12 Days of Christmas Occupational Therapy Activities
There are so many fun occupational therapy activities that you can do with your child this holiday season. Here are 12 of our favorite activities we found online, with links included!
On the First day of Christmas, my OT gave to me…
HAND STRENGTH
Grab a rubber band! Let’s strengthen our hands. Here is a great video of a complete exercise routine you can do with just a rubber band!
On the Second day of Christmas, my OT gave to me…
BILATERAL COORDINATION SKILLS
Help wrap a present! There are SO many great bilateral coordination skills involved with this fun task.
- Using scissors
- Folding the paper
- Using the tape dispenser
- Tying ribbons and bows
Here are simple instructions you can use to learn to wrap a present
On the Third day of Christmas, my OT gave to me…
VISUAL MEMORY SKILLS
Try these fun games to test your visual memory! First, cut out the cards. Place all of the cards face down on the table. Flip one at a time and see if you can remember where the match is!
Click here for the matching game
Was that too easy? Try this one!
On the Fourth day of Christmas, my OT gave to me…
VISUAL MOTOR SKILLS
Visual Motor skills allow you to observe, recognize and use visual information about forms, shapes, figures and objects. Try your best to copy this shape!
Was that too hard? Try this one!
On the Fifth day of Christmas, my OT gave to me…
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Grab some tweezers, tongs or chip clips and some small beads, pieces of candy or small pieces of paper and decorate these Christmas mats!
On the Sixth day of Christmas, my OT gave to me…
IN-HAND MANIPULATION SKILLS
We need to practice saving our money to buy gifts for Christmas this year! Make sure you are practicing your in-hand manipulation skills so you can get those coins in your piggy bank!
Click here for the in-hand manipulation video!
On the Seventh day of Christmas, my OT gave to me…
SENSORY PROCESSING SKILLS
Have fun in the kitchen by making some fun tactile recipes! You can get your hands dirty by making some Christmas play dough, or some Christmas ornaments that you can paint and decorate! The perfect gift for family and friends!
On the Eighth day of Christmas, my OT gave to me…
FIGURE GROUND SKILLS
It is going to be important to be able to find which Christmas gifts are for you! Figure ground skills are the ability to focus on one specific piece of information in a busy background. A fun way to practice these skills
is to play hidden pictures games or I Spy games!
On the Ninth day of Christmas, my OT gave to me…
SPATIAL RELATION SKILLS
Puzzles are a great way to work on your spatial relation skills!
Try these simple puzzles at home. You can even work on cutting them out!
Was that too easy? Try these tangram Christmas activities! If you don’t have these shapes at home, you can print these pages and make your own!
Still too easy? This one will be a challenge. Grab a map of the United States and help Santa find his way!
On the Tenth day of Christmas, my OT gave to me…
VISUAL CLOSURE SKILLS
Visual closure is important for being able to recognize objects when they are partially hidden. Practice this skill so you can be the best at “hide the Christmas pickle.”
Click here for a printable Christmas puzzle
Already have puzzles at home? Great! Get one out and see how fast you can complete it! Make it harder by doing puzzles with more pieces!
On the Eleventh day of Christmas, my OT gave to me…
SEQUENCING SKILLS
Here are some fun ways to work on your sequencing skills!
Can you cut these pictures out and put them in order?
Was that too easy? Try this fun packet to challenge your sequencing and handwriting skills!
On the Twelfth day of Christmas, my OT gave to me…
VISUAL DISCRIMINATION SKILLS
Visual Discrimination is such an important skill to make sure you can tell the difference between two different things. How else will you know which present is yours?!
Click here for a fun Christmas Visual Discrimination activity!
Website Credits:
https://alittlepinchofperfect.com/
https://www.memozor.com
https://www.yourtherapysource.com
https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com
https://livingwellmom.com
https://www.dltk-holidays.com
https://kidslife.co
https://www.kindergartenworksheetsandgames.com
https://stayathomeeducator.lpages.co/spring-summer-holiday-activity-bundle/
https://www.papertraildesign.com/free-printable-i-spy-christmas-activity/