Winter’s all wrapped up with Busy Things
Winter is a fun-packed time of year, which can get hectic in the classroom. To help you see the wood for the (Xmas) trees, we thought we’d give you a rundown of the calendar events you might be celebrating as a school, providing you with details about the event along with some fantastic activity recommendations of course. Read on, there’s no time to lose!
Which calendar events do we cover?
- National Tree Week (22nd – 30th November)
- Hanukkah (14th – 22nd December)
- Winter (21st December – 20th March)
- Christmas (25th December)
1. National Tree Week
The mix of greens, oranges and yellows on the skyline and crunchy leaves cascading on to the pavement are all part of the seasons changing from autumn to winter, so now’s a good time to look at trees in general and the specific types that exist.
Do your pupils understand what the different parts of trees do?
Can they tell different varieties of trees apart?
Do they understand what deciduous and evergreen mean?
Are they aware of how important trees are in combatting climate change?
Check out our blog for more details and free-to-play activities!
2. Hanukkah
The 8-day Jewish festival of lights, Hanukkah, is also celebrated during winter. The dates of the festival change every year but always fall in November or December. This year, celebrations start on 14th December.
The festival reminds Jews of a time over 2000 years ago when they won a battle against the Greeks to practise their religion freely. It is a family time when people exchange gifts, sing and eat together.
Our ‘Write about Hanukkah – Advanced’ activity asks children to write about five elements of the festival. There is a simpler version for younger pupils.
3. Winter
The change-over from autumn to winter can be dramatic, and as a season, winter is unique in its characteristics.
Your pupils can explore the changing weather by using our British Isles and world weather maps. They feature some fun clip art to brighten up the weather even if it’s not so balmy outdoors.
Your pupils could also write about the day-to-day differences with our Write about Winter writing project template.
What’s your pupils’ favourite thing about winter? The snow, Christmas, or snow days?
But that’s not all, dip into our Winter topical pack, and you’ll find these and even more activities.
Do your pupils know how winter has changed over time?
Can they make their very own paper snowflake?
The Winter Topical Pack for Schools blog is here. Download your topical pack today!
4. Christmas
The highlight of most people’s winter is Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus. It’s a time for
exchanging presents and spending time with family and friends.
Here at Busy Things, we’ve created lots of fun activities so that we can be part of your celebrations.
We’ll have all the Christmas versions of your favourite games (Miner birds, Snowball shootout) and, this year, are releasing two new activities based on The Nativity Story too!
Check out our Christmas activities blog, out next week, for all the details and our new and improved Christmas topical pack too!
Summary
We hope this blog has given you some ideas of activities and resources on Busy Things, that you can use at this time of the year.
Want to see more activities?
If you’d like to learn more about our other 1,600+ activities, why not take out a free 28-day trial with us! Simply click here for this. You’re more than welcome to have a virtual tour via Teams too. If you’d like one, contact us here and we’ll get one sorted!
This blog was reviewed and updated in November 2025.