Christmas in Australia Unit Study

In this free unit, your child will learn how Christmas is celebrated in Australia. In addition, they’ll learn about the geography of Australia, as well as a little related science and language arts. Unlike other “free” unit studies, you won’t have to buy or search for a bunch of required books. Everything you need, except the ingredients for a recipe, is available for free online.

This unit study is designed to last five days and can be used with a wide range of ages, making it a fun activity for the entire family to do together. With younger children, read the assignments aloud to them, and skip the written work if they aren’t ready for it. Older students can read their assignments independently. If you have teenagers, you may want to have them research Australia and its Christmas traditions further, either at the library or online. Then they could present what they’ve learned to the rest of the family.

Day 1: Introduction to Australia and its Geography

Watch Geography Now! Australia. Near the end of the video (at 9:38), the host describes the Australian accent as “sexy.” Stop the video at 9:35 if you’d rather your kids not hear this.

Read National Geographic Kids: Australia and click through the picture slide show.

Have your children find Australia on a world map or globe.

Day 2:  Christmas in Australia Part 1

Read about Christmas in Australia at WhyChristmas.com.

Watch Crash Course Kids: Seasons and the Sun to learn why Christmas is in the summer for Australia instead of in the winter like it is in the United States and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere.

Have your children write about and illustrate what they have learned. They can use regular paper, or you may like to use this downloadable writing paper or these downloadable notebooking pages.

Day 3: Christmas in Australia Part 2

Watch Christmas Time in Australia (Top 12 Things to Know). When text appears on the screen, you will likely need to pause the video to read it to the children or to allow time for them to read it themselves.

Watch The Night Before Christmas book read aloud. Now Watch An Aussie Night Before Christmas book read aloud. Have your children compare and contrast the two stories. You may want to have older children use this Venn Diagram worksheet to compare the stories.

Day 4: Christmas in Australia Part 3

Watch some of Melbourne Carols by Candlelight. This video is over three hours long, so you probably don’t want to watch the entire thing. It is still daylight for about the first hour of the video, so you may want to skip ahead to the candlelit portion. You can have your children color one of these coloring sheets while they watch the video.

Day 5: Christmas in Australia Recipes

Prepare Christmas Fairy Bread or Lamingtons. Both are popular Christmas treats in Australia.

More Christmas Around the World Unit Studies

If you enjoyed this unit study, don’t miss our other Christmas Around the World units. We have several countries to choose from!

Note: This post was originally published on November 7, 2019 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.