We love tray play here at Cosy and Christmas is a fabulous time of year for doing all your festive crafts and activities in your tray. Containing the mess!

We have collated all the wonderful Christmas tray play and activity ideas that we get tagged in to inspire you, along with some of our Cosy Creative's Christmas tray play ideas.

For a festive challenge, join in with our annual #12daysofcosychristmas activities and play prompts - tagging us as you go. Check out the hashtag on Instagram for lots of festive makes and bakes and all-round fabulous ideas.

From Christmas trees and loose parts, to painting and counting. We love this natural nativity scene below using our wooden offcuts. Stones hand painted with figures from the nativity.

Use recycled cardboard to create sensory puzzles for loose parts or use craft tubes cut down and then stick onto a cardboard backing for children to fill with loose parts, rice. We love the Snowflake and Christmas Tree idea with sliced craft rolls below and above.

Wintry scenes and bookish play in the tray. Create magical small world with fairy lights and a book for hours of fun and enjoyment in the same tray. Try spraying snow in the black tray and then mark making using your fingers or a stick - you could create animals footprints in the snow.

Our little wicker mirror tray has been really popular. A perfect size for little hands and small set ups.

We love this centre piece for creating natural fern print Christmas cards featuring our wicker mirror circle.

The larger heuristic wicker tray also makes a lovely natural alternative at this time of year for your festive tray play.

Festive maths and counting in the wicker tray - counting toadstools and festive coloured glittery pom poms in the wooden number trays.

Cosy Christmas Tray Play Ideas

We simply love this festive sprout run tray play activity! Using ramps and crates to give height. Such fun! Which sprout will claim the glory for the fastest?! Add a wooden ten frame to count the sprouts too - festive maths fun!

Sensory Mirror trays add an extra magical sparkle at this time of year too. Try lighting up your play with a string of battery-powered fairy lights - they reflect beautifully in the mirror tray. Add loose parts, decorations and encourage children to create mandalas and transient art in the tray.

Why not try spraying shaving foam or crazy soap into the tray for snowy small worlds, mark making, painting on. Festive Play dough in the tray - why not make gingerbread men and decorate them with loose parts?

Snowmen are particularly popular in the tray. Add real snow or fake snow, can your children create a snowman? Add carrots and wiggly eyes, giant buttons or lumps of coal.

Some more snowman ideas and activities in the tray:

Our tuff tray paper pad is popular in the tray and what a fabulous idea this is from Mouse and Roos Adventures (Give them a follow on Insta). Simply draw a squiggly line for the children to then stamp on Christmas lights in all colours. Use a cut down sponge or two or potatoes cut in half to stamp. You could even cut a pattern into the potato if you are feeling creative!

We love the festive colour me and i-spy tuff tray paper sheet below from @emstufftrayplay (give them a follow on Insta!). How many Christmas items can your children spot and identify. Use it for colouring in too.

And finally, some more Christmas tuff tray play activities and ideas to inspire you.

We hope that you feel inspired to create your own Christmas Festive tuff tray play activity. Don't forget to tag us and use the hashtag #cosytuffspot

Don’t forget to share your Christmas Tray Play and Activity Ideas with us on our social channels!

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With thanks to The Cosy Creatives and Cosy Club Members for this blog post.