The holiday season is an ideal time to disconnect from screens and reconnect with loved ones through engaging, creative, and screen-free literacy activities. These activities are not only fun but also foster a love for reading and learning, creating lasting memories for families.

Create a Holiday Story Together

Collaborate on a family story by taking turns adding sentences to a festive prompt like, “On Christmas Eve, the snowman in the front yard came to life and…”. Write it down as you go and read it aloud once complete. Younger children can illustrate the story, while older kids add more details.

Host a Holiday Book Swap

Turn gift-giving into a literary celebration by hosting a book swap. Have each family member wrap up a book they love or have outgrown and exchange them in a festive setting. This simple activity helps refresh your home library while fostering a sense of community within your family.

Cook Up Literacy in the Kitchen

Cooking together is a hands-on way to practice reading and comprehension. Choose a holiday recipe, and let kids read instructions, measure ingredients, and assist with preparation. Younger children can identify letters or words, while older ones practice following steps and learning new vocabulary. More information and resources on this topic can be found here.

Plan a Holiday Scavenger Hunt

Design a scavenger hunt using rhyming or riddle-based clues. Hide small treats, books, or holiday surprises around the house. This activity encourages problem-solving, reading comprehension, and teamwork while keeping kids active and entertained.

Start a Family Read-Aloud Tradition

Gather the family for nightly read-aloud sessions featuring holiday-themed stories or winter classics. Create a cozy atmosphere with blankets and hot cocoa to make it a cherished tradition. This activity promotes listening skills, bonding, and an appreciation for storytelling.

Play Word Games With a Holiday Twist

Introduce holiday-themed word games to make literacy fun. Create Bingo cards with holiday-related words or challenge each other to come up with festive-themed Scrabble words. Such activities are perfect for keeping minds active during family gatherings. More word games resources can be found here.

Write Personalized Cards and Letters

Encourage kids to write holiday cards or letters to friends, family, or even Santa. Add a creative touch with festive stationery, stickers, and colorful pens. This activity not only strengthens writing skills but also teaches children the importance of expressing gratitude and thoughtfulness.

Explore Holiday Traditions Through Books

Use the holidays as an opportunity to learn about different cultural celebrations through stories. Reading about diverse traditions fosters understanding and broadens horizons while creating a sense of wonder about the world.

Create a Cozy Mini Library at Home

Transform a corner of your home into a winter reading nook. Add blankets, pillows, and holiday lights to make it inviting. Dedicate quiet time each day for family reading to relax and unwind together.

Conclusion: Make Literacy a Holiday Tradition

The holidays are more than just a time for celebration, they are a time for us to connect. By incorporating these literacy activities into your holiday plans, you’ll create meaningful moments that go beyond gifts and screens. Whether you’re writing stories, sharing books, or playing word games, these activities will bring the family closer and keep the magic of learning alive.

Holiday Readers and Resources

• Best of the Reader: Special days and holidays. This book contains BC-focused stories about Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Diwali, Vaisakhi, Easter, Hanukkah, Norooz, Ramadan, Remembrance Day, and the Lunar New Year. Available online as an e-book.
• Chinese New Year: a celebration for everyone. Part of the nonfiction Orca Origins series, Chinese New Year is illustrated with color photographs throughout. Readers will learn how a simple gathering of family and friends grew into a weeklong, worldwide festival.
• Christmas. This book provides readers with a look at how Christmas is celebrated in Canada. Facts are presented in an interesting way with simple language, illustrations and photographs, maps, activities and recipes. It is written at a grade four level.
• Christmas: from Solstice to Santa. This informative and engaging exploration of Christmas is aimed at the middle grades but will entertain readers of a much wider age range. Learn about the games played, foods eaten, music played and favorite ways of decorating in different parts of the world. With lots of fun facts (about everything from frumenty to the jolly old man in red himself) and recipes, there’s plenty in this beautifully illustrated volume to satisfy anyone with an interest in the festive season.
• Winter. This teacher’s manual includes two readers plus student handouts and activity masters for a unit on wintertime holidays for literacy/low 1 level students. Activities, techniques and a sample lesson plan are included. The 2 readers are: Christmas and Lunar New Year. Resource includes a CD with audio files.

This is the last post for 2024. Read All About Lit will return in January.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Decoda Literacy Library!