Joanna Patyk-Taous is a methodology specialist and teacher trainer based in Poznań, Poland, working in English language education since 2009. She is a content editor at Get Creative, a Polish ELT magazine, and the founder of Patyczanka, a shop with digital teaching materials for English teachers.

 

Setting the scene

The festive season is a time when young learners’ hearts beat a little faster, filled not only with anticipation of a well-earned break, but also with that unmistakable sense of magic in the air. Streets glow with colourful lights, and homes are scented with holiday dishes, promising the most wonderful time of the year. In an atmosphere rich with gingerbread, pine needles and warming spices, many teachers begin to ask themselves how to weave the spirit of Christmas into English lessons.

The good news is that food-related vocabulary does more than simply add to the seasonal mood: it can become a “magic key” to developing language skills. Below are practical ways to connect these two worlds and make holiday English learning a truly memorable experience.

 

Preschool: Sensory, hands-on language learning

With the youngest learners, creative activities should be as sensory as possible. The more children can touch, see, smell and move, the more naturally language sticks.

 

1 The “Flavour/Colour Christmas Tree”

This activity involves creating cardboard Christmas tree ornaments shaped like children’s favourite holiday gingerbread cookies. Learners choose a gingerbread shape and decorate it either with colours or with flavours (represented visually, e.g. picture prompts).

Children then hang their ornaments on a classroom “Flavour/Colour Tree”, practising key lexis as they work:

• Colours: red, blue, green
• Flavours: sweet, sour (optionally spicy)
• Shapes: circle, diamond (optionally star, heart)

The language is embedded in action: “Show me red,” “Is it sweet or sour?” “What shape is it?”

 

2 Christmas “Little Chef” Role-Play

In this role-play, children become chefs and learn cooking-related vocabulary while “preparing” holiday dishes. Using sets of colourful picture cards, they create simple “recipes” and practise English names for ingredients and kitchen tools as part of the game.

This works especially well if it can happen in (or near) a real kitchen space and if children can handle real food safely. As a group, you can make very simple festive items, for example sweet noodles with poppy seeds (makiełki) or basic cookies, while modelling language such as: “Mix,” “Add,” “Stir,” “Sugar,” “Flour.”

 

3 Holiday Food Scavenger Hunt

A highly engaging option is a scavenger hunt with “treasures” in the form of pictures or cards with English words describing festive foods. Children receive a simple map or clues that lead them to the hidden words.

After finding a card, each child:

1. says the word in English, and
2. shares one short fact about it (supported by prompts), for example: “It’s sweet,” “It’s brown,” “I like it.”

 

Years 1-3: More Structured Tasks, More Language Output

Older learners (Years 1-3) can handle longer focus, simple instructions in English, and activities involving competition or role-play. This allows you to expand the culinary theme into richer speaking and writing tasks.

 

1 Culinary Letters to Santa

“Culinary Letters to Santa” are an effective way to encourage writing while introducing new vocabulary. Pupils write letters in which they describe their favourite holiday dishes using English names.

This activity:

• creates a real communicative purpose for writing,
• provides a natural context for teaching new words,
• and ends well with sharing letters in pairs/groups, or even “sending” them to Santa as a class project.

 

2 Holiday Food Vocabulary Cards

In this task, pupils create vocabulary cards featuring different festive dishes: a picture on one side and the English word on the other. Afterwards, you run a guessing contest where children identify foods using classmates’ cards.

It is fun, memorable, and, importantly, requires cooperation, as pupils rely on one another’s materials.

 

3 Mini “Culinary Presentation”

This is a gentle introduction to spoken production. Each pupil chooses a favourite holiday dish and prepares a short presentation, describing:

• what it is,
• ingredients,
• how it is made,
• and what it tastes like.

Presenting to the class helps pupils practise pronunciation and build confidence speaking English in front of others.

 

Older Learners: Deepening Skills Through Culture and Communication

For older groups, holiday activities can intentionally develop more advanced writing and listening skills while exploring festive food traditions in English-speaking countries.

