The holiday season is the perfect time to bring creativity, storytelling, and coding together. Scratch is a wonderful platform for kids to build winter-themed games, animations, and interactive stories while learning the fundamentals of programming. Christmas projects help young learners express their imagination, strengthen logical thinking, and create something joyful they can share with friends and family.
Christmas Scratch Projects and Activities
In this blog, we explore the best Christmas Scratch projects and activities that students of all ages can build, whether they’re coding in class, at home, or during a special winter holiday workshop.
1. Create a Christmas greeting card animation
A digital Christmas card is one of the simplest and most fun Scratch projects for beginners. Kids can design a card with:
- Animated falling snow
- Dancing elves
- A sparkling Christmas tree
- Santa waving
- A festive message that appears with effects
What kids learn
- Motion and looks blocks
- Loops
- Animation basics
- Event triggers
Simple idea to try
Make snowflakes fall from the top of the screen using:
when green flag clicked
forever
change y by -5
if <touching edge?> then
go to x: (random -200 to 200) y: 180
end
end
This project is great for younger learners or first-time Scratch coders.
2. Build a Santa delivery game (Catch the gifts)
In this mini-game, Santa flies across the sky, dropping gifts. The player controls a sleigh, cart, or stocking to catch them before they fall.
Features to include
- Random falling gifts
- Score increase when gifts are caught
- Lose points when gifts hit the ground
- Christmas sound effects
Skills learned
- Variables
- Conditionals
- Sprite movement
- Randomisation
This activity mixes creativity with simple game mechanics kids love.
3. Make a reindeer race game
Kids can create an exciting race between Santa’s reindeer. Pressing arrow keys boosts the reindeer forward, and the first to reach the finish line wins.
Fun elements
- Reindeer animations
- Speeds determined by random numbers
- A cheering crowd backdrop
- Colorful finish-line ribbons
What kids learn
- If-else logic
- Keyboard events
- Broadcast messages
- Motion and timing
This project builds excitement and friendly competition in class.
4. Create a “Decorate the Christmas Tree” interactive activity
Let students design their own Christmas tree scene. They can drag and drop ornaments, stars, garlands, lights, and gifts to decorate a virtual tree.
What to include
- A draggable ornaments tool kit
- A glowing star that lights up
- Sound effects when decorations are placed
- A screenshot button (optional)
Coding skills
- Drag-and-drop coding using set drag mode
- Broadcast events
- Sensing blocks
- Layering and positioning
This is a top choice for creative learners.
5. Program a “Snowball Fight” game
Build a quick reflex game where the player throws snowballs at targets (like snowmen or mischievous elves).
Ideas to add
- Moving targets
- A countdown timer
- Score and hit accuracy
- Increasing difficulty levels
Skills learned
- Cloning
- Mouse click detection
- Variables
- Game timers
This game teaches precision and logic while keeping Christmas excitement alive.
6. Create a festive sprite dance party
Let kids make Santa, elves, reindeer, gingerbread cookies, or penguins dance to holiday music.
Add-ons
- Color-changing lights
- A disco ball
- Interactive dance buttons
- Music that plays using the “sound” blocks
Concepts taught
- Loops
- Looks effects
- Motion animation
- Event controls
Perfect for a fun classroom celebration.
7. Make a “Find the Christmas Cookie” mystery game
In this project, kids design a winter scene filled with objects. One object hides a cookie or gift. Clicking on items reveals clues—like “warmer” or “colder.”
What to code
- Hidden object logic
- Hot-and-cold clue messages
- Sensing mouse clicks
- Random hiding spots each play
Learning objectives
- Conditionals
- Variables
- Randomisation
It blends coding with mystery problem-solving.
8. Build a Christmas countdown timer
A timer that counts the days, hours, or seconds until Christmas is a great mini-project for students learning variables and math.
Kids can create
- A digital countdown using numbers
- A visual countdown with shrinking snowflakes
- A Santa that gets closer to the chimney every day
Skills covered
- Date and time logic (manual or using custom inputs)
- Variables
- Comparison operators
A creative math-coding crossover project!
9. Make a “Help Santa Find His Hat” maze game
Santa lost his hat in the snowy forest! Students build a maze, place Santa in the start position, and guide him to retrieve his hat while avoiding snow monsters.
Players learn
- Arrow key movement
- Maze collision detection
- Game over conditions
- Level design
This project encourages planning and problem-solving.
10. Create a Christmas storytelling animation
For kids who love writing and art, a story-based project is ideal. They can craft a scene where:
- Santa visits a city
- Two elves learn the meaning of giving
- A snowman comes to life
- A penguin finds a magical gift
Skills learned
- Sequential storytelling
- Dialogue using “say” and “think” block
- Timed scene changes
- Sound and costume switching
This helps kids combine imagination with structured coding.
11. Build a “Jingle Bell Rhythm Game”
Kids can design an interactive rhythm-based game where players press the correct keys to match musical beats.
Features to add
- Christmas songs (Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls)
- Key press detection
- Point system
- Visual effects for correct timing
Concepts taught
- Sequential logic
- Event handling
- Timing and loops
This is perfect for students who enjoy music and coding.
Why Christmas Scratch projects are great for learning
- They make coding joyful and seasonal
- They improve attention and creative thinking
- Kids learn concepts like loops, events, variables, and sprites through play
- They encourage imagination and storytelling
- Students feel proud sharing their projects with family during the holidays
- Teachers can use them as fun end-of-year lessons
Christmas Scratch activities blend creativity with computational thinking in the most engaging way.
Conclusion
Christmas is the perfect time to brighten up learning with fun Scratch projects. Kids can create games, animations, stories, countdowns, or even digital greeting cards—each helping them strengthen coding skills while expressing holiday joy. Whether building a Santa delivery game or decorating a tree, these activities inspire creativity and bring the festive spirit into every classroom or home.
If your child wants to explore more creative coding activities, Codingal offers live 1:1 and group classes where students build games, animations, apps, and AI projects throughout the year.
Book a free trial class and start your child’s holiday coding adventure today!
