something to do when you can’t go outside.

Here are a few great Christmas/holiday themed sensory activities for kids to try.

One of the easiest sensory things you can do for Christmas and throughout the winter season is to make fake snow. This recipe from The Purposeful Nest uses only two ingredients and I would totally play with it myself. Add a little peppermint oil to make it extra seasonal.

Another easy way to make a sensory bin more seasonal is to dye your base materials red and green. You can do this with pasta, as shown in this bin from Teaching Mama, or with rice, like this one from The Imagination Tree. This is so easy to do and gives it a little more festive flair.

Another sensory activity my daughter loved was cloud dough. This is also really easy to pull together, and you can make a gingerbread-spiced version that’s even taste safe with this recipe from Sugar Spice and Glitter.

Of course there are so many things you can do with and ways you can make playdough for the holidays, too. Take your favorite recipe and add coloring and spice, or try one of these recipes to make playdough in all sorts of ways:

Peppermint shaving cream is another one that kids would love to play with (and hopefully not try to eat!). Get the simple recipe from Learn Play Imagine.

And since we’ve covered all the classics, we couldn’t finish up without some slime! Why not make it Grinch slime like this one from Little Bins for Little Hands? I love the addition of the little hearts!

Are you looking for the best sensory toys and activities for your child? Explore our comprehensive resources to enhance your child’s sensory play and development. Check out our curated Amazon Idea List featuring top-rated sensory toys and items, and don’t miss our expertly written articles on sensory activities. Start creating fun and educational sensory experiences today!

 

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Book Review: The No-Brainer Brain Explainer

Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.” 

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles. 

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies. 

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans. 

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain. 

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal. 

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

 

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