The Best Christmas Unit Study: 13 Homeschool Options

*This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.*

Christmas homeschooling can be tricky because everyone’s attention is diverted to the fun of the holiday season. Using a Christmas unit study can be a good way to find a balance.

Instead of trying to fight the split attention, why not embrace it?

These homeschool Christmas unit studies are full of fun and offer the opportunity to make special memories with your children this Christmas season.

Not all of them are free, but a few are.

Those that are not free are offered for a very reasonable price.

My hope is that your homeschool will be enhanced and you’ll not feel tied down to the constraints of just getting through lessons.

The Best Christmas Unit Studies for Your Homeschool

I can personally attest to the fact that through using a couple of Christmas unit studies, we’ve established some very precious family traditions in our home. You never know what you might find by simply trying something new.

#1 A Gentle + Classical Christmas

The month of December can be absolutely full of fun activities. While the activities may be fun, they can also lead to a lot of burn out. Here in New Zealand, our school year ends in December. Not surprisingly, everyone is pretty tired and ready for a break. A wonderful way to continue gentle learning and focusing on the true meaning of Christmas is with this wholesome unit study.

It’s priced very reasonably with several different options for format and what materials you would like. The whole family can come together to focus on holiday traditions, hands-on activities, gorgeous literature, and yummy baking!

This is one of those unit studies that feels life-giving. There’s no push to get it all done. Instead, you pick what you’d like to do with your family and just do that.

We did this unit study last year (or perhaps the year before – my mom brain is a bit hazy on dates). It’s a really great tool for families looking for a wonderful day to countdown the days of Christmas advent without too much pressure.

It’s also very much a Charlotte Mason-inspired curriculum, and so you’ll find many nods to her teaching methods.

They offer a $5 OFF coupon code for all new customers with a $20 minimum purchase – Gentle + Classical Press.

#2 A Connected Christmas

In a world where so much is designed to pull us away from each other, this Christmas unit study is intentional about bringing the family together to celebrate Jesus Christ and his birth.

You’ll find carols, stories, handicrafts, baking, and many other fun activities that may just become treasured family traditions. Their book list includes precious literature that is perfect for younger children and older children alike.

Get a 10% discount on your entire order from their shop when you use this link.

#3 In the Season of | Caroling Noel

Christmas Carols and the history of Christmas go hand in hand. Campfire Curriculums specializes in unit study curriculum. They are a Christian company and so keeping baby Jesus as the main focus is their top priority in this unit study.

You’ll find activity ideas that the entire family can join in on. It’s a wonderful option if you’re looking to do Christmas school this year.

It is a digital product that can be printed off. There are 12 lessons and guidebooks to cover all ages of students.

#4 In The Season Of | Christmas

photo credit: https://campfirecurriculums.com/

Another fully digital unit study from Campfire Curriculums. Enjoy all the fun of Christmas while also teaching your kids. These are simple lessons that have many fun activities you can all do together. Thankfully, they’ve made it easy by ensuring the activities simply use things from around the house.

You’re not going to have to go out and buy a bunch of different supplies.

Delve into discussion questions and celebrate the birth of Jesus with their daily lesson plans.

#5 Polar Express & Hot Chocolate Unit Study for Middle to High School

There are tons of great units available for younger students, but not so many focusing on older students. The good news is that this unit study is specifically made for older kids.

My children loved watching Polar Express last Christmas, so this unit study is definitely something I’ll be looking into.

It is a thorough unit that covers many subjects and uses living books to teach. The unit is aimed at middle-highschool aged students and is meant to be taught family style.

You’ll find all the information laid out in the linked blog post.

#6 Learn about Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with a fun unit study!

photo credit: https://lifebeyondthelessonplan.com/

This unit study focuses on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”. The unit focuses on both the book and the movie and will give suggestions on how to use it with different-aged students.

It is a really great free unit study that is comprehensive and incredibly helpful.

