Creating a Fun and Easy Christmas Writing Center
Setting up a Christmas writing center is one of the best Christmas activities to engage preschoolers in literacy skills during the holiday season. With themed prompts, colorful paper, and fun writing tools, a Christmas writing center can encourage young learners to explore letter formation, practice handwriting, and express their creativity.
This simple yet effective setup helps preschoolers build essential early writing skills while keeping them excited about learning. In this post, we’ll share ideas to create an engaging, holiday-themed writing center that your students will love.
A Christmas writing center is an engaging way to bring holiday joy into your classroom while building essential prewriting skills. Preschoolers love the magic of giving and receiving cards, and this activity lets them do just that!
With festive holiday stamps, colorful stickers, and simple seasonal cards to color in, children can practice “writing” their own holiday greetings, lists, and letters.
This center isn’t just about fun – it’s a valuable way to help them strengthen their fine motor skills, grasp the basics of letter formation, and boost confidence in their early writing abilities.
Setting up a Christmas writing center gives preschoolers a chance to express themselves creatively while preparing them for more advanced writing skills down the road. These writing activities pair well with out Christmas alphabet pack and our Christmas numbers pack.
Christmas Writing Center – Christmas Coloring Cards
During the holiday season when we are all so busy, I like fast and simple centers that still are “rich in learning.”We are all so busy this time of year as it is, why make things more complicated than they need to believe that a basic card writing center is just that.
You probably already have what you need on hand, so it’s just a matter of pulling out the materials and modeling for the children what they can do at the center.
What’s Included
This printable includes eight black and white printable Christmas cards that are designed for preschoolers to color them in. The cards fit two to a page to save on printing, but also so as to not overwhelm your preschoolers.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that at no cost to you, I may earn a small sum if you click through and make a purchase.
Materials
This post has been updated to include free printable Christmas coloring cards.
- Christmas cards (homemade or store bought)
- writing implements such as markers, colored pencils or crayons
- 🎅Christmas Stamps With Ink Pad – Our Christmas stamps set is include 16pcs wooden Christmas…
- 🐾High Quality Christmas Stamps Set- These wooden Christmas stamps made of the high quality…
- 🎄Christmas Stamps For Crafting – These wooden Christmas stamps are a little vintage designs,…
- ❤Premium & Unique Shimmer Markers: Muchcute outline metallic pen set has 24 assorted bright…
- ❤Non-Toxic & Safety: These 2-3mm medium tip glitter markers are water-based, non-toxic, odorless,…
- ❤Wide Use: These sparkly outline pens can be used on almost any surface, such as rocks, wood,…
- 🎄Christmas Decorating Made Easy – Elevate your holiday decor with our collection of fun Christmas…
- 🎄Kid-Friendly Christmas Magic – Experience the enchantment of the season with our Christmas…
- 🎄Various Designs of Christmas Stickers – You will receive 8 sheets Christmas stickers with a…
The Set-Up
At the writing center, set out a variety of writing tools and a stack of cards. The cards can be store bought from anywhere, maybe even a discount store, or they can be homemade.
You can grab a free printable of some of the Christmas coloring cards I created for my own preschool class.
Alternatively, you could also offer the children blank greeting cards with some holiday stickers. The following are some of our favorite holiday stickers we use for a variety of activities throughout the season.
The Christmas Writing Center for Preschool
I gave very few boundaries for this writing center. I didn’t want my preschoolers to feel like they had to write or draw something specific, but rather I wanted to allow them the freedom to choose the contents of their cards.
Prior to introducing the writing center, we discussed some things that are traditionally included in a holiday card. I showed them a few examples of cards my family had received, and I was sure to teach them the parts of a card (much like a book). I wanted my preschoolers to understand that like books cards have covers and backs and the writing goes inside of the card.
Most preschoolers started by coloring the front of their card.
You can see how carefully this preschooler is coloring in her picture, trying to stay inside the lines and using a wide variety of colors. She told me this card would be for her mother.
Other preschoolers focused more attention on the inside contents of their cards.
This preschooler drew pictures of his family members, including the pets. As he drew, he explained to his classmate the things he is looking forward to, like making a gingerbread house with his mom and going to his grandma’s cabin to go sledding.
I like hearing a lot of talking while children are at the writing center. Since speaking and listening are two of the four domains of language, it only seems appropriate that a writing center be a little noisy with conversation.
Giving the Cards Away
I gave the preschoolers the option to have me write a few dictated sentences in their cards or to let them be.
Most of my preschoolers were so proud of their work that they opted to tell their parents themselves what thy had “written” in their cards. Some preschoolers scrawled symbols that represented letters to them, other asked me to write words on the whiteboard so they could try to copy them into their card.
The point is, a good writing center will provide for children at multiple levels, which is why choice is so important for preschoolers.
The preschoolers jumped up at the sight of their parents at arrival time and proudly handed over the cards they had so carefully and thoughtfully made. And let me tell you, the parents loved every bit of those handmade Christmas cards, which only confirmed for me that this was a successful Christmas writing center.
FAQs About Christmas Preschool Writing Centers
Here are some frequently asked questions to help you make the most of your Christmas writing center for preschoolers.
Include items like holiday-themed paper, stickers, colored pencils, markers, stamps, and envelopes. You might also add simple word cards with festive words like “tree,” “gift,” “snow,” and “Santa” to help inspire their writing.
Try incorporating role-play elements, like pretending to be “Santa’s helpers” writing Christmas lists or cards to loved ones. Making it into a game can help motivate reluctant writers to participate.
Use small bins or trays for each type of material, and consider labeling each area to help children put items back in their proper place. Keeping things organized will make it easier for preschoolers to find what they need and keep the center neat.
Christmas Writing Activities
Looking for even more Christmas preschool writing activities? Keep some of these!
- 10 Christmas Alphabet Activities
- Christmas Prewriting Cards
- Christmas Letter Formation Tray
- Christmas Tracing Worksheets
- Christmas Coloring Pages
- 5 Senses Christmas Book
Get Your Christmas Coloring Cards Here
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I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.