Stimulate your senses this holiday season with these fun and creative Christmas sensory bin ideas! There are plenty of unique Christmas sensory activities for toddlers to preschoolers to enjoy this festive season. Christmas ornaments, cinnamon rice, Christmas bells, homemade playdough, and more!
Enjoy Christmas Sensory Play This Year
If you’re looking for more fun and engaging Christmas activities that don’t require a ton of effort or expense to add to your holiday season, sensory activities are a fantastic addition!
These Christmas sensory bins are made to engage all of the senses. There’s a sensory bin for exploring every sense! Think colorful red and green textures, the sound of jingle bells, the smell of cinnamon, the crinkle of wrapping paper or tinsel and more.
Digging your hands into a new sensory bin full of colorful Christmas items for toddlers and preschoolers is a beautiful treat! I believe sensory play, like these Christmas sensory bin ideas, is crucial to early childhood development.
Simple sensory bins provide fantastic learning opportunities and promote social and emotional development! Read more about the benefits of sensory bins below and check out our best tips and tricks for putting together your own Christmas sensory bin!
The Benefits Of Sensory Bins
Are sensory bins or sensory tables worth it? Yes, they are worth it! The more basic you keep the sensory bin, the better off you are. Remember, you only need to create a tactile experience for your kids, not a Pinterest image. While we have fantastic pictures of sensory bins, they only stay that way for a minute!
Sensory bins are awesome hands-on tools for children to learn about their world and senses! Sensory play may calm a child, focus a child, and engage a child.
Here’s what children can learn from sensory bins:
Practical Life Skills ~ Sensory bins let a child explore, discover and create play using practical life skills (dumping, filling, scooping) and learn valuable play skills.
Play Skills {emotional development} ~ For both social play and independent play, sensory bins allow children to play cooperatively or side by side. My son has had many positive experiences with other children over a bin of rice!
Language Development ~ Sensory bins increase language development by experiencing all there is to see and do with their hands, which leads to great conversations and opportunities to model language.
Understanding 5 Senses ~ Many sensory bins include a few of the 5 senses! Imagine a bin of brightly colored rainbow rice: touch the loose grains against the skin, see the vivid colors as they mix together, and hear the sound of sprinkling over a plastic container or shaken in a plastic egg!
Helpful Sensory Bin Resources
There’s so much more to learn about sensory bins and sensory play.
- Sensory Bin Ideas and Themes
- Best Sensory Bin Fillers
- Non Food Sensory Bin Fillers
- Rice Sensory Bin Ideas
- How To Set Up A Sensory Bin
- Sensory Play Recipes You Can Use
Sensory Bin Tips and Tricks
Tip: Stand To Play
Due to various sensory needs, some kids may feel more comfortable standing to engage in the activity. Sitting on the floor or kneeling in front of a sensory bin may also be uncomfortable. My son’s sensory needs made standing the best choice for us.
Tip: Keep It Simple
When designing a themed sensory bin, consider how many items you put into the bin versus the size of the bin. Too many items may feel overwhelming. If your kid is playing happily with the sensory bin, resist the urge to add just one more thing!
Trick: How To Minimize Mess
It’s important for adults to model the appropriate use of sensory bins and to keep a close eye on young kids who may want to throw the filler and items. Keep a kid-size broom and dustpan handy to help them learn how to clean up spills.
Learn more about sensory bins here!
Hands-On Sensory Play Suggestions
Add accessories and tools that encourage fine motor practice for the young age group, which a sensory bin is designed for.
Scoop play items into a small container or basket and then transfer them into another container. For more difficulty, provide kitchen tongs to grab objects and transfer them to a container.
Add some sneaky math by rolling a die and counting how many things to scoop at a time. Or simply count the number of items put into the basket.
Get Your Free Quick Start Christmas Sensory Bin Guide
It’s as easy as 1-2-3-4 to make a sensory bin! Get started today with this simple sensory bin guide.
Christmas Sensory Bin Materials
Wondering what to put in a Christmas sensory bin? Starting with the sensory bin filler, here are a few ideas. We have our own list of Sensory Bin Fillers, but there are so many to choose from to put together a simple Christmas sensory bin. We also have a list of non-food items you can use too!
Here are a few sensory bin fillers to try! Get creative and add your own themes.
