This year I decided it would be fun to learn about different ways of celebrating Christmas Around the World with my kids. This week we started with learning about Christmas in Germany.
I had a hard time picking which countries to learn about as we study Christmas around the world this year but I had to narrow it down.
I’m hoping we are able to learn about 6 different countries (about 2 each week) but realistically we will probably only get to 3 or 4 different countries.
There are a few different reasons I chose Germany to start with. First, because gingerbread houses are a favorite tradition. second because I have heard so much about German Christmas markets and I would love to visit one someday.
Learning About Christmas in Germany
There are so many different ways you can learn about celebrating Christmas in Germany. You can use books, videos, online articles, printables, activities, and more.
Personally, I decided to use a mix of all the options above and I created a fun printable to use as we learn about Christmas time in Germany.
Videos
There are a lot of different video options and depending on the age of the kids different videos will be appropriate.
A quick google video search of “Christmas in Germany facts for kids” brought up a bunch of different options.
My kids watched a video of kids exploring a German Christmas market and another video sharing a few simple facts about Christmas in Germany.
Books
We read a few different books about Christmas in Germany.
The book Christmas in Germany is a simple book filled with basic information and photos about Christmas time in Germany. The book we read was by Jack Manning and is out of print but your library might have a copy of the book like ours does.
Cobweb Christmas is a fun Christmas picture book about the tradition of tinsel. The book is set in Germany and a cute holiday read.
Christmas Around the World by Mary D. Lankford – See the book on Amazon is another great book to learn not only about Christmas in Germany but other countries around the world as well.
Christmas in Germany Printable Worksheet
As I was getting ready to do this unit with my kids I decided to make a printable to help us learn and remember simple facts about Germany.
The printable is a 3-page document with 2 pages of things for the kids to color, cut out, and glue to the main page.
After completing this unit the kids will have 1 page filled with information about Germany that’s perfect for a journal page or a Christmas Around the World Folder/Book.
The printable includes a variety of different information as well as images for the kids to color. You can get a copy of the free printable at the bottom of this page.
So what information is on the printable? I’m so glad you asked let me tell you about what I decided I wanted to include on this worksheet for my kids.
Country and Flag
The printable worksheet includes the shape of the country of Germany as well as the German flag for the kids to color along with some simple information about it.
How to Say Merry Christmas in Germany
Below the country and flag area is a space for the kids to glue the how to say Merry Christmas in Germany box from page 3 of the printable. My kids always love asking how to say things in other languages so I knew this information needed to be included on our worksheet.
Personally, I’m not great at speaking other languages so we asked google how to say Merry Christmas in German so the kids could actually hear what it should sound like.
Facts About Christmas in Germany
The next section of the printable has 6 different boxes for you to put “mini books” found on pages 2 and 3.
The 6 mini books share simple facts about Christmas in Germany. The 6 facts covered are weather, gifts, food, Santa / St. Nicholas, Christmas trees, and Gingerbread Houses.
Using the Printable
There really is no wrong way to use this printable. For our lesson I had the kids cut around the rectangle leaving the 2 squares that make the rectangle attached for the 6 different areas on pages 2 and 3.
You can talk about these 6 different areas in any order you would like. I let my kids pick the order as we went along.
For each of the 6 topics have the kids color the picture and fold the rectangle along the middle line, leaving the picture as the font of the “little book”.
Inside the book, you can have the kids write information or you can have them cut out the information in the light gray box for each topic and glue it inside the book. (We cut and pasted the information)
While my kids were coloring the cover for each book I would read the information to them and we would talk about it.
Then after they colored the picture and glued the facts inside they glued the “little book” to one of the 6 boxes on the first page.
Topics and Information For the Mini Books
Here is the information that I included in each of the “mini books”. You can obviously share more details about each of these topics if you want.
Weather at Christmas Time in Germany
On the cover of this book, I had the kids write the average high temperatures. Then inside the books, they pasted this inforamtion: December is the winter in Germany. The temperatures are cold and there is a chance of snow. Average lows dip to -3 C (27 F) Average highs are 5 C (41 F).
Christmas Food in Germany
In the book with the gingerbread man on the front, the kids glued this information about Christmas food in Germany: Lebkuchen (gingerbread) is a popular Christmas treat in Germany. It’s can be found in lots of fun shapes. Most Germans eat Potato Salad with Sausages on Christmas Eve.
When is Chrsitmas in Germany and Christmas Gifts
In the little book with the gift on the front, we put this information: Christmas gifts are exchanged on December 24th (Christmas Eve) Many people attend midnight mass on Christmas eve after opening gifts.
Christmas Tree
Did you know that Christmas trees are a tradition brought to the United States by Germans? Inside the Christmas tree book, we put this information: A Christmas tree is called a Tannenbaum. The tradition of having a Christmas tree was brought to the US by German Immigrants. Traditional families in Germany light the tree with real candles.
Santa in Germany
Santa is an interesting tradition around the world and while the American version of Santa has made its way to Germany. I included more of the traditional information about Santa in Germany. Sankt Nikolaus brings gifts on Dec. 6 (the night of Dec. 5) On Christmas Eve Gifts are brought by the Christkind an angel-like creature with blond hair and wings.
German Gingerbread Houses
The first Gingerbread houses were made in Germany during the 16th century. So of course we included this information inside the book with a Gingerbread house on the front.
Activities for Christmas in Germany
Along with watching videos, reading books, and doing the worksheet about Christmas in Germany we also did some hands-on activities (our favorite!)
There are several different activities you could do as part of your unit. These are just a few options that I decided to include.
Make and/or Decorate a Gingerbread House
I took the easy route on this and got a gingerbread house kit preassembled from Costco. We had a lot of fun decorating it though. If you want a gingerbread house kit for a quick and easy activity there are a lot of different options on Amazon.
Make Gingerbread
Have fun making gingerbread men or the traditional German gingerbread called Lebkuchen. This is the recipe we used to make Lebkuchen. We will probably make and decorate gingerbread men too this week, but we didn’t get to it during our lesson.
Make a Climbing Gingerbread Craft
This activity doesn’t really have anything to do with Germany other than it has a Gingerbread house and a gingerbread man. But it’s a really fun craft to make with the kids. Find out how to make it here.
Do a Christmas Tree Craft
This paper plate Christmas tree craft is quick and easy to do with kids of all ages and you probably already have all the supplies you need.
Sing Christmas Carols from Germany
The Christmas carols ” O Tannenbaum” and “Silent Night” are both original German carols. While we were working on our crafts we turned on these songs, but you could spend some time learning about the carols or singing them if you would like.
Gingerbread House Dot to Dot
The gingerbread house dot to dot page is part of a larger set of Christmas dot to dot pages but works great as an independent activity for the kids.
Gingerbread Man and House Color By Number
Just like the dot to dot page the gingerbread house and gingerbread man color by number worksheets are part of a larger set of free Christmas color by number printables. The coloring page works as a great independent activity for early finishers and kids love it.
Free Printable Worksheet
Please keep this free printable worksheet for personal and class use only.
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