Learn about how other people around the world celebrate the December holiday season with these super cute Christmas around the world crafts. Here are 6 crafts for your toddler, preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, and 2nd grade students to discover Christmas Around the World for kids. Start by trying these cute Christmas crafts from Germany, Sweden, Mexico, the Philippines, England, and China. Your children will have fun with this unique trip around the world!
Christmas Around the World Crafts
In December we do a lot of crafting along with our homeschool studies. Last year, in addition to our regular studies we took a trip around the world- Christmas style! We read various books about how other countries celebrate the Christmas season and made a Christmas Around the World craft to help us remember each country. We visited six countries during our Christmas trip around the world– Germany, Sweden, Mexico, Philippines, England, and China. These Christmas around the world crafts for kids are perfect for toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners, grade 1, and grade 2 students.
Christmas Around the World for Kids
Whether you are a parent, teacher, or homeschooler – you will love the chance to sneak in some Geography and learn about other cultures as students are making fun Christmas Crafts and strengthening fine motor skills too! Plus don’t miss all the ideas and free printables to include with your Christmas around the world activities.
Here are a few books and online resources we found helpful.
Germany Christmas Craft for Kids
Germany is known as the Gingerbread Capital of the World
To help us remember we made a gingerbread house ornament made from cardboard. To make one yourself, cut a house shape from cardboard and decorate with glitter glue, buttons, tissue paper, left-over candy, etc!
Learn more about Germany with these free resources:
- Germany for Kids Country Study with free printable book to read, color, and learn!
- Free Germany Coloring Pages
Sweden Christmas Craft
An important day in Sweden is the celebration of St. Lucia’s Day on December 13th. St. Lucia was a young Christian girl martyred for her faith. It is said she wore candles on her head to keep her hands free to carry food for the needy. The tradition is that young girls dress in a white gown with a candle crown, and young boys, named ‘Star Boys’ wear a white gown and a hat covered in stars. To help us remember the importance of St. Lucia’s Day to the Swedes, we made a St. Lucia and Star Boy Ornament from peg dolls. We painted both dolls white. Added a colorful sash to both dolls. For the ‘Star Boy’ we made a cone shaped hat and covered it with hole punched stars For St. Lucia we made her crown by using a pipe cleaner for the base and folded small strips of yellow pipe cleaners in half to make the candles.
Learn more about Sweden with these free resources:
- Sweden for Kids Country Study with free printable book to read, color, and learn!
- Free printable Sweden Coloring Pages
Mexico Christmas Craft
We read that the popular Christmas flower, the Poinsettia comes from Mexico so we made a simple and beautiful paper tube Poinsettia ornament. To make one, you need to paint a paper tube red. Once dried, cut the paper tube into thin circles. Press the circle together and flatten it to make a leaf-like shape. Do this six times. Glue one end of the leaf-like shape together with a hot glue gun and continue until you have 6 “petals”. We added a bit of glitter and painted the inside of the tube as well.
Learn more about Mexico with these free resources:
- Mexico for Kids Country Study with free printable book to read, color, and learn!
- Free printable Mexico Coloring Pages
Christmas in Philippines
The most popular Christmas decoration in the Philippines is a Parol– a star lantern. We made our version of this colorful decoration using craft sticks and ribbon. We hot glued five thin craft sticks into the shape of a star and attached colorful gift ribbon to the corners.
Learn more about England with these free resources:
- Philippines for Kids Country Study with free printable book to read, color, and learn!
- Free printable Philippines Coloring Pages
Christmas in England
A fun family tradition in England is Christmas Crackers— a colorful tube filled with a present and/or treat. The “fun” is in opening the cracker as it makes a loud “pop!” when opened! I created our own Christmas Crackers {minus the loud noise} by wrapping some treats in a paper tube and wrapping it with gift wrap and ribbon. You can be sure my kiddos loved this!
Learn more about England with these free resources:
- England for Kids country study with free printable read, color, and learn printable book
- Free printable England Coloring Pages (including England flag coloring page)
Christmas in China
Christmas isn’t widely recognized throughout China as only a small population are Christians; however, if people do celebrate they adorn their Christmas trees with paper chains, paper flowers, and/or paper lanterns. We chose to make paper lanterns. We used 5×7 card stock to create mini lanterns based on this lantern tutorial.
Learn more about China with these free resources:
- China for Kids country study with free printable read, color, and learn printable book
- Free printable China Coloring Pages (including England flag coloring page)
Christmas crafts around the world
In addition to making these Christmas crafts from around the world, you can make your Christmas trip around the World more educational by adding some of these fun handy ideas and resources:
- find the country on the map
- check out google translate to hear the language
- color a paper ornament like the country’s flag
- make a festive holiday dish unique to that country to work on math skills!
- copy work popular Christmas carol for writing practice
Meaningful Christmas Fun for Christian Families
If you are looking for a meaningful way to spend the month of December focused on Jesus’ birth and what it means for the salvation of the world you are going to want to get Craft & Pray Around the World! You will learn about 24 countries around the world including their Christmas traditions, how to practically pray for the people, and a simple ornament craft to represent the country you focused on.
We also have our Christmas Around the World Worksheets that includes free printables and in in-depth look at more than 30 countries around the world including how they celebrate the holidays, customs, recipes, Christmas crafts, and so much more!
Plus we have tons of other FREE Christmas pritnables and activities to help kids celebrate all December long!
- Check out our NO PREP, free printable Chrsitmas Worksheets to help prek and kindergarten age kids practice a variety of math and literacy skills.
- Alphabet Ornaments Trace & Erase are a simple fun way for kids to practice writing letters
- Kids will have fun practicing addition and subtraction while revealing hidden Christmas mystery pictures with these Solve and Stamp Christmas Worksheets
- Practice beginning sounds with this hands-on Christmas Tree ABC Game
- Build sight words with this Stringing Chrsitmas Sight Words Activity
- Practice counting by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s with these adorable Christmas Skip Coutning Printables
- Count to 100 as you Color by Christmas Hundreds Chart to reveal Christmas pictures
- Print off our free Christmas BINGO Game to have some fun with your family and friends in December
- Or make one of our many clever ornament crafts for kids
Geography for Kids
Looking for more resources and free worksheets to teach students about geography for kids? You will love these coloring sheets, printable maps, books, activities and games:
- Printable Maps
- 16 Countries for Kids Printables
- Sweden for Kids – color, read and learn about this European country where you can see the Northern Lights!
- Philippines for Kids – explore a country made up of more than 7000 islands with vast beaches and beautiful flowers!
- Chili for Kids – discover this country where penguin and the driest spot on earth call home
- Netherlands for Kids – discover the charming country in Western Europe known for picturesque windmills, wooden, shoes, Amsterdam, and beautiful fields of brightly colored tulips.
- Germany for Kids – Grab this printable to learn about the Reichstag, Pretzels, and so much more!
- Kenya for Kids Printable Book takes you on a safari through an amazing country filled with wildlife
Can explain the Christmas spider from Ukraine.
In a folk tale, a vert poor family had a tree but no money for ornaments. When they woke on Christmas morning spiders had spun webs all over the tree. The gossamer strands shimmered in the morning sun.
Where tinsel originated.
That is a very abbreviated version as my hand is numb from typing
Many versions online – some credited to Ukraine and others to Poland.
Merry Christmas!