Christmas Break STEM Activities: Fun, Screen-Free Learning Ideas for Home and Classroom

Christmas break can be long. Lovely… but long. A few well-chosen STEM toys can give you easy, screen-light activities that keep kids busy, calm, and genuinely learning – without you needing to prep complicated crafts.

Here are some simple ways to build the break around Think Wittsy favourites.

A Winter Puzzle Corner

Set up a Christmas Puzzle Corner with Scanimaze Winter Wonderland on a low table or mat. Children complete the 56-piece winter scene, then take turns using the magic grid lens and riddle cards to spot hidden details.

What kids gain:

• Focus and patience as they assemble the puzzle
• Observation and problem-solving while hunting for answers
• Plenty of chances to talk about winter, weather, and what they see in the picture

At home, it’s a lovely quiet-time activity after guests leave. In the classroom, it can be a festive learning centre.

A Spot the Secret Station

Peek & Seek: Secrets of the Farm makes a brilliant little discovery station. Children build the 48-piece farm puzzle, then use the red reveal lens to search for hidden objects and animals.

Benefits:

• Builds attention to detail and visual scanning
• Strengthens fine motor skills and hand–eye coordination
• Naturally encourages storytelling Why is that animal hiding there?

You can keep a small notebook nearby for kids to jot or draw what they find.

Time-Travel Table for Older Kids

For bigger kids who might otherwise disappear into screens, set up a Time-Travel Table with Transport Through Time and Ultimate Underwater Utopia.

• Children pick a page, place the numbered stickers onto geometric grids
  
• They scan the finished scenes with the companion apps to see vehicles or sea creatures animate in AR

This mix of stickers and AR supports:

• Fine motor skills
• Attention to detail and pattern recognition
  
• Early science and history thinking (evolution of transport; life under the sea)

It feels like a treat, but there’s a lot of learning packed in.

Family STEM Night with Code Crunchers

Choose one evening a week as STEM Game Night and bring out Code Crunchers. Give each player a coding grid, flip over a secret code card, set the timer, and let everyone race to decode and add up scores.

Children practise:

• Mental addition
• Logical reasoning and pattern-spotting
• Turn-taking and friendly competition

It’s a refreshing alternative to movie marathons and keeps their brains ticking over the break.

At-Home Science Lab with Magical Mineral Mines

For a slightly messy, very satisfying afternoon, turn the dining table into a mini science lab with Magical Mineral Mines. Kids dig real gemstones out of the block using the tools, then use the gemstone guide and AR booklet to learn what they’ve found.

Along the way, they’re building:

• Fine motor skills
• Patience and perseverance
• Curiosity about earth science and minerals
  

You don’t have to run a full lesson – a few simple questions like What do you notice? or Which stone is your favourite and why? is enough.