- pom poms
- water
- corn kernels
- cornmeal
- cloud dough
- dyed pasta
- dyed rice
- oats
- playdough
- crinkle paper (gift wrapping)
- kinetic sand
- acorns
- tinsel
Remember to always supervise toddlers during sensory play, especially when small items are involved to prevent choking hazards.
Christmas Sensory Bin Ideas
Christmas Cloud Dough Sensory Bin
Awesome Christmas cloud dough for easy Christmas sensory play! Our Christmas cloud dough feels amazing on the hands and smells like cookies. Add some simple kitchen tools; cookie cutters, measuring cups and spoons.
Christmas Water Play Sensory Bin
Here’s a novel Christmas sensory bin that will have your kids playing happily for hours. Add plastic ornaments to warm water for active hands to dump, pour, and fill along with a baster for awesome fine motor skills. Simple sensory play for a Christmas win!
Peppermint Oobleck Sensory Bin
Give the classic 2 ingredient oobleck, a Christmas twist by adding Christmas peppermints to the mix. Or add items from a winter nature walk with our Evergreen oobleck recipe.
Christmas Magnetic Sensory Bin
Add various Christmas items to the sensory bin filler of your choice, and a magnetic wand for kids to explore what’s magnetic and what’s not. Metal jingle bells in various sizes work well for this Christmas magnetic sensory bin.
Cinnamon Rice Sensory Bin
The smell of cinnamon always reminds me of Christmas! Make an amazing scented rice with vanilla and cinnamon. We added gingerbread-themed buttons left over from another project and these scented cinnamon salt dough ornaments!
Candy Cane Rice Sensory Bin
Dye rice red and white to create candy cane stripes. Add small Christmas-themed toys, mini candy canes, and scoops. See here for how to dye rice.
Jingle Bell Sensory Bin
Fill a bin with red and green pom-poms and jingle bells for a festive sensory experience.
Tinsel Sensory Bin
Add plastic Christmas ornaments, tinsel, and ribbon to the bin for a shiny and colorful sensory play.
Snowy Winter Wonderland
Fill the bin with fake snow, mini snowmen, and tiny trees for a snowy playtime adventure. Check out how easy it is to make fake snow.
Santa’s Workshop Sensory Bin
Use small toy tools, nuts, bolts, and toy figures to create a Santa’s workshop-themed sensory bin. Perfect for young kids who like to tinker!
Gingerbread Play
Make up a batch of our homemade gingerbread playdough, and add in some gingerbread cookie cutters, and small rolling pins.
Reindeer Food Sensory Bin
Combine oats with glitter, small toy reindeer, and jingle bells to make reindeer food for sensory play.
Stocking Stuffer Sensory Bin
Fill the bin with small wrapped presents, toy stockings, and soft fabric scraps to resemble stockings.
Nativity Scene Sensory Bin
Set up a miniature nativity scene with figurines, hay, and a small stable for a Christmas story experience.
North Pole Sensory Bin
Take your toddler to the North Pole! Create an icy Arctic scene with cotton balls, toy penguins, and polar bears.
Wrapping Paper Scraps Sensory Bin
Add colorful wrapping paper scraps, tape, child-safe scissors, and small boxes for wrapping and unwrapping fun.
Holiday Lights Bin
Fill the bin with colorful, battery-operated LED string lights and encourage kids to explore and arrange them.
Ribbon and Bow Sensory Bin
Offer an assortment of ribbons, bows, and gift tags for little hands to manipulate and decorate.
Felt Christmas Tree Sensory Bin
Create a felt Christmas tree with detachable ornaments and decorations for toddlers to customize and decorate.
More Fun Preschool Christmas Activities
- Christmas Games
- Christmas Bingo
- Christmas Math Worksheets
- Christmas Coloring Pages
- Christmas Sensory Activities
Printable Preschool Pack
Get ready to explore this year with our growing Preschool STEM Bundle!
What’s Included:
There are 10+ preschool themes to get you started. This is an ” I can explore” series!
Each unit contains approximately 15 activities, with instructions and templates as needed. Hands-on activities are provided to keep it fun and exciting. This includes sensory bins, experiments, games, and more! Easy supplies keep it low cost and book suggestions add to the learning time.