Help children explore and express their emotions through hands-on play with these Christmas Feelings Play Dough and Drawing Emotions Mats! This festive social-emotional learning activity gives kids creative ways to identify feelings, build emotional vocabulary, and communicate how they feel using play dough, drawing, and visual supports.

Featuring 44 Christmas-themed feelings mats, 40 scenario prompts, and feelings dice, this low-prep resource is perfect for child counseling and therapy sessions, small groups, SEL lessons, and seasonal activity centers. Children can create facial expressions, explore how emotions might look, and discuss different feelings at their own pace.

📦 What's Included:

🎄 44 Christmas Feelings Play Dough & Drawing Mats

• Christmas-themed mats featuring Santa, an elf, a reindeer, and a gingerbread character
• Students create facial expressions with play dough or drawing to show how different characters might be feeling
• Hands-on activities for practicing feelings identification, emotional vocabulary, and self-awareness

💬 Feelings + Scenario Cards

• 40 scenario cards for exploring how characters might feel in different situations
• Feelings flashcards covering 10 emotions (angry, confused, embarrassed, excited, happy, proud, sad, silly, surprised, and worried) in an elf, Santa, reindeer, and gingerbread man
• Encourage perspective-taking and discussions about how people can experience the same event differently
• Help students build emotional vocabulary and recognize a variety of feelings

🎲 Feelings Discussion Dice

• Interactive dice for naming, describing, and discussing emotions
• Encourage playful conversations about feelings and personal experiences
• Great for individual counseling, small groups, and classroom SEL lessons

🎨 Multiple Ways to Respond

• Use play dough to create facial expressions on the character mats
• Laminate the mats for reusable activities with dry-erase markers
• Use crayons, markers, or other drawing materials for hands-on feelings activities

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🎒 Quick Details: Elementary-aged children | 👥 Individual, small group + classroom | 🖨️ Printable PDF | 🎯 Feelings identification, emotional expression + perspective-taking

🛍️ Bundle & Save:

Want this at a discount? Check out:

💚 Christmas Feelings and Social Skills SEL Bundle

• 8 Christmas-themed counseling and SEL resources in one discounted bundle
• 60 feelings matching puzzles, including 30 two-piece and 30 three-piece puzzles
• 44 feelings play dough and drawing mats with 40 scenario cards
• 6 positive affirmation and feelings mazes with 19 discussion cards, feelings dice, and bonus worksheets
• 2 Christmas yoga and creative movement games for classroom brain breaks
• 2 differentiated color-by-code feelings activities with 30 emotion prompts combined
• Christmas social skills game with 30 scenarios, printable sorting cards, and a self-checking digital activity

🌈 Feelings Play Dough & Drawing Mats Bundle

• Includes 10 sets of seasonal and themed feelings dough and drawing mats
• Features more than 35 feelings mats in each set
• Includes 40 or more scenario cards in each set
• Provides a variety of characters and themes for practicing emotional identification throughout the year

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🎯 Skills Addressed:

Feelings identification, emotional vocabulary, emotional expression, self-awareness, social awareness, perspective-taking, communication, and fine motor skills.

These activities also provide opportunities to discuss how feelings can change and how different people might respond emotionally to the same situation.

💡 Ways to Use It:

• Create different facial expressions using play dough
• Draw emotions on the Christmas characters
• Use scenario prompts to explore how different situations might make someone feel
• Practice recognizing and naming emotions during individual counseling or child therapy
• Use the mats as a low-pressure conversation starter
• Incorporate the activity into social-emotional learning groups
• Use feelings dice to encourage discussion and reflection
• Laminate mats for reusable dry-erase activities
• Set up a seasonal feelings activity station or learning center
• Offer children a choice between drawing, sculpting, or discussing emotions

👩‍🏫 Who It's For:

Child therapists, mental health counselors, social workers, psychologists, school counselors, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, early childhood educators, teachers, and families supporting children's emotional development.

Especially helpful for professionals working with children who benefit from visual supports, sensory play, creative expression, or alternatives to traditional talk-based activities.

🖨️ Format & Download:

This printable digital resource includes 44 Christmas feelings mats, 40 scenario prompts, and feelings discussion dice.

Print the mats for drawing activities or laminate them for repeated use with play dough and dry-erase markers. Play dough and other art materials are not included.

📌 Important Notes:

• Children may interpret facial expressions and emotional situations differently. Encourage discussion and curiosity rather than expecting one correct emotional response
• Not all children celebrate Christmas. Consider cultural and religious differences and offer alternatives when appropriate
• This is a digital download. No physical product will be shipped. Due to the digital nature of this resource, all sales are final and refunds are not available