Christmas Around the World Unit Study Packet for Kids
A Christmas around the world unit study packet is a printable December school day for K to 8, visiting traditions in Mexico, Sweden, Germany, Japan and Australia. This grade 3 sample has 14 pages plus a parent answer key: math, reading, writing, a maze, movement, science, coloring and a certificate. About 127 minutes of activities. Free to start.
By Natalie, homeschool mom and Packet Day co-founder
Updated October 2026Reviewed by Natalie
A sample packet made for a grade 3 learner named Lucia
What is inside a Christmas around the world packet?
A Christmas around the world packet is a full school day on paper: 11 to 17 pages built around Christmas around the world, roughly 2 to 5 hours with breaks. This sample has 14 pages plus a parent answer key, and Pepita the owl guides the whole day.
Free printable: Lucia and the Secret Holiday Map
14 pages, grade 3, answer key included
Want one made for your kid instead? Make one free
What does my child actually do?
Math
Counting Clues Around the World
Three digit adding and subtracting, multiplication and division facts, word problems from five celebrations, then drawing 4 Japanese Christmas cakes with 6 strawberries each.
Reading
The Five Glowing Circles
A story that follows a secret map through Mexico, Sweden, Germany, Japan and Australia, then six questions about details, clue words and the map's secret message.
Writing
A Letter for the Sixth Circle
A letter to Pepita about your own family's holiday tradition, full of sights, sounds, smells and tastes, then a brand new tradition that mixes two countries.
Puzzle break
Find the Path to Christmas Eve
A square maze with one true path, a poinsettia fact and an Australian Santa joke.
Movement break
Holiday Dance Around the World
A candle crown parade, pinata swings, high knee marching, surfer pop ups and a Christmas tree stretch.
Science
Why Is Christmas Summer in Australia?
Finding the equator, Earth's tilt in December, a flashlight test of straight and slanted light, and why poinsettias turn red when nights are long.
Meet Pepita
Pepita is a little owl in a red scarf who carries a magnifying glass and a satchel. She starts the day with a mystery: an old envelope on Lucia's doorstep holding a map of the world with five empty circles.
She narrates the story, hoots out the math clues, asks Lucia for help through the maze and even adds a sixth circle to the map for Lucia's own family.
A detective owl is a smart guide for this theme. She turns a list of countries into clues to solve, and kids will work a lot harder for a clue than for a list.
What will my child learn?
Your child gets a full grade 3 day: adding and subtracting three digit numbers, multiplication and division facts, reading for details and clue words, and writing a friendly letter with sensory details.
The culture is real and kid sized. Las Posadas in Mexico lasts nine nights. St. Lucia Day in Sweden falls on December 13, with a crown of candles and saffron buns. German children set out a shoe for St. Nicholas, families in Japan share a strawberry Christmas cake, and Australians head to the beach.
The science answers the question kids always ask: why is it summer at Christmas in Australia? Lucia finds the equator, learns that the southern half of Earth tilts toward the Sun in December, and uses a flashlight to see why straight down light warms more than slanted light.
Which grades is this for?
Grades K-2
Little ones can take the same trip around the world with shorter reading, simpler words, math at their grade and a sentence or two of writing. Every packet is made new for the grade you choose.
Grades 3-5
This sample is grade 3, so we can be specific. The story is about 290 words across five countries. The math covers three digit adding and subtracting, times tables and division facts. The letter is built around four prompts, including one that invents a brand new tradition.
Grades 6-8
Older kids get the same holiday travels with longer reading, richer vocabulary, math at their grade and more writing. Each packet is written fresh for your kid's exact grade.
A note from Natalie
My side of the family is Italian, so our family celebrates the Italian way. Every Christmas season we do the Feast of the Seven Fishes. We love to cook, and it turns into one long, delicious day together.
The highlight for the kids is Noni's cannoli. She makes the world's greatest, and Oli and Viv love helping make them almost as much as they love eating them.
That is the fun of this packet. Every family has its own version of Christmas, and Lucia gets to see five more: posadas in Mexico, candle crowns in Sweden, Christmas markets in Germany, strawberry cake in Japan and a beach day in Australia. Then she writes about her own.
Questions parents ask about Christmas around the world packets
Which countries does this Christmas around the world packet cover?
Five: Mexico, Sweden, Germany, Japan and Australia. Each one gets a real tradition in the story: Las Posadas, St. Lucia Day, a Christmas market with an Advent calendar, a strawberry Christmas cake and a beach Christmas. Then a sixth circle on the map is saved for your own family, and the writing page asks your kid to fill it in.
Why is Christmas in summer in Australia?
Earth is tilted. In December the southern half of the planet leans toward the Sun, so places like Australia get more direct sunlight and longer days, which makes it summer. The northern half leans away and has winter. The science page shows it with a flashlight: straight down light makes a small, bright spot, and slanted light spreads out and dims.
What is St. Lucia Day?
St. Lucia Day is a Swedish festival of light on December 13, close to the darkest days of the year. A girl in a white gown wears a crown of candles, and families share golden saffron buns. Our sample kid happens to be named Lucia, and her packet made a point of telling her the holiday shares her name.
Is this packet religious?
It is about how families celebrate, not about doctrine. Las Posadas and St. Lucia Day have Christian roots, and the math page mentions St. Nicholas, but the focus stays on food, light, music and time together. If you want more or less faith content in your own packet, say so in the theme you type in.
What supplies does the science activity need?
A globe or a printed world map, a flashlight, a sheet of paper and a pencil. A darkened room helps the spots of light show up clearly, and the parent note suggests it. It is worth doing, because kids remember the moment the slanted spot gets bigger and dimmer far longer than they remember a diagram.
Are these made by AI, and are they any good?
Yes, AI writes each packet from scratch around your kid's grade and the theme you type in. We are a homeschool family, we test packets on our own kids, and we fact check every sample on this site. They are good and not perfect, so give the story a quick read first. The answer key handles the rest.
Packets for the days you need one
Multiple kids
Two kids, two levels, one of you. One packet per kid fixes that.
See how it works →Road trips
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A Christmas Carol unit studyA printable A Christmas Carol unit study for December: Scrooge, the three spirits and London's coal smoke fogs, shown as a grade 7 sample. Free to start.
From the Packet Day blog
- A Homeschool Schedule for Multiple Kids at Different LevelsTeaching two kids at two levels? Here's the homeschool schedule for multiple kids that finally worked for us: a two-hour rotation with zero shoulder taps.
- Road Trip Activities for Kids That Aren't a TabletEight hours, two kids, one dying tablet battery. Road trip activities that actually work: quiet, screen-free, and zero prep the night before.
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