[Children’s Song] A Collection of Hand Play Songs Perfect for Christmas
Santa is coming—what a fun Christmas!
As the day approaches, many families may be noticing their children getting more and more excited.
To build even more anticipation for this once-a-year big event, this article introduces hand-play songs themed around Christmas.
Each of these hand-play songs is simple and easy to try right away.
They’re perfect for playtime at daycare or kindergarten, too.
Be sure to dive in with energy and have fun with these hand-play songs to make it a wonderful Christmas!
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[Children’s Songs] A Collection of Hand-Clapping/Action Songs Perfect for Christmas (21–30)
Christmas is the best!Ritoru Enjeru
A heartwarming Christmas song that kids can sing along to and enjoy the fun of the holiday! It’s packed with all the Christmas elements children love—presents, trees, and even an appearance by Santa Claus.
Celebrating the joy of spending a special day with family, this song was included on the album “Little Angel Christmas” in November 2024.
Little Angel is a production brand beloved around the world for creating many children’s songs and nursery rhymes.
Its bright, bouncy melody is perfect for singing at Christmas parties! Highly recommended for enjoying a fun family time with children who are eagerly awaiting Christmas.
Christmas Where Angels SingShinzawa Toshihiko
On Christmas night, if you listen closely, you can hear angels singing…
This is a Christmas song that paints a quiet and mystical scene.
Lyrics and music are by Toshihiko Shinzawa, and it is performed by Satoko Yamano, who was active as the “singing sister” on NHK Educational TV’s Yukai na Concert.
It was included in the album “Christmas SONGS” released in September 2015 and produced as a sheet music book with CD for preschools and kindergartens.
It’s perfect for gently singing together as a parent and child while savoring the quiet feeling of Christmas night! It’s also recommended to incorporate puppet staging for Christmas party performances.
Enjoy the special atmosphere of this holy night together with your child.
Santa Claus the Scatterbrain
The children’s song “Awatenbō no Santa Claus” is beloved even by very young kids.
This bright tune, which builds excitement before Christmas, features easy-to-remember choreography centered on raising your hands and ringing bells—perfect for little ones.
It’s also more fun if you act out Santa being in a hurry with a wide-eyed expression.
The lyrics are simple enough for children to memorize, so it’s great to sing along while you do the moves together!
Jingle Bells
“Jingle Bells” is a classic Christmas song that everyone—from children to adults—knows.
The hand motions that go along with Jingle Bells, expressing the sound of bells, a sleigh running, and children singing, look adorable, making it perfect to perform with little ones at a school recital.
Also, since it’s almost always included on Christmas song compilation CDs, it’s nice that you don’t have to go out of your way to buy a CD during the busy holiday event season.
Merry Christmas
Perfect for getting a feel for meter! Let’s all clap along to “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Even though both the intro and the verse are in 3/4 time, the way you feel the rhythm changes once the singing begins.
In fact, keeping the sense of “1, 2, 3” while changing your clapping pattern is trickier than it sounds.
In the latter half, loosen up freely and take a brief pause.
Repeating this makes for a fun practice to build a solid sense of rhythm.
Once they’re comfortable clapping while singing in Japanese, it’s also great to let them try the English version!
Tonight is a happy Christmas.
Aramaki Shake’s “Tonight Is a Joyful Christmas” is a hand-play song filled with Christmas items that get kids excited.
It also features fun words related to colors like “red,” “white,” and “brown,” as well as words that describe shapes such as “triangle” and “round.” It can be fun to add your own second and third verses and tweak the parts that describe colors and shapes.
With its relaxed, simple melody, it’s easy for little ones to learn—so give it a try!
Smiling Santa
Let me introduce a fingerplay song called “Nikoniko Santa” (Smiley Santa)! The title alone conjures up an image of a cheerful Santa, and it seems like children will be excited to sing along.
Since numbers are woven into the lyrics, it should be easy to remember, right? Another fun point is that the lyrics tell you what Santa is doing at Christmastime.
Plus, the numbers from 1 to 10 appear, so it’s great for learning to count! It’s best to start at a slow tempo.
