Christmas Science Experiments and Activities
In the past, we did a Christmas science experiment or activity for each day of advent in December. I shared the ideas on Instagram. This post has a list of all of the Christmas science activities in one place. I get commissions for purchases made through the affiliate links in this post.
Advent Calendar for Inspiration
I took my inspiration for the science activities from an advent calendar I got at Target. I love how the calendar builds a scene as you go through the month. I placed each figure in a box. You can use any advent calendar you like. I made a paper Christmas science advent calendar in the past.
Christmas Science Experiments and Activities
I’ve tried to create science activities with common supplies. Sometimes I’ll use a specialty item but I’ll always give you recommendations for a substitution.
1. Snowball Toss Measuring
Toss a snowball (pretend or real). Measure how far it travels. We used fake snowballs. You could use wadded up paper, balled up socks, yarn balls, whiffle balls, or something similar. Just be sure to toss the snowballs in an area that is safe to do so.
2. Snowball Catapult
Build a catapult. See directions for building a catapult here. I used double sided tape to attach a milk cap to the end of the catapult. You can also just glue it.
Use the catapult to launch cotton balls. Can you land them on a target?
3. Candy Cane Science Experiments
Choose from one of our candy cane science experiments here.
We did the simplest candy cane science experiment where we tested how fast candy canes dissolve in different temperatures of water.
4. Christmas Tree Paper Towel Surprise Art
The Christmas Tree Paper Towel Surprise Art is from Happy Toddler Playtime.
This activity explores absorption and how water moves through paper towels.
5. Christmas Star Magic Milk
Supplies Needed: milk, food coloring, dish soap, and cotton swabs plus a dish and some star cookie cutters.
Directions: Place the cookie cutters in the dish and add milk. Add a few drops of food coloring to the middle of the stars. Dip the cotton swab into dish soap. Touch the cotton swab to the food coloring. Watch the colors spread away from the soap. The soap pushes the milk (and the food coloring along with it). The milk and soap both have fats in them. The fats repel one another (like magnets).
6. Home for Christmas Magnet Maze
Draw a maze on thin cardboard or a paper plate. Attach a magnet to a car or attach a paper clip to a paper car. Use a magnet to pull the car through the maze.
Be careful with small magnets. Always supervise. Use larger wand magnets with younger children.
See the instructions for a paper clip magnet maze from Science Sparks.
7. Baking Soda, Vinegar, and Cookie Cutters
We’ve been doing this one for years. We first combined baking soda, vinegar, and cookie cutters for Christmas in 2013.
You can add drops of coloring under the baking soda or you can color the vinegar.
8. Sleigh Races
Sleigh races are another activity from our first science advent calendar. Aiden was really into ramps and racing cars at the time, so this activity was perfect then. It was still a hit with Lily and Elon 7 years later.
9. Rescue the Frozen Christmas Trees
This activity is inspired by Little Blue Truck’s Christmas. Act out the story from the book and deliver Christmas trees to Little Blue’s animal friends. Then, help them rescue the frozen Christmas trees.
10. Christmas Tree Diffusion Art
Oil pastels and liquid watercolors combine in this easy STEAM project. Check out the directions for our Christmas tree diffusion art.
11. Christmas Secret Messages
Use a Frixion erasable pen to write secret messages. Heat makes the ink disappear. Make the ink reappear by placing it in the freezer.
12. Build a Home for a Snow Friend
Follow Days with Grey’s instructions for designing a snowman home. You can build your home for any friend you want.
13. Christmas Tree Slime STEM Challenge
This Christmas tree slime STEM idea is from Preschool STEAM. Make your favorite slime recipe and challenge your kids to build a Christmas tree from the slime. Make a paper plate cone for the base. Add gems and a star to decorate.
We made our simple liquid starch slime recipe and colored it with green liquid watercolors.
14. Build a Christmas Village
Use blocks, LEGO, DUPLO, cotton balls, and any other supplies to create a Christmas village. I set the scene with a large piece of freezer paper (because it’s white). I added Play Tape to the freezer paper to make a road.
We also included the advent calendar pieces up to day 14. They were a great addition to our play scene.
The kids added a few other toys as they built their village.
15. Penguin Balancing
Use a balance scale (or make your own balance scale using a hanger). Set out a variety of props to weigh and compare. We used penguin erasers, wooden snowmen, and cotton balls. You could use toys, blocks, rocks, or even items from nature.
16. Melting Ice Experiment
Follow the direction for our melting ice experiment.
17. Fizzy Play Dough
Follow the direction to make our fizzy play dough. It’s three activities rolled into one!
18. Colorful Snowflakes
Follow Babble Dabble Do’s instructions to make psychedelic snowflakes. We used diffusion paper instead of coffee filters. You can also use giant coffee filters like Babble Dabble Do did.
19. Christmas Treasure Hunt with Picture Clues
This is one of my favorite activities. Check out our Christmas Treasure Hunt with Picture Clues for instructions. Once you teach kids how to play even little ones can hide clues for each other.
20. Brownie Cookies Visual Recipe
Make brownie cookies using our brownie cookie picture recipe. It has step by step picture instructions which makes it easy for kids to follow along. We also have a visual recipe for chocolate chip cookies.
21. Christmas Star Viewing
On December 21, 2020, Jupiter and Saturn aligned in the night sky to look like a big star. The so-called Christmas star was a special sight and won’t happen again until 2080. We used the opportunity to discuss the difference between stars and planets. Check out our collection of planet activities here.
22. Christmas Tree Baking Soda and Vinegar Painting
Follow direction with our Christmas tree baking soda and vinegar painting.
23. Christmas Present Observations
Find the direction for our Christmas present observations activity here.
24. Hot Cocoa Science
On Christmas Eve, we always have hot cocoa. Try our hot cocoa science ideas here.
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