Are you prepared for Christmas? We prepped these fun, simple science experiments and created Santa’s Christmas science labs. Plus, kids love to explore the senses for hands-on learning any day. Explore taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell related to the Christmas season and all associated things. How many senses do you use when you put up a Christmas tree?

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Christmas Science for Kids

This collection of Christmas 5 Senses Experiments shows how fun and easy setting up creative and inexpensive science experiments can be. I invite you to Santa’s Christmas laboratory filled with cookies, cocoa, candy canes, and more. Everything Santa loves!

Explore more fantastic 5 senses activities for the whole year.

Our Christmas science experiments are perfect for exploring the 5 senses of taste, touch, sight, smell, and sound. Christmas is a treat for the senses, from baking cookies to evergreens to Christmas lights and the lovely sound of bells and carols.

What are the 5 Senses for Christmas?

  1. Sight: This sense allows us to see the world around us. Our eyes help us recognize colors, shapes, and objects.
    • Decorate your space with festive lights, Christmas trees, and colorful decorations.
    • Create a holiday-themed craft station for kids to make ornaments or decorations.
    • Watch Christmas movies or videos with vibrant visuals, such as snowfall or holiday parades.
  2. Hearing: This sense enables us to perceive sounds. Ears help us hear everything from music and conversations to the sounds of nature.
    • Play classic Christmas carols and songs in the background.
    • Set up a station for making jingle bell bracelets or anklets.
    • Attend a live Christmas concert or musical performance in your community.
  3. Taste: Taste allows us to detect flavors. Our taste buds on the tongue help us distinguish between sweet, sour, salty, and bitter tastes.
    • Bake and decorate Christmas cookies with various flavors and shapes.
    • Have a hot cocoa station with toppings like whipped cream, marshmallows, and sprinkles.
    • Organize a holiday-themed taste test with candies, chocolates, or seasonal treats.
  4. Smell: This sense lets us detect different odors. The nose helps us identify and enjoy a variety of scents.
    • Use scented candles or essential oils with Christmas scents like cinnamon, pine, or peppermint.
    • Bake gingerbread cookies, cinnamon rolls, or other holiday treats.
    • Set up a DIY potpourri station with cloves, orange peels, and cinnamon sticks.
  5. Touch: This sense allows us to feel things. Our skin is sensitive to pressure, temperature, and texture, allowing us to experience the world through touch.
    • Create a tactile experience with a “touch and feel” box filled with Christmas-themed objects like ornaments, ribbons, or fake snow.
    • Arrange a cozy reading nook with soft blankets and holiday-themed pillows.
    • Organize a crafting station where kids can create textured Christmas crafts like paper snowflakes or felt ornaments.

Christmas 5 Senses Experiments

Holiday science doesn’t get much better than this! We have five fun Santa science activities you can fill an afternoon or 15 minutes with this holiday season. Add some of these to your 25 Days of Christmas Countdown too!

Our Christmas activities are always simple to set up and easy to do. Budget-friendly, they make for a wonderful homemade Christmas with the family. Get your supplies and get ready for Santa’s science lab to begin!

Download the FREE 5 Senses Worksheet here or click on the image below.

The 5 Senses Christmas Laboratory

These are simple Christmas science activities for a quick, fun classroom and home lesson! We also have a variety of neat Santa theme STEM activities you can add to the fun.

1. COOKIE TASTING 5 SENSES EXPERIMENT

Why did we choose cookie tasting? Santa loves cookies, doesn’t he? So, let’s pick the best cookies for him. It’s time to find out which cookie goes well with milk with your 5 senses experiment. Your goal is to use your 5 senses to discover which cookie is the best to leave out for Santa!

Checkout our Cookie Chemistry Activity or our Dissolving Cookie Science Experiment

SUPPLIES:

  • Cookies! We choose three varieties including cream-filled, classic chocolate chip, and gingersnaps.
  • 3 Glasses of Milk
  • Napkins and Tray
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COOKIE TASTING INSTRUCTIONS

First, we tested how the cookies work with the milk by resting a cookie in each glass and giving it a minute to soak. Does one cookie soak up milk better than the other? Which one tastes the best after being left in the milk? My son’s answer? Gingersnaps surprisingly.