#7 FREE Unit Study on Old St. Nicholas

photo credit: https://www.freehomeschooldeals.com/

St Nicholas is an interesting person to study and this unit focuses on just that.

Teach your children the history of St Nicholas using this free Christmas unit. She has also linked to other interesting Christmas units that you might find helpful. Perhaps you don’t intentionally include Santa in your Celebration of Christmas but would still like your children to understand the history behind St Nick. If that’s the case, I highly recommend this as a starting point.

#8 Christmas Around the World Unit Study

photo credit: https://shop.thisreadingmama.com/

This is a paid unit study but oh my word it does seem so worth it!

Christmas around the world will take you to 10 different countries and focus on how they celebrate Christmas in those areas.

It also includes other celebrations that take place at that time of year such as Hanukka.

There are A LOT of things included in the unit including but not limited to:

Christmas Around the World Introduction Page
Suitcase, Passports, & Stamps
Detailed World Maps
Read & Learn 1-Page Passages for each country – works for teacher read aloud or older learners can read themselves
Show & Tell Picture Cards (color & blackline)

There’s more there for sure so go and take a look to see if it will work for your family this year. It’s always so good to learn how different cultures carry out their Christmas celebrations!

#9 25+ Perfect Ideas To Create A Christmas Tree Unit Study

This Christmas tree unit study is aimed at preschool-early elementary students and is very much activity-based.

If you want to step away from workbooks and take a more relaxed approach to your homeschooling this Christmas then you’ll be interested in all of these fun ways to study the Christmas tree with your children.

There are many activities that focus on different areas of learning including, literacy, mathematics, science, and more!

#10 Handel’s Messiah Unit Study | Orison Orchards

photo credit: https://orisonorchards.com/

Handel’s Messiah is a Christmas classic and a unit study well worth the undertaking.

If you have a love for the fine arts and wish to study them with a Christmas theme then you’ll definitely want to check out this unit study.

A lot of the unit study information is available in the linked blog post, but for the full unit study and printables you’ll want to sign up to her email list.

#11 Charles Dickens Unit Study

photo credit: https://peanutbutterfishlessons.com/

Perfect for elementary-aged children, this free unit study focuses on Charles Dickens. It is based on two books: Magic Treehouse A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time and Who Was Charles Dickens?

You’ll want to get a copy of both books and then sign up for the free unit study printables. The literature guide is great for getting kids to think and learn some history at the same time.

It is a unique and fun way to do a Christmas unit study that is a bit more unconventional.

#12 Hymn Study Series: Christmas Free Printables Resources and Ideas

photo credit: https://homeschoolgiveaways.com/

You do NOT have to be a pro-Santa family in order to use this unit study. It is designed to teach the history of Santa Claus and all that surrounds it.

This is a paid, yet affordable Christmas unit study that will take your children through the history of both Santa Claus and the Christmas tree.

#13 Homeschooling Through the Nativity: FREE Unit Study

photo credit: https://www.intoxicatedonlife.com/

If you’re looking for a free faith-based unit study to do around Christmas time then this one is perfect! It is designed to last over 5-10 days and you can do as many or as few of the craft activities that you wish to do.

Celebrate and learn about the birth of Christ with your children using this sweet unit study.

I hope that these unit studies have been a helpful resource to you.

There are so many clever homeschool mamas out there who are happy to share what they’ve created in order to enhance and build up your homeschool experience.

I love that as homeschoolers we get to choose what works for our family and can veer off of our typical schooling schedule around the holidays.

Have fun!

Final Thoughts

There is a plethora of advent activities available to homeschoolers now. It’s easy to get caught up in the fun and anticipation of it all.

I just want to encourage you that you can still celebrate Christ in a meaningful way with your family with no other resources but God’s Word. There are seasons for everything and if a Christmas unit study feels overwhelming this year then it is absolutely okay to simply skip it.

However, if you’re geared up to Christmas school through the holidays this year then I hope that these included units are a great starting point for you.