Inside: A round-up of classroom ideas for Spanish Christmas activities. 

The week before winter holidays can be a bit crazy right? You might be at the end of your rope and out of ideas, but no worries! I’ve scoured the internet for the best Christmas and winter-themed ideas, and gathered them here for you. 

Obviously, the guidelines on Christmas-themed plans will vary from school to school. Those of you at religious schools can celebrate it; others will need to present more neutral lessons. Because most Spanish-speaking places have Catholic roots, you might present it as culture. 

With all that in mind, I’ve tried to gather a variety so there’s something for everyone. If it’s not already obvious, I’ve also tried to note whether certain resources are religious or not. 

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Spanish Christmas Activities

 Easy & Fun Ideas

• Ask or tell a funny Christmas/winter story: mishaps of Santa, a kid who discovers Santa isn’t real, or build a story around a familiar character like the Grinch.
• Choose a Christmas song in Spanish and just focus on a few keywords (like Navidad). Do a really easy listening activity like Draw, Listen, Check. 
• Introduce Latino traditions like Las posadas, Los Tres Reyes (freebie below), or traditional foods. 

• Use authentic 2018 holiday commercials in Spanish and do a voting tournament to choose the class favorite. Dustin Williamson has put together AWESOME resources to do this here, all for free!
• Write and decorate cards. (Grab the color version of my Holiday & Christmas cards in Spanish for free!

• Retell the original Christmas story. Use a picture book, draw as you go (a la Story Listening), or use a video from below as your visual.

#authres

There are lots of infographics, songs, and video clips you can throw in during the winter holidays. These are fun to to prompt discussion and give the students a chance to see what they can understand from an authentic resource.

Credit: Easy Spanish 

Credit: Azteca Noticias

Visit my Christmas in Spanish page on Pinterest to find lots more Navidad realia!

Songs

If you have a younger crowd, I’ve got a great list of Christmas songs in Spanish for kids. Below, you can find my  top picks for a variety of ages, both religious and non-religious. 

Feliz navidad from Michael Bublé and Thalia
I love, love, love this version! Non-religious except for the word “Navidad.” His accent isn’t perfect but Thalia makes up for that. 🙂

Mi burrito sabanero 
This is a great dose of culture, comprehensible language, and Christmas that will be new for most of your students. Definitely religious, with religious images.

Noche de Paz – If you’d like a familiar Christmas carol in Spanish, this is a good pick.

Báte, Báte Chocolate Perfect in case you need a highly comprehensible winter-themed non-religious song (hot chocolate, anyone?)

Ocho Candalias Great song for including Hanukkah in your winter plans. 

 Ideas for Older Students

Lotería de Justino 
Movietalk Resources from Aprendemos Juntos (INCREDIBLE and free resources based on a MovieTalk on the Spanish lottery short film)

Los pingüinos de Madagascar
MovieTalk resources from Aprendemos Juntos (another CI-packed resource)

El tío de Nadal 
from La maestra loca (Hilarious, + authentic culture.)

Navidad Stations
from Mary Overton 

Volver a casa MovieTalk Resources
from Aprendemos Juntos

Navidad Inesperada
 MovieTalk Resources from Aprendemos Juntos 

Juego de navidad
from Aprendemos Juntos

Rosca de reyes
from Cynthia Hitz

Podcast for Beginners: ¡Feliz navidad!

Podcast for Intermediate Students: ¡Lotería!

Navidad mini-unit
(IPA-style) from Get Your Learning On

General Spanish Christmas Resources

Spanish Christmas Cards from Spanish Mama

Bilingual Gift Tags in Spanish from Mommy Maestra

A Spanglish Christmas Poem from Family Life in Spain

“Ojo de Dios” Craft from Bilingual Eyes

MovieTalks

There are some amazing short films that make for great MovieTalks– this is one of those times you can get the best of #authres and CI.

If you’re new to MovieTalks, read about them here. Basically, you narrate a short film in language the students understand, discuss, and possibly type up a reading.

Commercial from Spain for the 2015 Christmas Lottery  (There are tons of activities to go along with this! Lotería de Justino  Activities from Elena Lopez)

Introduce Panetón + Comprehensible Language (reps of “vuelven)

Los tres reyes

Commercial for Christmas with llamas!

Sweet Family Commercial

#authres Movies

IKEA Commercial: Kids writing letters to Los tres reyes. 

Peruvian Navidad Commercial:

Lotería de España:

Christmas Stories

Narrate these videos in simple Spanish, or using the original versions with more advanced students. 

Re-telling of the Original Christmas Story (audio and subtitles in Spanish)

Santa Story: Very clear Spanish and story (audio and subtitles in Spanish).

Christmas Spanish Activities 

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