Which cookie tastes the best as is? The cream-filled! Though, I am pretty sure he enjoyed them all. He went through each cookie and used his 5 senses to look at each cookie. He took in the smell of each cookie. He tested the crunch. He described the cookie’s appearance, and he, of course, taste-tested each cookie.

Grab your FREE set of Christmas STEM challenge cards…

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2. HOT COCOA 5 SENSES EXPERIMENT

On to the cocoa tasting! Does hot cocoa taste better made with hot water or hot milk? We had a couple of packets of hot cocoa that did not have directions, so we set up a Christmas science lab to find out. Don’t forget the marshmallows!

SUPPLIES:

  • Hot Cocoa Mix
  • Cups, Spoons
  • Milk and Water
  • Marshmallows
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HOT COCOA MAKING INSTRUCTIONS

Make hot cocoa! That’s the whole point of this Christmas science lab. Make sure an adult handles the hot liquid. We added hot water to one cup and hot milk to another cup. Stir up each one, add marshmallows, and allow to cool.

While the hot cocoa is cooling, observe what each cup looks like. My son noted that one cup of cocoa was darker than the other. When you are ready, give each cup of hot cocoa a taste test.

Which one will win? He had difficulty deciding but liked the one made with water first. Once the milk one had cooled completely, he liked that better.

3. CANDY CANE EXPERIMENT

We have had fun dissolving candy canes and making peppermint oobleck and candy cane slime. Can you make a candy cane disappear? This science lab is perfect for the sense of sight. It’s not magic, but it sure is cool.

SUPPLIES:

  • Candy Canes {any size works}
  • Plate with Water
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HOW TO MAKE CANDY CANE DISAPPEAR

Fill a shallow plate or baking pan with some water. We placed two candy canes facing each other to make a heart. Then, we observed it over time to see what happened. It didn’t take too long.

Candy canes are sugar. Sugar dissolves in water. The candy canes disappear. Make sure to use all your 5 senses to explore the candy canes. They taste pretty good, too!

4. THE SOUND OF JINGLE BELLS

Our Christmas laboratory wouldn’t be complete without exploring the sense of sound! What better item to explore for Christmas than jingle bells? Santa’s reindeer wouldn’t be complete without them!

ALSO CHECK OUT: Reindeer Facts or our Jingle Bell STEM Challenge

SUPPLIES:

  • Jingle Bells
  • Variety of Empty Containers {check the recycling bin}
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WHAT DO JINGLE BELLS SOUND LIKE?

Get shaking and explore what jingle bells sound like in different types of containers. We used a tin can, an oatmeal container, a glass pickle jar, and a water bottle. Compare and contrast the way a jingle bell sounds in the different containers. Explore the sense of sound!

5. MAKE IT SNOW

The North Pole wouldn’t be complete without snow! We don’t have any yet and you might live somewhere without any hint of snow to come. So let’s make our own snow and explore science too. Have you ever used a fake snow kit?

Or make your own snow! See our homemade recipe for fun fake snow here.

SUPPLIES:

  • Fake Snow Kit
  • Water
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You can usually find these kits in the craft store, toy store, or even the dollar store, which is where we got ours. Mix according to the directions and enjoy this simple Christmas science lab.

What’s the science behind this Christmas science? Fake snow is very much like a diaper. It’s made up of a super absorbent polymer, so that little pile of powder grows into a huge mound. But as the water absorbs, your fake snow will be less puffy. Add water.

MORE FUN ACTIVITIES FOR CHRISTMAS

Printable Christmas STEM Project Pack

200+ PAGES OF HOLIDAY THEME STEAM, STEM, Science, and Art!

  • 25+ Christmas theme science and STEM activities with printable sheets, instructions, and useful information all using easy-to-source materials perfect for limited-time needs. Includes a holiday theme engineering pack with fun, problem-based challenges for kids to solve! NEW observation sheets included.
  • Try a Santa’s Letter airplane challenge or take the gingerbread house-building challenge! 
  • Explore the five senses with a specially designed Santa’s Lab pack.
  • Try a mini nature study with your favorite type of Christmas tree.
  • Try your hand at building shapes with gumdrop structure challenge cards or build shapes with jingle bells. Or try the Christmas-themed paper chain challenge!
  • Christmas Screen-free Coding activities include algorithm games, binary code ornaments, and more!
  • Explore 6+ Christmas Art Projects with famous artist-inspired activities that combine art history, process art techniques, and more with simple to-do ideas. 

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