Christmas has a long and complex history, and the holiday as we know it today is a blend of historic traditions. Christmas is celebrated throughout the world with slight variances from one country to the next. The English celebration of Christmas has a lot in common with the American celebration of Christmas, such as decorating trees and giving gifts; however, Christmas in England has a few of its own distinct traditions. Children will enjoy learning about these differences, or celebrating their English roots, with the these craft activities.

Father Christmas Ornament

Make a Father Christmas ornament in celebration of the English Christmas.
In England, Father Christmas brings children gifts instead of Santa Claus. Father Christmas still has the white hair and beard, but he isn't chubby like Santa, and he wears a long red or green coat that reaches all the way to the ground. Find a Father Christmas template online, such as at Christmas-Projects.com, that can be printed and used to create Christmas ornaments. The printed template will have an outline of Father Christmas that can be colored, painted or glittered. Cotton balls or curls of paper can be used for his hair, beard and coat trim. The creation can then be mounted to heavier stock paper or wood with a hole punched or drilled in the top so it can be hung on the tree with ribbon.

Christmas Crackers

Fill the English Christmas cracker with toys and candy.
Christmas "crackers" are essential to an English Christmas. English crackers are decorative tubes with little gifts and trinkets hidden inside. Traditionally, two people pop open an English cracker by pulling on either end at the same time. You can make your own similar English cracker gift tube with toilet paper tubes and wrapping paper. English cracker gifts usually include a paper crown and a joke, but candy, toys and other items can also be used. Fill the tubes with gifts, and wrap them with wrapping paper. Tie the ends with ribbon and have the children give them as gifts to friends or place them at dinner place settings.

Charles Dickens in a Box

Create a wintry scene from Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol" with a shoe box.
The Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol" is a quintessential example of Christmas in England. Read the story to the children, then have them recreate 19th century London at Christmastime while illustrating this beloved tale inside of a shoe box. Wrap the outside of the shoe box with Christmas wrapping paper, and line the inside with foil. Provide them images of classic English monuments like Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, illustrations of all the story's characters, and generic Christmas images like snow-covered trees. Kids can either draw or cut out the images, then fold little glue tabs at the bottoms so they can be glued inside the box standing up. Kids can make little streets and alleyways and even use fake snow sprinkled on glue to represent the wintry Christmas setting of the story.