The holiday season brings a special kind of excitement to the classroom. From festive traditions to seasonal crafts, there are plenty of opportunities for students to celebrate together.
We asked our Epic Educator Ambassadors to share their favorite holiday books and classroom activities that combine seasonal magic with a little reading and creativity. Their diverse ideas include celebrations around the world—from writing letters to Santa Paws to coding gingerbread characters!
Here are 10 ways our Epic Educators bring holiday cheer into their classrooms. Try these festive ideas with your own kids or students this season!
1. Explore Holidays Around the World With a Classroom Passport
From Epic Educator Ambassador Alley P. | Grade 1-2 Teacher
Book Pick: Winter Candle by Jeron Ashford
Activity: “In December, my class spends several days traveling the world through books! We use our Holidays Around the World Passport to explore how different cultures celebrate, learning about the country where each holiday originated […] and the many ways light plays a meaningful role in celebrations around the world. Books from Epic help us peek into traditions and celebrations that may be different from our own, while also helping students discover the things that connect us—family, food, stories, traditions, and the joy of gathering together. It’s one of our favorite ways to celebrate the season while growing our curiosity about the world!”
What Makes This Book Special: “Winter Candle by Jeron Ashford is a beautiful book for helping my students see the connections between the many holidays we study. While the traditions, symbols and celebrations may look different, so many holidays around the world bring light into the darkest time of year. The book beautifully illustrates this idea while also telling a powerful story about a building filled with people who celebrate different holidays.”
2. Create a Classroom Christmas Tree Together
From Epic Educator Ambassador Christa Bell | K-12 Library Media Specialist
Book Pick: Tomie dePaola’s Christmas Tree Book by Tomie dePaola
Activity: “We decorate a paper Christmas tree with ornaments created by the students. Each student can decorate their ornament however they choose, allowing them to express their own personality and creativity. Together, the ornaments create a unique tree that represents our school family.”
What Makes This Book Special: “I like [Tomie’s dePaola’s Christmas Tree] because it shares interesting facts about the history of Christmas trees while also sparking meaningful conversations with students. Every family’s Christmas tree looks a little different, and the way it is decorated can reflect family traditions, personalities and even history.”
3. Give Gingerbread a Creative Coding Twist
From Epic Educator Ambassador Traci Piltz | PK-3 Instructional Technology Coach
Book Pick: The Gingerbread Man retold by Eric A. Kimmel
Activity: “Students use the app ScratchJr to draw and code their own gingerbread character. This can be differentiated by grade level.”
What Makes This Book Special: “The Gingerbread Man is a classic and includes repetitive elements and lots of characters that lend itself well to story retelling. I love pairing it with Scratch Jr for this creative coding and storytelling activity that lets students draw, code and retell parts of the story. This is also a great collaborative activity!”
4. Turn a Tough Cookie Into a Holiday Keepsake
From Epic Educator Ambassador Stevie Marie Scharwarth | Kindergarten Teacher
Book Pick: Tough Cookie: A Christmas Story by Edward Hemingway
Activity: “After reading the book, the kids create their own gingerbread ornament.”
What Makes This Book Special: ”There are so many gingerbread books out there! This Christmas version feels somewhat familiar to students, but with a twist. My students love guessing why no one wants to eat him. They get a big laugh when they find out why at the end!”
5. What Makes a Cookie Special?
From Epic Educator Ambassador Dr. Stephanie Rosch | K-Grade 5 ESL Teacher
Book Pick: Tough Cookie: A Christmas Story by Edward Hemingway
Activity: “First we read the story, then we identified what made the cookie in the story special. Students loved knowing not only were they going to write, but also that they were going to get to decorate their own gingerbread person. Our team loves connecting art and literacy to bring the stories we read to life. “
What Makes This Book Special: ”It makes students more engaged because they know there is a reward after working so hard to comprehend the story. All of our students, no matter their age or literacy level, can make sense of the story and help figure out how a character changes throughout a story.”
6. Send a Letter to Santa Paws
From Epic Educator Ambassador Leslie Rennick | K-5 Special Education Teacher
Book Pick: What Dogs Want for Christmas by Kandy Radzinski
Activity: Epic Ambassador Leslie Rennick brings a little four-legged fun to the holiday season with Ruxin, her classroom dog. Inspired by What Dogs Want for Christmas, she invites students to imagine what Ruxin would wish for and write letters to Santa Paws from his perspective.
