Festive Poetry Ideas for Primary Schools: Fun Christmas Writing Activities

The run-up to Christmas is always a magical time in primary schools. With excitement levels rising and end-of-term concerts and assemblies to prepare for, it’s the perfect opportunity to use poetry as a creative outlet. Festive poetry activities not only keep pupils engaged but also bring joy and sparkle to your literacy lessons.

Here are some fun Christmas poetry activities for KS2 (and KS1 too!) that will fill your classroom with creativity, laughter, and festive cheer.

1. Christmas Shape Poems

Ask children to write poems in the shape of festive objects — trees, stars, baubles, or stockings. The outline of the shape makes the activity instantly fun and provides a natural frame for their ideas.

👉 Tip: Display them as a classroom “poetry tree” to create a seasonal gallery.
👉 Link: For more detail, see my [blog on Christmas Shape Poems].

2. Acrostic Poems with a Festive Twist

Choose seasonal words such as SNOWFLAKE, REINDEER, or CHRISTMAS. Pupils write a line beginning with each letter. Encourage them to go beyond the obvious — for example, “Silly snowmen skating on slippy ice.”

👉 Tip: Great for quick wins with younger pupils and reluctant writers.

3. Kennings for Christmas Characters

Introduce kennings (two-word descriptive phrases like gift-giver, sleigh-driver). Pupils can create kennings for Santa, elves, snowmen, or even Christmas dinner!

👉 Tip: Challenge pupils to perform their kennings aloud as a riddle for the rest of the class to solve.

4. A Class Performance Poem: “The Night Before the Holidays”

Take inspiration from ’Twas the Night Before Christmas and create a whole-class poem about the last day of term. Each child can contribute a line or couplet, building into a collective performance.

👉 Tip: Add actions, costumes, or sound effects to bring the performance alive for a school assembly.

5. Festive Tongue Twisters

Challenge pupils to invent and perform Christmas-themed tongue twisters. Examples:

• Santa’s silly sack of socks

• Elves eagerly eating enormous éclairs

• Rudolph raced rapidly round the reindeer rink

👉 Tip: Use these as quick warm-ups before longer writing tasks.

Teacher Tips

• Keep activities short and light-hearted to match the festive mood.

• Display pupils’ work around the school — corridors, classrooms, even the hall for end-of-term events.

• Encourage performance wherever possible — Christmas is the perfect time for poetry recitals.

Conclusion

Christmas is the ideal time to bring poetry into your classroom. From shape poems and acrostics to kennings and tongue twisters, these festive activities will inspire creativity while making literacy lessons fun and memorable.

If you’d like to make Christmas extra special for your pupils, book a poetry day with me. My workshops are designed to bring laughter, creativity, and performance to your school — the perfect way to celebrate the festive season. Also, I always offer an online poetry workshop at Christmas details can be found here.