Winter Activities with Children: Celebrating the Seasons

As the days grow colder and the air turns crisp, winter brings with it a wonderful opportunity to slow down, get creative, and celebrate the changing seasons. At Pippa’s House Nursery, we love embracing this time of year through a range of thoughtfully planned winter activities with children that spark imagination, support development, and create magical memories.

From sensory exploration to festive celebrations, winter is a season full of learning, joy, and togetherness in our nurseries.

Sensory Winter Play: Exploring Ice and Texture

One of our favourite winter activities with children is our winter-themed tough trays, especially those made using frozen cornflour and water. These icy, tactile experiences invite children to explore texture, temperature, and cause-and-effect in a hands-on way.

As children touch, scoop, and investigate the frozen materials, they are developing:

• fine motor skills

• sensory awareness

• curiosity and problem-solving

• language, as they describe how things feel (cold, slippery, hard, melting)

These activities are not only exciting but also link closely to the EYFS areas of Understanding the World, Physical Development, and Communication and Language.

Festive Creativity: Christmas Crafts and Decorations

Winter is a perfect time for creativity to flourish. Across our nurseries, children love making Christmas decorations, from handmade baubles and paper chains to festive cards and window art. These creative activities allow children to express themselves while practising cutting, sticking, threading, and painting.

Decorating the nursery together gives children a sense of pride and belonging. Seeing their artwork displayed helps build confidence and shows them that their efforts are valued, a key part of Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

Winter Imagination: Building Snowmen (Real or Pretend!)

Whether we’re lucky enough to have real snow or we’re building pretend snowmen indoors and outdoors, this classic winter activity never fails to delight. Building snowmen encourages teamwork, imagination, and physical movement.

Children work together to roll, stack, and decorate, developing:

• gross motor skills

• cooperation and turn-taking

• creative thinking

It’s a simple activity that brings lots of laughter and shared joy.

Celebrating Together: Christmas Dinner Parties & Jumper Day

Some of the most cherished winter activities with children are the ones that bring everyone together. Our Christmas dinner parties allow children to sit with their friends, enjoy festive food, and practise social skills such as table manners, conversation, and independence.

Christmas Jumper Day is another highlight, a day filled with colour, sparkle, and lots of smiles. These celebrations help children understand traditions, build a sense of community, and feel excited about seasonal events in a warm, inclusive way.

A Season Full of Learning and Joy

Winter at Pippa’s House is about more than festivities, it’s about using the season as a meaningful learning opportunity. Through sensory play, creative crafts, imaginative games, and shared celebrations, children continue to grow, learn, and thrive.

By embracing winter activities with children, we help them understand the world around them, develop important skills, and, most importantly, enjoy every magical moment of the season together.