It’s nearly Christmas, one of my favorite times of the year and a high point during the long winter. So of course, I’m trying to find some fun EFL ESL Christmas songs for children to use in my Christmas classes and to share with you. I didn’t want to use the usual Jingle Bells or We Wish you a Merry Christmas which are easy to find on YouTube. Instead I’ve tried to find songs that will be practical and easy to use with all ages and levels but that will also help with activities to get your classes really speaking in English. Here then are my favorite EFL ESL Christmas songs for children to use in all your Christmas lessons. Get ready to learn about Christmas trees, Christmas food, presents and stockings and even gingerbread houses with your class. Have fun doing these Christmas activities and, wherever you are in the world, have a very happy Christmas!
S-A-N-T-A by Super Simple Songs
It’s not Christmas without Santa Claus, Father Christmas or St Nicholas. Whatever you prefer to call him, this is my favorite way to learn about Santa with your class. Kids love this songs and the clapping elves. It’s a really easy song to learn and I sing it in most of my Christmas lessons. You could introduce it with a spelling game like hangman to see if the children can guess what they are going to be learning about. Use it as part of an activity to introduce and describe Santa.
What does Santa look like? What does he wear? And what does he do? You could learn the song with the class and then ask them to draw a picture of Santa. Alternatively, for older kids, write a description together. This is also a great sing-along song to sing at Christmas shows and concerts and get everyone to join in with.
Silly Santa | Christmas Song for Kids by Maple Leaf Learning
If you’re learning about Santa, the kids in your class will find this song really funny. It’s also a great way to learn more about what Santa looks like and what different clothes he wears. If you can cut out a picture of Santa and make some clothes for him, you could make this a pin the clothes on Santa game. Sing the song and see what he forgets to put on. You could add some more accessories too: his beard, a sledge, a reindeer or an elf. Let the kids use their imagination and create a whole Santa’s workshop or Santa’s sledge and see what else Santa will forget. Poor old Santa!
10 Little Elves | Christmas Song for Kids by Super Simple Songs
Now you know all about Santa, you can find out what really goes on in his workshop. Who makes your Christmas presents and how do they do it? This song has lots of useful actions that you can do along with your class as you count the elves in Santa’s workshop. Help them make the toys by sewing, painting, sawing and hammering before wrapping them up ready to be delivered. Maybe you could have your own class workshop and make some cardboard models of toys to practice being elves. Or make some real Christmas cards or presents for the families of the kids in your class. Cutting, gluing, decorating. What other actions can your kids think of to add to the song for the 10 little elves to do?
Let’s Build a Gingerbread House by Sara Womack
I used this song as part of my Gingerbread Man lesson plan which is perfect for a lesson around Christmas time. You could also use it in lots of other Christmas lessons too though. Build your own gingerbread house in class, either out of real gingerbread or out of cardboard. Then decorate it together with as many different things as your kids can think of. Don’t forget to learn all the actions together using lots of TPR as you do it. Building a gingerbread house together is also a great way to learn the vocabulary for different parts of the house in a practical way.
What Do You Want for Christmas? by Maple Leaf Learning
Christmas means Santa and he brings presents. So what do you want for Christmas? What do the kids in your class want? Write a letter to Santa together to ask for presents and then adapt this song accordingly. How many different toys can they think of to add to their list. You could play a memory chain game using this list: for Christmas, I want a ball. Then go around the class and let each child add an item after they’ve said the list. Or get the kids to ask each other what they want for Christmas to make their lists. Let each child pretend to be Santa trying to remember his list and adding more items. Sophie wants a teddy, Jack wants a computer game, etc.
I’m the Happiest Christmas Tree by Nicole Davis
This would be such a cute song to do for parents or for a Christmas show. It’s the story of a Christmas tree who is very happy because someone took it home and decorated it. This would be nice for little kids to learn about feelings. You could have happy Christmas trees, sad Christmas trees, sleepy Christmas trees and so on. Then cheer up all the Christmas trees by decorating them with twinkling lights and jingling bells so they can all be the happy Christmas trees.
The Christmas Tree Song by KidsTV123
Do you have a Christmas tree in your class? What does it need to be decorated? What’s missing? Find out all the different decorations you can put on your tree with this song. Tinsel, baubles, lights and lots more. Decorate your own tree in class or make a Christmas tree card to take home for families. Ask the kids to draw and then describe their trees to each other. What does it have on it? Does the tree look nice?
Shapes on the Christmas Tree | Kids Christmas Songs by The Kiboomers
A great way to learn shapes for little children combined with a Christmas song. what different shapes can you see on the Christmas tree. I would use this song in class and make decorations out of play dough or card with different shapes. If you’ve got a tree to hang them on, that would be even better. Alternatively, you could do what it says in the song and draw shapes on a print out of a Christmas tree together to make a Christmas card or class decoration..
Christmas Pudding Song by Steve and Maggie
If you’re learning about different Christmas traditions around the world, this would be a great song to learn about different foods eaten at Christmas. If they celebrate Christmas in the country where you are teaching, you can compare it with other countries and adapt the song with different food. Ask the kids in your class to create a menu for a Christmas dinner and ask each other questions: “What would you like for Christmas dinner?” “I would like turkey and Christmas pudding”. Or invent a Christmas restaurant and do a restaurant role play with the kids playing the waiting staff and the customers. You could have a lot of fun with this!
Boom Chicka Boom Christmas by The Learning Station
To finish this selection of EFL ESL Christmas songs for children, a song for your Christmas party. Get the kids up and dancing along as they learn the vocabulary for different Christmas objects and actions to go with them. From reindeers to glitter with lots of funny dances and sound effects. Although these songs are a bit corny, kids love singing along with them and doing all the actions. It’s a fun way of going over all the different things you’ve been learning about Christmas and having a good dance before saying goodbye for the Christmas holidays.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these EFL ESL Christmas songs for children and found something useful for your classes. If you’re putting on a Christmas show in your school, any of these songs would be fun to sing with your kids. Most of these songs can be adapted to any Christmas class and would be fun to sing with all ages of kids. I hope you have as much fun with your classes as I’ve had choosing the songs. If you want to see other themed collections of songs, you can find all my favorites here. And to keep up to date with all my new posts, you can register for email updates below or follow my Facebook page. Merry Christmas everyone!