As with any religious-themed events in the calendar, we need to be sensitive to the children in our care and their beliefs or religions, or lack of, from home. That said, the Christmas season is a time of joy and celebration and many traditions are so tied into the life of families across the UK, but it’s important to ensure that all children feel included in the festivities. In nursery settings, this means being mindful of the diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and traditions of the children and also the staff in your care. Inclusive Christmas celebrations include focusing on activities that everyone can enjoy, creating an environment everyone can enjoy alongside teaching the religious education element of Christian beliefs about Christmas.
How do you currently approach Christmas at your nursery?
For starters, consider how you currently celebrate Christmas across your nursery setting(s).
- How do you celebrate with colleagues in your setting?
- What’s your favourite part of this time of year?
- What are your traditions around the festive period?
- How do you incorporate Christmas traditions into your setting?
- What do you do in your setting to celebrate Christmas with the children?
When planning Christmas activities, it’s important to remember that not everyone celebrates Christmas in a religious context. However, many Christmas traditions have become part of UK culture in a non-religious, more inclusive way. This offers a great opportunity to incorporate different points of view, diversity, and inclusion into your nursery’s Christmas celebrations. Remember, communication is key and it’s best practice to inform and notify your parents of your Christmas plans. To ensure you communicate effectively, consider using an Early Years AI writing assistant tool.
Is it OK to celebrate Christmas at nursery?
As a nursery manager or owner, you might wonder whether it’s appropriate to celebrate Christmas at your nursery if there is a risk someone may feel either offended or left out. It’s perfectly OK to celebrate traditions that are tied to faith, but make sure to also include ‘cross-faith’ traditions throughout the year. Communication is key and it’s best practice to inform and notify your parents of your plans. To ensure you communicate effectively, consider using an Early Years AI writing assistant tool to give you a helping hand.
Christmas diversity and inclusion
When we talk about having a diverse and inclusive Christmas, it’s not just about whether a family celebrates Christmas in a religious way or not. It also means being mindful of any barriers that may stop a child from fully joining in festive activities. For instance, some children have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and we want to ensure they feel included and engaged in the fun.
How to include religious and non-religious traditions
Nursery settings that teach about the religious aspects of Christmas, often cover this through the story of the nativity and songs about this – classics, such as Little Donkey and Away in a Manger. Nurseries may even be put on a nativity for parents to come and watch. Such songs and the nativity story can be balanced with non-religious stories and games. For example, there have been many modern adaptations, includingand films such as ‘Nativity!’ that have introduced lots of non-Christmas songs and ideas that everyone can enjoy. This helps provide a more inclusive environment, whilst getting us into the festive mood and spreading Christmas joy.
Planning a fun and inclusive EYFS Christmas children will love
Many of the most popular Christmas activities for early years are predominantly arts and crafts and not all children may be able to fully participate. Here are some great ways to bring the festive spirit into your nursery, whilst being inclusive of all of your children.
Top Tip: Activities that celebrate traditions throughout the year create wonderful memories for both your children and parents. Make sure you take lots of pictures. Share them easily with your parents via an online early years journal.
Sing Winter-Themed Songs
Singing is a joyous activity, which is perfect for the festive season. Incorporate songs such as Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! By Doris Day. This song has a simple melody and lots of repetition.
Read winter-themed stories
Non-religious, winter-themed stories can make for a more inclusive Christmas storytime. For example:
- The Snowman, by Raymond Briggs
- One Snowy Night, by Nick Butterworth
- Lost and Found, by Oliver Jeffers
You could also incorporate stories that celebrate generosity, kindness, and togetherness. For children with SEND needs, sensory storyboards may be more appropriate and engaging.
Decorating the Christmas tree together with the children in your setting can help with fine and gross motor skills and give opportunities to discuss the many traditions from different countries which amalgamate every December into our Christmas celebrations.
Create sensory Christmas bins
Create a sensory bin, filled with interesting decorations. Baubels come in all sorts of shapes and colours nowadays. Your children can explore different textures, and sounds, and particularly engage those with sensory needs.
Create a Christmas light adventure
Use soft-coloured LED lights, LED candles, or fairy lights to create a calm, sensory environment for the children to explore. Your children can enjoy the visual aspect of the activity and also talk about all the pretty colours they can see. It can also be a used as a magical space for nap time.
Bake Christmas biscuits
Children love baking, especially when there is a warm tasty treat at the end of it. They are a nice surprise for parents when they come to pick up their children at the end of the day too! Run a baking activity where the children can help make and decorate biscuits. Use gingerbread snowmen, stars, or penguins as inclusive options rather than religious symbols. Provide children with motor difficulties with larger shape cutters.
Organise a winter-themed dress-up day
Encourage children to dress up in Christmas or winter-themed attire for a day in the run-up to the holidays. The children can dress up as their favourite winter animals, such as:
- Snowmen
- Reindeers
- Penguins
Soft fabrics and sensory-friendly costumes can help children that may have sensory sensitivities.
These activities are created to engage all children during this joyous time of year, regardless of their religious background or physical and learning abilities. Sharing experiences with everyone is special and should be supported across nursery settings. What helps support this is a sense of community, and eyworks offers nursery management software that frees up more time for you to build and nurture that community within your nursery businesss. To learn more about how we can help you, contact our friendly team at hello@eyworks.co.uk or arrange a demo.
