[Children’s Song] A Collection of Hand Play Songs Perfect for Christmas
Santa is coming—what a fun Christmas!
As the day approaches, many families may be noticing their children getting more and more excited.
To build even more anticipation for this once-a-year big event, this article introduces hand-play songs themed around Christmas.
Each of these hand-play songs is simple and easy to try right away.
They’re perfect for playtime at daycare or kindergarten, too.
Be sure to dive in with energy and have fun with these hand-play songs to make it a wonderful Christmas!
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[Children’s Song] A Collection of Perfect Hand-Clapping Songs for Christmas (1–10)
Christmas is coming soon.
“It’s Almost Christmas” has a slow tempo, making it an easy hand-play song to try at nursery schools and kindergartens for their performances.
The simple gestures—like mimicking a tree or candles with your hands—are easy to remember, which is another plus.
The lyrics are simple too, so it might be nice to sing it together with the children.
Also, because the song goes like “the first is ___, the second is ___,” it works like a counting song, making it perfect for teaching little ones numbers.
Be sure to try singing it with young children!
fluffy snow
It’s a hand-play song that evokes the arrival of winter.
While depicting snow piling up, it cheerfully portrays the process of making a cute snowman.
It’s something children can enjoy together, and through the hand motions they can also learn numbers and the names of ingredients.
The song was created by Aramaki Shake, a singer-songwriter for early childhood, and it’s perfect for activity time at nurseries and kindergartens.
It lets kids enjoy the feeling of the winter season while also serving as an excellent component of early childhood education.
By singing and moving their hands with their parents, children can feel the fun of playing in the snow and the changes of the season.
How about everyone singing it together at Christmas or during winter events?
I can hear the Christmas song
This is a hand-play song that conveys the fun of Christmas to children, depicting animals singing Christmas songs.
A variety of animals appear—such as shepherds’ sheep, a white rabbit, and a forest bear—and each celebrates “Merry Christmas” in a way that suits their unique traits.
By singing and dancing together as a family, you can share the excitement of the season.
The song is structured so kids can do hand motions along with the lyrics, making it easy and fun even for little ones to join in.
It’s a recommended track for boosting the festive Christmas atmosphere.
[Children’s Songs] A collection of hand-play songs perfect for Christmas (11–20)
Knock, knock, knock, knock, Santa
This is an arrangement of “Ton Ton Ton Hige Jiisan” with Christmas-themed lyrics and motions.
The flow is the same: you bump your fists together (ton-ton) and then make a shape, which gives the song a fun sense of rhythm.
Since it has you perform, in order, the actions Santa takes to deliver presents, kids can also enjoy predicting what Santa will do next.
It could also be exciting to have everyone come up with their own actions for other iconic Christmas motifs besides Santa’s actions.
Cha-Cha-Cha of the Snowman
Here comes a fun hand-clapping song that will blow away the winter cold! It’s perfect for little kids, and the story starts with building a snowman.
The idea of a snowman dancing to a cha-cha-cha rhythm is just so cute, isn’t it? If parents and children sing and dance together, even the chilly season can be full of fun.
It’s apparently well-used in daycare and kindergarten, too, and doing the hand motions together makes it even more exciting.
Perform it at Christmas or winter events, and it’s sure to fill the venue with smiles.
Be sure to try singing it with your child!
one plus one
“Ichi to Ichi de” is a classic hand-play song.
You stick out one finger on each hand and think about what to represent using those fingers.
Since it’s easy to understand—simply expressing things with hand shapes—you can also add a Christmas-themed twist.
Portraying Santa delivering presents might be a clear and fitting idea.
After demonstrating the full set of motions as an example, you could have everyone come up with movements inspired by Christmas; that should make it even more fun.
Santa on the road
With its lively rhythm, “Santa on the Road” is a highly recommended hand-play song for daycare and kindergarten events.
The lyrics are a bit amusing—Santa turns into an elephant or a rabbit—and singing it with children is sure to bring out smiles.
The hand motions are easy to learn even for little ones, as they mimic an elephant’s trunk and a rabbit’s ears.
Also, if you use this song for a recital, be sure to prepare some animal headpieces to create an adorable arrangement!