• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Putting The Pretty In Preschool

Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Winter
  • Chinese New Year
  • Blog
  • Valentine’s Day
  • Contact Me
  • Easter Activities

Santa Claus Sensory Bin

December 23, 2022 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

This easy Santa Claus sensory bin is filled with many economical dollar store supplies. It's a sure-to-please bin that can be set up in minutes.

_______

With Santa on many children’s minds right now it’s the perfect time to set out a simple Santa Claus sensory bin.

This fun sensory activity is inspired by two Santa ornaments I was gifted this Christmas season. After receiving the ornaments, I realized I had enough supplies to make a no-fuss Santa bin. The bin is a great example of how just a few themed items can provide an interesting sensory invitation.

_______

Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

_______

Supplies To Collect

_______

Here are the supplies I gathered for the festive bin:

  • Santa train engine cookie tin
  • Santa ornament
  • knitted Scandinavian multicultural dolls
  • fillable Santa ball ornament
  • jingle bell garland
  • peppermint candy erasers
  • Santa and Santa hat erasers
  • wooden ladle

_______

The Santa Claus Sensory Bin

This easy Santa sensory bin is filled with many economical dollar store supplies. It's a sure-to-please bin that can be set up in minutes.

_______

This jovial sensory bin has a dyed chickpea base. The chickpeas are colored with various amounts of red acrylic craft paint. You can find out how to dye chickpeas in my blog post “Chinese New Year Sensory Play.”

Note: As an alternative to using chickpeas for the base, white rice works well too.

The chickpeas are spread out in a white bus/utility tub. This size bin works well for one to three children to use.

The Santa train engine cookie tin was a happy find last year. I previously featured it in a blog post titled “Plaid-Themed Christmas Rice Bin.”

The Santa ornament fits perfectly in the train engine. I checked to make sure it has no rough edges before offering it in the bin. A small plush Santa is a good fit too.

A fillable Santa Claus ornament and other dollar store supplies make for an inviting chickpea-based sensory bin.

_______

The fillable Santa ball comes apart, and each half holds lots of chickpeas and loose parts.

The Scandinavian knitted dolls are cut from a Christmas garland. They make fun helpers for Santa!

Dollar stores carry metallic jingle bell garlands. Cut into strips, the garland becomes musical loose parts for the bin.

Peppermint and Santa-themed erasers add interest. They are great for counting and sorting practice.

A wooden ladle is useful for filling the Santa train and ball ornament with chickpeas, erasers, and garland. When using one, early learners get practice with eye-hand coordination.

_______

Making Your Own Santa Claus Sensory Bin

Would you like to make a Santa Claus-themed sensory bin? You probably have a few interesting supplies already on hand to include. Then add a few dollar store finds. It’s that simple!

_______

_______

Related:

Santa Claus Playdough Tray

Santa’s Beard Scissor Activity

_______

_______

More Christmas Activities

Christmas Peppermint Sensory Bin

Christmas Village Tuff Tray

Orange-scented Playdough Invitation

This orange-scented playdough invitation includes many scents and is perfect for Christmas or Chinese New Year celebrations.

_______

Santa Claus Sensory Bin

Chocolate Mint Playdough

Plaid-themed Christmas Rice Bin

Lemon-scented Christmas Playdough

Easy S’mores Bars

Make this easy, three-ingredient s'mores bars recipe that takes a classic campfire treat indoors. Serve surrounded by festive decor at Christmas time.

_______

Christmas Tree Decorating Center

Christmas Sensory Play

Handprint Angel Christmas Keepsake

Llama Christmas Sensory Bin

Llama themed sensory bin inspired by the picture book 'Llama, Llama Holiday Drama' by Anna Dewdney.

    _______

    You may also like:

    New Year’s Eve Sensory Tray

    New Year's Eve sensory tray dinner invitation with metallic loose parts little learners will love to have a pretend party with.

    _______

    Winter Wreath Paper Plate Craft

    Winter wreath craft made from a paper plate and recycled cards. A low-cost art project suitable for all ages to do.

    _______

    Don’t forget to share this post on Pinterest or your favorite social media channel. Sharing is caring!

    This easy Santa Claus sensory bin is filled with many economical dollar store supplies. It's a sure-to-please bin that can be set up in minutes.

    _______

    © Annette Kaminsky December 23, 2022

    _______

    Let's connect on social media:
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok

    Filed Under: Christmas, preschool, pretend play, sensory Tagged With: Christmas, Santa Claus, sensory bin, sensory play

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Subscribe Via Email

    Recent Posts

    • Salt and Ice Science Experiment May 20, 2025
    • Airplane Rice Sensory Bin May 16, 2025
    • Salt Painting Planet Art May 3, 2025
    • Spring Bunny Sensory Bin April 19, 2025
    • Tin Foil Egg Printing April 17, 2025
    • Lentil Easter Bunny Sensory Bin April 15, 2025
    • Unicorn Store Dramatic Play Center March 25, 2025
    • Easter Store Dramatic Play Center March 23, 2025
    • Origami Heart Wreath February 28, 2025
    • Black History Month Mixed Media Art February 26, 2025

    Categories

    Topics

    block play bunnies butterflies Chinese New Year Christmas Christmas craft color colors dramatic play Easter flowers hearts holiday jewelry leaves leprechauns light table loose parts painting paper crafts playdough pretend play printables printmaking process art pumpkins rice bin scented playdough science experiment scissor skills sensory bin sensory play sensory tray shamrocks skeletons snakes snowflakes spiders spring St. Patrick's Day sunflowers tablescapes trees Valentine's Day water play

    Copyright © 2025 · Lifestyle Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in