Activities to do With a Deaf Child Over Holiday
By Sara Baines-Miller | Posted on: December 11, 2024

Holiday Activity Ideas
The holidays are a special time to share love, laughter, and cherished traditions with family and friends. Engaging a deaf child in holiday activities can make the season even more meaningful by creating joyful and inclusive moments that everyone can enjoy together. Here are 10 activity ideas to fully connect your deaf child, family, and friends.
10 Holiday Activities to Enjoy over Winter Break
- Holiday Crafts – Crafts are a great way to spend time with loved ones, bringing everyone to the table to enjoy conversation and creativity. Not only are these activities fun, but they also encourage fine motor and social skills.
- Make an Ornament: Create personalized ornaments using paint, glitter, or clay. Fill a clear, plastic ornament bulb with confetti, a personalized note, or a photograph.
- Create Holiday Cards: Design cards with festive visuals, stickers, and textures. Depending on your child’s age, finger painting is a great way to incorporate imagination and fun.
- Decorate with Paper Snowflakes: Turn your house into a winter wonderland by cutting and hanging snowflakes.
- Build Gingerbread Houses: Build and accessorize a gingerbread house together. Or host a gingerbread decorating contest and vote on your favorite house. This sparks friendly competition and an opportunity for teamwork.
- Visual Storytelling – Snuggle up on the couch or get cozy by a warm fire and enjoy the magic of storytelling.
- Read a Book: Make the holidays magical by exploring books with vivid illustrations.
- Watch a Movie: Enjoy holiday movies with captions.
- Make Your Own Story: You can also create your own holiday story together using pictures, drawings, or a festive photo collage for a fun and creative activity!
- Baking & Cooking – Baking and cooking are a great way to practice listening, reading, and math skills, and they also offer the bonus of sharing a yummy treat.
- Bake Sweets: Make holiday cookies or cupcakes and decorate them together.
- Follow Instructions: Teach your child to follow recipes with step-by-step visuals or written instructions.
- Make a Gift: Include your kids by creating edible gifts for family and friends, like hot chocolate jars or candy.
- Cook a Meal: Vote on a meal your entire family is interested in cooking and eating.
- Sensory Play – Explore activities that activate different sensory sensations.
- Watch a Light Display: Visit a local light show or create a light-filled space at home.
- Make Textured Crafts: Use tactile materials like felt, cotton, or glitter for sensory-rich projects.
- Games & Puzzles – Playing games or putting together puzzles offers quality time while encouraging creativity and imagination.
- Play Holiday-Themed Charades: Focus on gestures and expressions.
- Go on a Scavenger Hunt: Use pictures or written clues to guide family and friends to holiday treasures.
- Put Together a Puzzle or Lego Set: Assemble holiday-themed puzzles or a building block set, like Legos.
- Music & Dance – Turn on some tunes and get the wiggles out. The weather is unpredictable at this time of year, and much time is spent inside. Exercise with a dance party to your favorite song or make up your own family beat.
- Listen to Music: Play music with strong vibrations your deaf child can feel. Encourage dancing or clapping to rhythms.
- Put Lights & Music Together: Use a light show synced to music for a visual and physical experience.
- Drum to the Beat: Create a drumming session with holiday beats. Use pots, pans, and spoons for your makeshift drumming equipment.
- Community & Giving – “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
- Volunteer Together: Volunteer together at a holiday event or charity that welcomes kids.
- Make Care Packages: Make and deliver care packages or holiday cards to neighbors, seniors, or a nursing home.
- Take Pictures: Plan a family photoshoot in holiday attire or pajamas and create a photo album.
- Outdoor Fun – Bundle up and go outside!
- Play in the Snow: If it snows, go sledding, try skiing, build a snowman, or have a snowball fight. End the event inside with hot cocoa and popcorn.
- Decorate Outside: Create a festive outdoor space by decorating trees or bushes with lights and ribbons.
- Be in Nature: Take a winter hike or walk and see how many animals you can find.
- Learn & Share Holiday Traditions – Traditions are important. Share and teach the ones you love and explore new traditions your family will cherish for years.
- Share Traditions: Share your family or cultural traditions using visual aids or activities.
- Make New Traditions: Encourage your child(ren) to lead a tradition, like lighting a candle, setting the table, reading a new holiday book, or handing out gifts.
- Interactive Technology – Use technology to engage and interact with family near and far. Get your pets involved, too!
- Play Online: Explore holiday-themed apps or games that include visual elements.
- Call Family or a Friend: Video call loved ones to say hello.
- Make a Video: Create a short holiday video together starring the family or pets.
Happy Holidays from DePaul
We hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with family, friends, and fun! Don’t forget to create meaningful moments and lasting memories that capture the season’s true spirit!
Posted in Community, Early Intervention, For Parents, Listening and Spoken Language and tagged DePaul, Holiday Activities, parents, students
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