What Makes This Book Special: “I love this book and activity because it puts a fun and creative spin on the traditional letters that a lot of my students already write to Santa for themselves. My students all adore our classroom companion dog, Ruxin and this activity allows them to think and write from his perspective for Christmas wishes to Santa Paws.”
7. Celebrate Family Traditions Through Stories
From Epic Educator Ambassador Allison O’Reilly | Grade 2 Teacher
Book Pick: Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto
Activity: “As a Mexican-American teaching in Singapore, I find that celebrating different holiday traditions is a big part of what we do as an international school. I use Too Many Tamales as a springboard activity to show how tamales are part of my culture. Students then create their favorite holiday meal, which may happen during a winter holiday, but doesn’t have to. It could be a Lunar New Year meal, a Hanukkah meal, or even a Diwali meal.”
What Makes This Book Special: “It feels like I am home every time I read this book. Though I have lived away from California for over 25 years, this book always brings me right back to my childhood.”
8. Imagine a World Inside a Snow Globe
From Epic Educator Ambassador Nicole Curcuru | Grade 3 Teacher
Book Pick: Snow Globe Wishes by Erin Dealey
Activity: Epic Ambassador Nicole Curcuru uses Snow Globe Wishes to inspire an imaginative writing project. Students dream up their own snow globe worlds, using the winter setting as a starting point for creative storytelling.
What Makes This Book Special: “Snow Globe Wishes helps students build an imaginary winter scene with meaningful characters.”
9. Bring Holiday Celebrations to Life Through Music and Stories
From Epic Educator Ambassador Rachel Johnson | Grade 2 Teacher
Book Picks: The Nutcracker in Harlem by T.E. McMorrow and Let’s Celebrate! Special Days Around the World by Kate DePalma
Activity: Epic Ambassador Rachel Johnson connects seasonal reading with music, storytelling and cultural exploration. Whether that be matching musical instruments to different story beats or using drums to imitate the rhythm of a wintery poem, students discover the many ways people express joy and community.
What Makes This Tradition Special: “Connecting literacy to music should be in every classroom. Besides holidays I use a lot of books for the celebrated holidays like Hispanic heritage month etc for students to have independent time to dig more into musicians that may or may not look like them. Students love it.”
10. Make Reading the Star of a Holiday Celebration
From Epic Educator Ambassador Megan Philbrook | Grade 5-8 Social Studies Teacher
Book Pick: “Each year the book changes but whatever myself and team of teachers select gets turned into the theme of a full day of activities surrounding that book! Examples include Merry Grinchmas or Twas the Night before Vacation. We also did Shrek the Halls!”
Activity: “Our full day of activities include making gingerbread houses for Shrek the Halls or making the Grinch’s green-colored punch! We do lessons on the size of the Grinch’s heart and watch fun movies. One year was a Polar Express theme!”
What Makes This Tradition Special: “What I love most about planning a holiday themed day based upon a book is the pure joy it brings to our students and our entire school community. It gives our students a day to simply be kids, creating happy, magical memories they will carry with them.”
Making Holiday Memories, One Story at a Time
From handmade ornaments to letters to Santa Paws, these Epic Educator Ambassadors remind us that reading can be the beginning of something wonderful.
Whether you’re planning a festive read-aloud, starting a new classroom tradition or looking for a story to share before winter break, Epic has books to help inspire your next memorable classroom moment.
A big thank-you to our Epic Educator Ambassadors for sharing their seasonal traditions and inspiring us with the creative ways they bring books to life!
Frequently Asked Questions
▶ How can teachers make holiday reading fun for students?
Teachers can make holiday reading more engaging by connecting books to creative classroom traditions. Try pairing a seasonal read-aloud with an ornament-making project, inviting students to imagine their own snow globe stories or using a favorite character to inspire a writing activity. These experiences help students connect with books beyond the final page.
▶ What are some holiday reading traditions for elementary students?
Holiday reading traditions for elementary students can include seasonal read-alouds, book exchanges, storytelling celebrations and creative projects inspired by favorite books. Teachers can also start traditions that reflect their classroom community, like writing letters to a festive character or creating decorations connected to a shared story.
▶ How can teachers celebrate different holidays through books?
Teachers can use books to introduce students to celebrations, customs and family traditions from different cultures. Stories like Winter Candle and Too Many Tamales offer opportunities to explore themes of family, community and belonging. Encourage students to ask questions, make connections and share their own experiences if they feel comfortable.
