Ho, Ho, Ho: Here Comes Santa Claus

It’s a busy month for the jolly holiday harbinger, so we’ve gathered some activities in his honor.

Savory Snacks

Make Babybel cheese into a cute Santa; find full instructions at cutefoodforkids.com.

Turn fruit into a mini hat for Santa; find full instructions at weelicious.com.

Use meats and cheeses to decorate a snack platter into Santa’s face; find full instructions at stepawayfromthecarbs.com.

Sweet Treats

Have heart-shaped cookie cutters for Valentine’s Day? Turn the shapes upside down to decorate Santa’s face on the cookies; find full instructions at bettycrocker.com.

Use pretzels, colored candy melts and chocolate chips to decorate a pretzel with Santa’s face; find full instructions at twosisterscrafting.com.

For a fun party favor, hide Santa candies underneath an ice cream cone decorated to look like a Christmas tree; find full instructions at pillsbury.com.

Write Letters to Santa

Been a good boy or girl all year? Tell Santa what you want this Christmas with a letter. You can download cute templates at uspsoperationsanta.com, or purchase customizable options with Letters from Santa.

Play All Day

Find your favorite characters and educational and fun activities at Santa’s Village. Code with Santa’s elves, challenge your knowledge with quizzes, build your own elf, play in a wintery sandbox and more. On Dec. 24, track Santa and his reindeer as they deliver presents around the world.

Find printable activities, such as coloring sheets or word searches, online via blogs, websites or Etsy pages.

Combine crafting and gaming with Tic-Tac-Toe. Gather rocks and paint them as a set of Santas (or  if your kids are older and won’t get confused, consider decorating a Santa, Mrs. Claus and elves) to compete against a set of reindeers. Create a board out of decorative washi tape.

Movie Night

Start by making Santa Munch Christmas Popcorn from tidymom.net before gathering around the TV as a family to watch one of these delightful movies.

• The classic “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” tells the origin story of Santa Claus.
• The TV mini series “The Santa Clauses” on Disney+ follows Scott Calvin trying to find a suitable replacement Santa for his retirement.
• A lawyer and a little girl must prove a man claiming to be Santa Claus is telling the truth in “A Miracle on 34th Street.”

Get Crafty

Create paper rings to resemble Santa’s beard for a fun countdown calendar; find full instructions at
iheartcraftythings.com.

A Bedtime Story

Keep it classic with a reading of “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” and bring the story to life with illustrator Robert Sabuda’s pop-up “The Night Before Christmas.” For a twist on the magic of Christmas, read “The Day Santa Stopped Believing in Harold.” In “The Real Santa,” a young boy wonders if he can see some of himself in Santa Claus.

Visit with Santa face-to-face with these events.