How to Teach a Perfect Christmas Lesson

The anticipation of the Christmas and New Year holidays is in the air, but you still haven’t planned your festive lesson for students? Don’t worry! 

Today, we’ll reveal the key secrets to creating a holiday lesson that brings a cheerful festive atmosphere while boosting your students’ English skills.

The first thing to consider is a short warm-up activity to set the festive mood. 

As you know, warm-ups often involve asking students a few questions, and this time, they can be Christmas-themed. 

Another option is to prepare pictures of holiday scenes and have your students describe what they see.

What’s a Christmas lesson without some thematic vocabulary? 

Start by introducing key words, ideally with visual aids. 

This makes it easier for younger learners to grasp the meaning, and even adult students will find it more engaging. 

You can also use tools like Wordwall or similar websites to add images and create vocabulary-based games. 

This activity can also be assigned as homework, so students have extra opportunities to practise on their own. 

You can organise a short dictation with the new words or set up engaging word games. 

Alternatively, create a fill-in-the-gap exercise to encourage students to use the vocabulary in context. 

For example:

"Santa rides his ______ on Christmas Eve." (sleigh)

"We hang ______ by the fireplace." (stockings)

Additionally, British Council offers a wide range of ideas. 

I recommend exploring their Christmas worksheets, which are a great resource for learning and practicing festive vocabulary.

To balance vocabulary practice, include some listening tasks. 

A great resource is our blog on Christmas carols & songs for all levels. 

You could play a song during the lesson and design activities around it, or take ideas directly from the blog. 

Students listen to the song multiple times and try to fill in the missing words they hear.

This requires careful preparation to select an engaging segment that fits the lesson while ensuring it doesn’t take up too much time in class. 

Popular options like Home Alone or The Grinch work well since students are likely familiar with them. 

After watching, discuss the scene by asking questions about the plot.

For instance, the video “Top 10 Most Incredible Christmas Celebrations Around the World” highlights how Christmas is celebrated in different countries. 

After watching, you can compare these traditions with those in your students’ home country. 

Another engaging video is “Christmas Traditions”. 

After watching, ask your students to share what they’ve learned about different countries' traditions. 

These activities are ideal for developing both listening and speaking skills.

Writing isn’t always students’ favourite activity, but it has its place in a Christmas lesson to reinforce new vocabulary and develop skills. 

This creative task can encourage them to use their imagination while practising their written English.

Another writing activity could involve creating a Christmas wish list. 

Everyone loves presents, so students can write a wish list, including descriptions of the items they’d like to receive. 

This can help make it easier for their friends, parents, or even Santa to find the perfect gift.

Additionally, you could ask younger students to write a letter to Santa. 

Encourage them to use Christmas-related vocabulary and grammar structures they’ve recently learned. 

For younger learners, you could provide templates with pre-written sentences to give them a clear example and some extra support.

If there’s some time left at the end of the lesson, why not finish with a Christmas quiz? 

Prepare questions about interesting facts related to Christmas, or tie the questions to the video you watched earlier with the class.

Ultimately, it’s all about being creative! 

Feel free to adapt these ideas or come up with your own, and your Christmas lesson will be one to remember!