When it’s too cold outside to play, bring some sensory fun inside to break up the monotony of winter! I am excited to bring to you a list of Winter sensory bins to try this season! Let’s kick off the cold season with some fun with snowmen, reindeers, snowflakes, and all things holidays!
This list will continue to grow! I’m going to keep adding the bins we create this holiday season and find online to help you get inspired!
These sensory bin ideas for Christmas allow the opportunities for your toddler to discover their senses, use their creativity, and pair them with some wonderful holiday books!
Let’s get started!
Awesome sensory bin ideas for Christmas
Jingle bells Sensory Bin
I love quick and easy sensory bin ideas, this one is just that! All you need is jingle bells (we bought giant ones to avoid choking hazard) and colored some garbanzo (chickpeas) in the color blue.
Learn how to color garbanzo beans here
sensory bin ideas for Christmas
Homemade Snow Sensory Bin
Make a batch of fake snow and use a muffin tin and a spoon to create this cute and simple sensory bin.
We live in Florida so in order to see snow we would have to travel really far. But we still like to play with snow, and this homemade snow is the best thing next to the real thing!
I bet you have all the ingredients already at home! 5 parts Baking soda and 1part hair conditioner. Mix and you are good to go!
How to Make Fake Homemade Snow
My toddler was one year old when I first showed him this activity, and he is a bit messy! So I placed him inside our sensory bin along with the snow and a muffin pan. I gave him a spoon and done!
You could get super creative with homemade snow. Add some penguins, or make it a snowflake and snowman theme by adding some figurines too.
Winter wonderland sensory bin
Using cotton balls as pretend snow we created this pine cone sensory bin. Cotton balls are so much fun to scoop with an ice cream scoop or tongs. Add some winter toys to your bin and some twigs and sticks from your latest nature walk.
Polar Bear Winter sensory bin
Color rice is a favorite sensory bin filler we use all year round. This time I choose a blue, silver, and white theme. I color the rice blue, added some snowflakes from the dollar store and tiny ornaments (also from the dollar store) then, I added our characters, two little polar bears!
peppermint Cloud Dough Winter Bin
Making peppermint cloud dough is so easy to make and the smell is fantastic! Enhance your winter bin with essential oils making this fun sensory bin.
I chose to add some green paint to try to make it green but it turned into a speckled green which I loved! I gave my son ice cube molds, and a few Christmas-themed toys he could get creative with.
As a sensory tool, I choose the scooper scissors to scoop the dough but the dough kept getting stuck inside if compacted, for next time, an ice cream scoop would be a better choice! We still had a lot of fun!
Another great add-on I did during playtime was a small brush. I used it to clean up while he was playing, little did I know he thought that was a lot of fun too and decided to join in the cleanup time.
(Not that he cleaned much… he flung that little broom and cloud dough got all over my pants 👖 and they were black.. so I ended up looking like a snowman at the end! ⛄️ still fun! And nothing that a good shake didn’t fix the problem)
Once we were done, I put it on a Ziplock to use another day.
how to make peppermint Cloud Dough
Hot Cocoa gingerbread Man
nothing says cold weather like a nice cup of hot chocolate!
For this sensory bin I used cornstarch and added some gingerbread man over it. On the side, I added cocoa powder and water.
When these 3 ingredients get mixed together it will create oobleck.
Oobleck is so much fun because it is a liquid that when you grab it is solid but when you let it go is liquid!
You will need a 2 to 1 ratio, for example, 2 cups of cornstarch to 1 cup of water.
Ornaments & Water Sensory Bin
Head over to the dollar store and buy a few DIY ornaments. Fill a sensory bin with water, add some food coloring and you have the easiest pouring activity!
snowmen Sensory Bin
Who doesn’t like a little bit of science? Prepare these snowmen ahead of time with a mixture of baking soda and water and freeze. Then activate and melt using vinegar.
Snow Construction Site
Need an easy to set up winter theme bin for a lover of all things construction site? Follow this tutorial and set up the cutest snowy construction site! My son loves all things trucks and excavators so I can’t wait to try this! And I love the cotton idea as we already have a bag from our bin above and it is not messy!
Final Thoughts For sensory bin ideas for Christmas
Sensory bins are great for development. I like to use themes to create inviting play ideas that will help them work on sensory-motor development while encouraging creative play. These fine motor skills are crucial skills used when entering Pre-K.
Aid your child to strengthen their hand and finger muscles too, later on, tie their shoes, button their jacket, and even hold a pencil!
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