Learning about Christmas in Australia and all its unique traditions is a highlight during our holidays around the world unit! Teaching your students about traditions around the world is a wonderful way for them to learn about different cultures and the unique customs in other countries. In this post, I’ll share fun facts and crafts, teaching ideas, classroom activities, and even ready-to-use lesson plans to teach your students about:
- Surfing Santas
- Carols by Candlelight
- Sand snowmen
- Traditional holiday foods and more!
Holiday Traditions in Australia
In Australia, you won’t find snow on the ground at Christmas. Christmas comes in the middle of the summer! Located in the southern hemisphere, Christmas is a summer holiday in Australia and it can be up to 100 degrees on Christmas Day.
Surfin’ Santas
Many people celebrate Christmas on the beach! A traditional Surfing Santa contest is held each year with dozens of surfers dressed like Santa and riding the waves!
Carols by Candlelight
Since 1938, Carols by Candlelight is one of the most popular Christmas traditions in Australia. Held on Christmas Eve and shown on television, thousands of people attend to sing Christmas carols at midnight in cities across Australia.
Traditional Christmas Foods
In Australia, many families gather for their Christmas meal at lunchtime. Given the hot weather, families have backyard barbeques or a picnic at the beach on Christmas day.
Fresh prawns, lobster, and oysters can be found at the holiday meal. Glazed ham or turkey, which is sometimes eaten cold, is often paired with seafood cooked on the barbeque.
Christmas in Australia Classroom Activities
Christmas in Australia PowerPoint
Take your students on a virtual field trip to learn more about the unique holiday traditions in Australia. This ready-to-use teaching PowerPoint is the one I use to teach about sandy snowmen, a traditional seafood feast, surfing Santas, Carols by Candlelight, and much more! Filled with captivating photos from real celebrations that will excite your students as they learn about Christmas in Australia and all its colorful traditions.
PowerPoint source here and on TPT
Make A Sandy Snowman Craft
Have your students make a postcard from India! Make a sand snowman craft out of sandpaper and glue it to a postcard as a travel souvenir.
This sandy snowman postcard craft and the templates are part of the Christmas in Australia lessons we do during our holidays around the world unit. Our students travel to different classrooms to learn about the unique customs and holiday traditions in countries around the world.
They make postcard crafts for each country before stamping their passport and departing! See more of how we do it in my classroom and all the magical ways to teach holidays around the world.
Christmas in Australia Lesson Plans
Learn much more about Australian holiday traditions with an entire week of activities, teaching slides, a fun suitcase folder, and a travel passport with these Holidays Around the World lesson plans and unit.
I’ve created a complete unit for teaching holiday traditions in 14 countries. Each country has detailed, scripted lesson plans with related books and videos, boarding passes, a teaching PowerPoint with actual photos of the countries, and even a short quiz as an exit ticket before students depart! (they make it super easy to take a quick grade!)
This unique holidays around the world unit is available here in the Around The Kampfire Shop and also in my TPT shop.
Holiday Traditions Reading Passages
Add comprehension practice with leveled reading passages about holiday traditions in Australia! These passages also include a digital version that you can project on your whiteboard and use during a lesson or make it a partner activity during your literacy center time.
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Holidays Around the World & Christmas Holidays Unit
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Holidays Around the World Math Games
💡Try this classroom idea: Set up holiday-themed math centers around the room so students can “travel” to different countries and practice math skills!
With these holiday math centers, (available in three grade levels) students carry a “mathport” and stamp it when they finish the game at each country’s table. Pictured is the 2nd grade Australia game to practice addition and expanded form.
For a fun day with your students, use the games for a math around the world holiday party! This post has some fun holiday math party ideas to do with your students!
Books About Holiday Traditions in Australia
Holiday Books on Amazon
Now that you know about Australian holiday traditions let’s talk about holiday traditions for your classroom! Here are 10 holiday classroom traditions to start this year that your students will love! (And I really do mean it!)
10 Holiday Classroom Tradition to Start This Year!
Visit this post to find many ways to make it MAGICAL when teaching your students about holidays around the world!
10 Magical Ways to Teach Holidays Around the World
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