Everything Santa Claus: 45+ Kids Ideas for Christmas

Welcome to our EVERYTHING SANTA CLAUS roundup post!

We’ve got Santa-inspired arts and crafts, ornaments, treats, book recommendations, and play ideas, as well as ways to stay in touch with Santa this holiday season and tips for talking to your kids about Santa – no matter what their age. There’s something here for everyone!

This post contains Amazon Affiliates Links. Please see our full disclosure for more details.

Santa Claus Arts & Crafts

Christmas Paper Roll Characters: Santa, Mrs. Claus, Jack Frost and Elves from One Time Through
Kids Santa Craft and Santa Collage from I Heart Crafty Things.
Inside Santa’s House, Christmas Bauble Keepsakes and Santa’s House peep-window drawing dioramas from Creative Play Central.
Handprint Santa and Song and Footprint Sleigh, Fingerprint Santa and Reindeer from Fun Handprint Art.
Easy Photo Santa Craft from Artsy Momma.
Emo Santa toilet paper roll craft from Danya Banya.
Paper Plate Santa from Craftulate.
Santa Advent Calendar from the Iowa Farmer’s Wife.
Homemade Santa Hat Christmas Card from Hands On As We Grow.
Santa Candle Holders from Mom Vs. The Boys.
Santa Hat Christmas Cards from Mom In The Madhouse. 

Santa Ornaments

Santa Hat Ornaments and Paper Plate Santa from Creative Family Fun.
Santa Cork Ornaments and Toilet Roll Santas from Red Ted Art.
Santa Lightbulb Ornament from Mama.Papa.Bubba.
Santa Paint Brush Ornament from Glittering Muffins.
Salt Dough Handprint Santa Ornament from Meaningful Mama.

Stay in Touch with Santa Claus

Christmas Letter Writing Set from Picklebums.
Another set of free letter writing printables from Playdough to Plato.
Dear Santa Letter from The Chirping Moms.
Writing a Letter to Santa with addresses for the UK, US, Canada and Australia from Play and Learn Everyday.
Track Santa via Satellite from Posh Lil Divas.

Santa Claus Treats

Santa Pancake from Artsy Momma.
Homemade Santa Cookie Tray craft from Teach Mama.
Waffle Cone Santa Hats from The Preschool Toolbox.
Santa and Reindeer Cupcakes and Pancakes from The Joys of Boys.

Santa Play

North Pole Playdough and Santa Playdough Mat from One Time Through.
Christmas Santa Claus Song from My Little 3 and Me.
Santa’s Sleigh Song from Let’s Play Music.
Free Printable Christmas Masks from Itsy Bitsy Fun.
Santa Says game from I Can Teach My Child.
Santa’s Beard Roll and Count Game for preschoolers from No Time For Flashcards.
Santa Role Play and Santa Bag Craft from Blog Me Mom.
Santa’s Workshop for dramatic play from Homegrown Friends.
North Pole Play Mat from No Time For Flashcards.
Santa and Rudolph Spoon Puppets from Messy Little Monster.
Make Santa’s Mailbox from Sunny Day Family. 
Christmas Playdough Mats (including Santa) from Totschooling. 

Talking About Santa

Santa Claus: What’s Your Story? from Not Just Cute.
The Santa Dilemma from Picklebums.
Surviving the Santa Photo from Kids Activities Blog.
Why I Lie to My Kids from Meaningful Mama.

Reading About Santa

Ages 0 to 4 – Good Night North Pole

If you’ve read any of the other “Good Night” series of books, you’ll know how fun they are to read.  The text is repetitive and rhythmic (in a good way!) and the pictures are colourful and engaging.

The story takes you on a mini-tour of the North Pole.  You get to see Santa’s toy shop and the elves, meet the reindeer and Rudolph, and have cookies with Santa and Mrs. Claus! Love it!

For Toddlers/Preschoolers/Kindergarteners – Stick Man

This book, by the author of The Gruffalo, is a favourite at our house at any time of year, but it’s perfect for Christmastime.  This funny, rhyming story follows the journey of a loveable “Stickman” who is torn away from his loving stick wife and stick kids by person after person as he is used as a flagpole, a fetching stick for a dog, part of a swan’s nest and more.

Eventually, when he has just about given up hope that he can return to his family, and is about to become a part of someone’s Christmas Eve fire, he is rescued by Santa and returned to his family for Christmas morn. This is one of those adorable books that makes you want to cry!  Onetime loves it and both his Dad and I enjoy reading it over and over.

Ages 3 to 8+ – The Jolly Christmas Postman

I can’t say enough about how COOL this book is! It’s written by my favourite kids’ book author duo, Janet and Allan Ahlberg (also wrote Peepo and Each Peach, Pear, Plum) and follows the adventures of a postman who delivers mail in a kingdom where characters like The Big Bad Wolf, The Gingerbread Boy and Humpty Dumpty all live together! Each time he delivers a letter, you the reader get to open and read it!

And this mail is not just ordinary letters, there’s a puzzle, a game board, a story within a story, and more! The verse is rhyming and funny and the pictures are amazing and tell their own tale. Where does Santa come in?

At the end of the story, our postman gets caught in a bad storm and Santa gives him a special ride back home on Christmas Eve -after having tea with him and Mrs. Claus of course!

For Kids Who No Longer Believe That Santa Is Real – Polar Express

This is my favourite Christmas “Santa” book for older children. The story follows a boy who is trying to stay awake on Christmas Eve to see Santa when instead he hears a train whistle beckoning from outside.  He ventures out and is invited to ride The Polar Express which is headed to the North Pole.

The trip is an adventure in itself, but when he finally gets there and meets Santa in person – he is given a very special gift that cannot be replaced – the gift of belief in the Christmas spirit!

Recommended Santa Fun

We just spotted this Hallmark North Pole Communicator at the mall the other day and had to pick one up.  The idea is that starting December 1st, we will be able to use the communicator to make a daily call to the North Pole to talk with Santa and its other inhabitants.

Onetime is already obsessed with this toy and is so excited to use it.  Right now (until Dec. 1st), you can make a call and get a “voice mail” asking you to call back at the start of December.  We’re counting down the days and frankly, I can’t wait to see what this is going to be like!

That’s it for Everything Santa Claus – I hope you found what you were looking for and more!

Ho-ho-hope you found some fun ideas for this Christmas!

Remember to follow me on Facebook and Twitter!