 

1 International “Culinary Pen-Pal Exchange”

A “culinary correspondence exchange” allows pupils to practise writing, build vocabulary and construct longer sentences while communicating with peers abroad. By exchanging letters about festive food traditions, learners pick up new words and set phrases in an authentic setting.

A practical route is to seek partner schools via international teacher forums and communities where educators look for collaborative projects.

 

2 Christmas songs and lyrics: Listening and language analysis

Holiday songs are a strong resource for listening comprehension and for noticing grammar and meaning in context. A particularly effective approach is to use songs that mention food, then set tasks such as:

• matching lines to pictures,
• underlining food words,
• identifying adjectives and verbs,
• retelling the meaning in simple English.

Here is a list of classic Christmas songs that include food-related imagery:

• The Christmas Song: “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”
• Let It Snow: “And I’ve brought some corn for popping”
• It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas: “With candy canes…”
• Over the River and Through the Woods: “...the pudding’s done… pumpkin pie.”
• Sleigh Ride: “...pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie”
• Rocking Around the Christmas Tree: “Later we’ll have some pumpkin pie”
• It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: “Marshmallows for toasting”
• Home for the Holidays: “...some homemade pumpkin pie”
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas: “Oh, bring us a figgy pudding”

 

3 Creating a “Culinary Blog”

A “culinary blog” project brings a more technology-enhanced lesson format into the classroom while deepening cultural understanding. Pupils can write posts describing festive dishes, their history and significance, and then present their blogs to the class.

If appropriate, the final projects can even be published on the school website, giving students a real audience and a strong sense of purpose.

 

Closing thoughts and holiday greetings

Let us close this inspiration-filled article with warm wishes. Christmas is a special time, and English learning can become even more engaging when it connects with the theme of festive food. I hope these activities bring your learners a great deal of satisfaction, and that the vocabulary and skills they gain become lasting gifts.

Wishing you unforgettable English lessons full of positive emotions and joyful moments with family and friends. May this Christmas be a time of magic and mutual kindness.

Merry Christmas!

The Festive Season in the English Classroom: Holiday Food as a Gateway to Language Learning

 

Joanna Patyk-Taous, Poland

 

Joanna Patyk-Taous is a methodology specialist and teacher trainer based in Poznań, Poland, working in English language education since 2009. She is a content editor at Get Creative, a Polish ELT magazine, and the founder of Patyczanka, a shop with digital teaching materials for English teachers.

 

Setting the scene

The festive season is a time when young learners’ hearts beat a little faster, filled not only with anticipation of a well-earned break, but also with that unmistakable sense of magic in the air. Streets glow with colourful lights, and homes are scented with holiday dishes, promising the most wonderful time of the year. In an atmosphere rich with gingerbread, pine needles and warming spices, many teachers begin to ask themselves how to weave the spirit of Christmas into English lessons.

The good news is that food-related vocabulary does more than simply add to the seasonal mood: it can become a “magic key” to developing language skills. Below are practical ways to connect these two worlds and make holiday English learning a truly memorable experience.

Preschool: Sensory, hands-on language learning

With the youngest learners, creative activities should be as sensory as possible. The more children can touch, see, smell and move, the more naturally language sticks.

1 The “Flavour/Colour Christmas Tree”

This activity involves creating cardboard Christmas tree ornaments shaped like children’s favourite holiday gingerbread cookies. Learners choose a gingerbread shape and decorate it either with colours or with flavours (represented visually, e.g. picture prompts).

Children then hang their ornaments on a classroom “Flavour/Colour Tree”, practising key lexis as they work:

• Colours: red, blue, green
• Flavours: sweet, sour (optionally spicy)
• Shapes: circle, diamond (optionally star, heart)

The language is embedded in action: “Show me red,” “Is it sweet or sour?” “What shape is it?”

2 Christmas “Little Chef” Role-Play

In this role-play, children become chefs and learn cooking-related vocabulary while “preparing” holiday dishes. Using sets of colourful picture cards, they create simple “recipes” and practise English names for ingredients and kitchen tools as part of the game.

