Christmas - Christmas Tree Ideas

Celebrating Christmas with a tree has been a holiday tradition for many years. It is amazing how much it has changed even over the past few years that I remember. Strings of lights with only one color, ornaments made of plastic, artificial trees that are white, silver and other colors are just some of the changes I have seen through my life.

It only makes sense to include Christmas Trees as a part of your Christmas Preschool lesson plans.  Here are some fun ideas for you to try out with your students.

Preschool Christmas Tree Art


Cookie Cutter Tree Prints

Put a small amount of tempera paint in a large shallow container. (A pie tin works well) Show your child how to dip a Christmas Tree cookie cutter in the paint and press onto a piece of paper to create a print. You can make holiday pictures or greeting cards by using holiday cookie cutters and colored paper.

Play Dough Trees
Have the children roll out play dough with a rolling pin then cut out Christmas Tree shapes from the play dough with cookie cutters.  The play dough should be put away after use.

Christmas Tree Cookies
Make your favorite sugar cookie recipe.  Use Christmas Tree shaped cookie cutters to cut out the cookies.  Bake as directed.  After the cookies have cooled, allow the children to decorate with green frosting, sprinkles and other cookie toppings.

Clay Trees
Have the children roll out the clay and cut out Christmas Tree shapes.  Cure as directed, then allow the children to paint the shapes with acrylic paints (be careful, these stain).  If you want to make these ornaments, use a toothpick to make a hole near the top.  After cured, add a ribbon to hang the ornament.

Fingerprint Tree
Print up a Christmas Tree coloring page or cut out your own shape from green paper.  Place a small amount of paint on a paper plate or in a shallow container or use a non-toxic ink pad.  Show the children how to dip one finger at a time in the paint or press onto the ink pad, then press onto the tree shape.
Christmas Tree Coloring Page

Bingo Daubers Tree
Print up a Christmas Tree coloring page or cut out your own shape from green paper.  Have the children use bingo dabbers to decorate the tree.
Christmas Tree Coloring Page

Paper Hole Punch Tree

Print up a Christmas Tree coloring page or cut out your own shape from green paper.  Have the children glue the holes from a paper hole punch onto the tree.

Christmas Tree Coloring Page

Egg Carton Christmas Tree
Cut egg cartons so you have one row of six, five, four, three, two, and then two single egg holders.  Glue the rows  to a piece of paper from bottom to top in this order, 1, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 so that it looks like a Christmas Tree.  Have the children paint the egg cartons green.  After the paint dries have the children decorate the tree with scraps of paper, fabric, holes from hole punch, stickers etc.

Sponge Painted Tree

Print up a Christmas Tree coloring page or cut out your own shape from green paper.  Have the children use bingo dabbers circle shaped sponges to decorate the tree.

Christmas Tree Coloring Page

A Variety of other Ideas

Print up a Christmas Tree coloring page or cut out your own shape from green paper. 

Christmas Tree Coloring Page

dip a pencil eraser in paint or press onto an ink pad then onto the tree

use circle shaped stamps

apply stickers

apply glitter

apply buttons

decorate with button prints (attach button to film canister with hot glue, then dip in paint and press on paper)

use fabric scraps

use scraps of paper

tear pieces of paper to glue onto the shape

color with crayons, markers, colored pencils, paint

Hole Punched Tree

Print up a Christmas Tree coloring page or cut out your own shape from green paper.  Have the children punch several holes about the tree.  Glue colored pieces of cellophane to the back of the tree shape.  After the glue has dried, the children can decorate the front of the tree as desired.  Hang trees in the window so sunlight can shine through the holes making them look like Christmas Tree lights.

Torn Paper Christmas Tree

Have the children cut or tear several pieces of green paper.  The pieces should be thin and a variety of lengths.  Have the children sort the strips from longest to shortest.  Then, glue the strips starting with the longest at the bottom of a piece of paper to the shortest at the top of the paper.  After the glue has dried, children can decorate with glitter, buttons, crayons, markers or other items.

Christmas Tree Mobile

Cut a piece of green paper into a large Christmas Tree triangle.  Have the children cut the triangle into wide strips (about one inch).  Have the children decorate their tree pieces with glitter, markers, crayons, scraps of paper, stamps, stickers or with whatever you wish.  After the pieces have dried, tape each strip to a piece of yarn, about one inch apart.  

Christmas Tree Branch

Have the children use a pine branch with needles in place of a paint brush.  The children can use red and green paints. 

Christmas Tree Math, Games and Science

Tree Sorting

Cut out many different sizes, colors and types of Christmas Tree shapes. Having access to a Cricut machine will make this task much easier.  You could also use an Ellison machine or craft punches.  Have the children sort these shapes however they wish (by size, color or type).  

Tree Sizing

Cut out at least four trees of different sizes.  Have the children place the trees in order from smallest to largest.

Tree Counting

Cut out many different Christmas Tree shapes and have the children count them.  

Sand and Water Table

Place a variety of pine tree branches and needles in the sand and water table.  Provide a balance, a magnifying glass and other items that would help the children observe and explore.

Tree Shape Hop

Cut out Christmas Tree shapes from green paper.  Attach these shapes to the floor with contact paper, evenly spaced so the children can hop from one shape to the next.

Tree Shape Game

Cut out Christmas Tree shapes from different colors of paper.  Attach these shapes to the floor with contact paper, evenly spaced about one step apart from each other in a circle.  Play Christmas music and have the children walk around the outside of the circle.  When the music stops, each child should stand on a tree shape.  It is best to have more shapes than children.  

Tree Shape Game

Cut out Christmas Tree shapes from different colors of paper.  Attach these shapes to the floor with contact paper, evenly spaced about one step apart from each other in a circle.  Pick one color and announce it to the children.  Play Christmas music and have the children walk around the outside of the circle.  When the music stops, each child should stand on a tree shape that is the same as the color you called before the music started.   More than one child can stand on each shape.  

Christmas Tree Memory

Obtain Christmas Tree stickers.  You will need two of each shape.  Measure the largest sticker, then cut card stock in square shapes that are slightly larger than the largest sticker.  Place each sticker on its own card stock square.  You can now use these cards to play memory.

Christmas Tree Sort

Obtain Christmas Tree stickers.  You will need at least two of each shape.  Measure the largest sticker, then cut card stock in square shapes that are slightly larger than the largest sticker.  Place each sticker on its own card stock square.  Have the children sort the cards.  

Needle Counting

Show the children a branch from a pine tree.  Ask them to estimate how many needles are on the branch.  Record the answers.  Count the needles together.