Santa Claus Art Lesson
Bring in photos of Santa from different geographical locations and time periods. One way to gather the material is to type the name of Santa Claus and its location into an image browser. An assortment of photos of Santa Claus will be presented. Most Santa’s are represented by an older jolly man with a white beard, moustache and hat carrying a satchel of gifts over his shoulder.
Give students a sheet of paper and they will be drawing a picture of Santa Claus based on their interpretation. Allow students to decide on the medium for coloring in their portrait of Santa.
Ask students to create name tags for each Santa using a different name to represent Santa Claus. You may ask them to write in cursive, bold letters, or put their own style and creativity to the lettering. As well, they may make the name tags decorative by outline the tag.
Present the portraits in the school hallway and assign a name badge to each Santa Claus. This is a great way to showcase the students’ portraits of Santa Claus based on their experience and information presented in class.
Santa Claus Names from Around the World
Afghanistan: Baba Chaghaloo
Australia: Father Christmas
Brazil: Papai Noel
Canada: English Speaking: Santa Claus
French Speaking: Pere Noel
China: Shengdan Laoren
Denmark: Julemanden
Holland: Sinter Klaas
Egypt: Papa Noel
England: Father Christmas
Finland: Joulupukki
France: Pere Noel
Germany: Christtindl
Hungary: Mikulas
India: Ganesha
Iran: Baba Noel
Italy: Babbo Natale
Japan: Hoteisho
Netherlands: Kertsman
New Zealand: Father Christmas
Norway: Julenissen
Peru: Papai Noel
Poland: Gwiazdor
Portugal: Pai Natal
Russia: Ded Moroz
Spain: Papa Noel
Sweden: Jultomten
Turkey: Noel Baba
United States: Santa Claus
