A sensory bin is a plastic tub that is filled with materials that stimulate the senses. Sensory bins are great, because they are quick to put together and relatively inexpensive. Also, sensory bins are an easy way to engage in sensory play without having to go to a children’s museum.

Thus, I decided to create a Christmas sensory bin for my little girl.  I went to Walmart and found all of these materials in the Christmas section:

Christmas Sensory Bin Materials

You can get a variety of different pom-poms in Christmas colors. I also grabbed some snowflake confetti, because it’s a different texture than the rest of the materials.  I really loved these jingle bells-

You can also grab a pair of large tweezers that kids can use. For example, you can try this one:

These are great for helping children develop fine-motor skills or the muscles that they will be using to hold a pencil. In terms of how to use them, ask your child to try to grab the pom poms with the tweezers and drop them in another bucket.

I then asked my daughter to help me put all of the materials in the plastic bin.

Christmas Sensory Bin Play

My daughter poured the materials in, and here’s a picture of all of it together in the bin (even though you can’t see the jingle bells):

My daughter enjoyed holding each item and feeling the surfaces. We talked about whether or not the surfaces were smooth, soft, or rough.

We also played with the jingle bells by shaking them:

Final Thoughts on Christmas Sensory Bin

These are just some of the materials you can use to make a sensory bin. You have many options in terms of the materials that you use- For example, you could also use rice or beans in your sensory bin. However,  the most important thing is to let your little one play with the materials and explore! Do be careful about materials that are a choking hazard for those under 3.

If you like this post, please share it! Also, if you are looking for more Christmas activities, subscribe to my blog to get free coloring pages!