The Nightmare Before Christmas: Winter Holidays and Celebrations
ESL Lesson PlansThe Nightmare Before Christmas: Winter Holidays and Celebrations

The Nightmare Before Christmas: Winter Holidays and Celebrations

This B1-level song-based lesson uses the song What’s This? from The Nightmare Before Christmas to explore holiday traditions with kids and teens. Learners discuss how to explain Christmas customs to someone who has never celebrated them, building speaking confidence and cultural vocabulary. Students take part in a guided warm-up, song listening tasks, a picking-summary challenge, structured speaking practice, and a creative writing activity. The 45-minute session blends music, festive themes, and communicative speaking.

Skills

  • Can give or seek personal views and opinions in discussing topics of interest.
  • Can give accounts of experiences, describing feelings and reactions in simple, connected text.
Online Interactive
Based on CEFR
Fully Customizable
1

Discuss these questions.

1
How do you usually celebrate winter holidays with your family?
2
Are there any special traditions that your family follows during the winter season?
3
What kind of food do you enjoy eating during winter celebrations?
4
How do you feel about giving and receiving gifts during the winter holidays?
5
What activities do you enjoy doing during the winter break from school?
2

Match each image to the correct phrase.

3

What is the video about? Watch and choose the right answer.

4

Listen to the song and fill in the blanks.

5

Listen to a dialogue. What things does Lisa do at Christmas?

6

Make sentences explaining holiday traditions to someone who has never seen it.

7

Write a letter about holiday traditions to a friend who doesn't celebrate.

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