This works especially well if it can happen in (or near) a real kitchen space and if children can handle real food safely. As a group, you can make very simple festive items, for example sweet noodles with poppy seeds (makiełki) or basic cookies, while modelling language such as: “Mix,” “Add,” “Stir,” “Sugar,” “Flour.”

3 Holiday Food Scavenger Hunt

A highly engaging option is a scavenger hunt with “treasures” in the form of pictures or cards with English words describing festive foods. Children receive a simple map or clues that lead them to the hidden words.

After finding a card, each child:

1. says the word in English, and
2. shares one short fact about it (supported by prompts), for example: “It’s sweet,” “It’s brown,” “I like it.”

Years 1-3: More Structured Tasks, More Language Output

Older learners (Years 1-3) can handle longer focus, simple instructions in English, and activities involving competition or role-play. This allows you to expand the culinary theme into richer speaking and writing tasks.

1 Culinary Letters to Santa

“Culinary Letters to Santa” are an effective way to encourage writing while introducing new vocabulary. Pupils write letters in which they describe their favourite holiday dishes using English names.

This activity:

• creates a real communicative purpose for writing,
• provides a natural context for teaching new words,
• and ends well with sharing letters in pairs/groups, or even “sending” them to Santa as a class project.

2 Holiday Food Vocabulary Cards

In this task, pupils create vocabulary cards featuring different festive dishes: a picture on one side and the English word on the other. Afterwards, you run a guessing contest where children identify foods using classmates’ cards.

It is fun, memorable, and, importantly, requires cooperation, as pupils rely on one another’s materials.

3 Mini “Culinary Presentation”

This is a gentle introduction to spoken production. Each pupil chooses a favourite holiday dish and prepares a short presentation, describing:

• what it is,
• ingredients,
• how it is made,
• and what it tastes like.

Presenting to the class helps pupils practise pronunciation and build confidence speaking English in front of others.

Older Learners: Deepening Skills Through Culture and Communication

For older groups, holiday activities can intentionally develop more advanced writing and listening skills while exploring festive food traditions in English-speaking countries.

1 International “Culinary Pen-Pal Exchange”

A “culinary correspondence exchange” allows pupils to practise writing, build vocabulary and construct longer sentences while communicating with peers abroad. By exchanging letters about festive food traditions, learners pick up new words and set phrases in an authentic setting.

A practical route is to seek partner schools via international teacher forums and communities where educators look for collaborative projects.

2 Christmas songs and lyrics: Listening and language analysis

Holiday songs are a strong resource for listening comprehension and for noticing grammar and meaning in context. A particularly effective approach is to use songs that mention food, then set tasks such as:

• matching lines to pictures,
• underlining food words,
• identifying adjectives and verbs,
• retelling the meaning in simple English.

Here is a list of classic Christmas songs that include food-related imagery:

• The Christmas Song: “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”
• Let It Snow: “And I’ve brought some corn for popping”
• It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas: “With candy canes…”
• Over the River and Through the Woods: “...the pudding’s done… pumpkin pie.”
• Sleigh Ride: “...pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie”
• Rocking Around the Christmas Tree: “Later we’ll have some pumpkin pie”
• It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: “Marshmallows for toasting”
• Home for the Holidays: “...some homemade pumpkin pie”
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas: “Oh, bring us a figgy pudding”

3 Creating a “Culinary Blog”

A “culinary blog” project brings a more technology-enhanced lesson format into the classroom while deepening cultural understanding. Pupils can write posts describing festive dishes, their history and significance, and then present their blogs to the class.

If appropriate, the final projects can even be published on the school website, giving students a real audience and a strong sense of purpose.

Closing thoughts and holiday greetings

Let us close this inspiration-filled article with warm wishes. Christmas is a special time, and English learning can become even more engaging when it connects with the theme of festive food. I hope these activities bring your learners a great deal of satisfaction, and that the vocabulary and skills they gain become lasting gifts.

Wishing you unforgettable English lessons full of positive emotions and joyful moments with family and friends. May this Christmas be a time of magic and mutual kindness.

Merry Christmas!

 

Coming soon! Please check the Pilgrims in Teacher Training courses in 2027 at Pilgrims website.