Mini Minds Hub · Free printable
Christmas Charity Ideas: Free Printable Guide for Year 5
- ForYear 5
- StageKey Stage 2
- CostFree
- FormatPrintable PDF
Christmas Charity Ideas is a free printable PSHE guide for Year 5 (ages 9 to 10). It gives ten ways to help others, from making cards for older neighbours to giving tinned food to a food bank. Children talk about each idea, think about who it would help and choose one to try. Every idea is done with a grown up.
It comes from the Mini Minds Hub, the free library of printables from Jaques of London, the British games and toy company that has been making games for families since 1795. It is two A4 pages. Print both, give page 1 to your child and keep page 2 for yourself. Black and white printing works well.
What is on the sheet
Children read through ten ideas for helping others at Christmas and use the checklist to tick off the ones they like. For each idea, they talk about who it would help and what it might involve. Then they choose one idea and think about the first step. The ideas include cards, thank you notes, a bake sale, giving to a charity shop or food bank, and being kind to someone new.
- Make cards for older neighbours
- Give old toys in good condition to a charity shop
- Give tinned food to a food bank
- Help a grown-up at home
- Write a thank you note to a teacher
- Collect litter with a grown-up
- Visit a neighbour who lives alone
- Hold a bake sale with a grown-up
- Be kind to someone new
- Draw pictures for a care home
Turning an idea into a plan
Pick one idea
Look at the checklist and choose the idea that feels right for your family or class. A small idea that actually happens is better than a big one that never starts.
Name who it helps
Say who will be helped. It might be a neighbour, a teacher, people in a care home or families who use a food bank. Knowing the person makes the idea feel real.
List what you need
Think about paper, pens, tins, toys or time. Some things need a grown up to buy, collect or arrange. Write down what you need and who will help you get it.
Plan the first step
Choose one small thing to do first. It could be writing a name on a card, sorting through a toy box or asking a grown up to phone a charity shop and check what they accept.
Why talk about giving at Christmas?
Christmas is a time when many families think about other people as well as themselves. Schools, churches and community groups often collect food, toys or money at this time of year. Children see this happening around them, so it is a natural moment to talk about why people help and what difference a small act of kindness can make.
Year 5 children are old enough to think about how someone else might feel. They can ask who needs help and why, and they can plan a way to give that help. PSHE gives them space to talk about this. Choosing an idea themselves, rather than being told what to do, helps them feel that their kindness matters.
Children do all ten ideas with a grown up. Adults arrange visits and trips, and decide whether a visit to a neighbour is suitable. For litter collecting, an adult chooses a safe place and handles anything sharp, dirty or unsafe. For a bake sale, adults do the oven, the hot items and any knife work. Ask charities what they can accept before you give anything.
Quick facts about giving
- A food bank collects food and gives it to people who need it.
- A charity shop sells things that people have given, and the money helps a charity.
- Many charity shops are helped by volunteers, who give their time for free.
- A care home is a place where older people live and are looked after.
- Christmas Day is on 25 December.
Skills and curriculum link
- Kindness
- Community
- Choosing
- Empathy
- Planning
What children will be able to do
- I can think of ways to help others.
- I can say who would be helped.
- I can choose one idea to try.
Ideas for helping children think it through
- Think about the personAsk your child to picture the person who will receive the kindness. What might they like? How might they feel? This builds empathy and makes the idea more thoughtful.
- Check firstGiving works best when it is wanted. Before giving toys or food, a grown up can check what the charity shop or food bank accepts. Good condition and a long shelf life matter.
- Time is a giftKindness does not have to cost money. A card, a drawing, a thank you note or a visit with a grown up can mean a lot to someone.
- Grown ups come tooAll ten ideas are done with a grown up. They help with trips, visits, baking, litter and any safety checks, and they can talk about the idea as you go.
Key words
- CharityAn organisation that raises money or gives help to people, animals or causes that need it.
- DonateTo give something, such as food, toys or money, to help others.
- Food bankA place that collects food and shares it with people who need it.
- CommunityThe people who live or work near each other and share a place.
- VolunteerSomeone who gives their time to help, without being paid.
- KindnessCaring about others and doing something to help or cheer them up.
How to use it
- Print both pages. Page 1 is for your child. Keep page 2, which has notes for the grown up.
- Read through the ideas together. Talk about each one and who it would help. Remember that every idea is done with a grown up.
- Tick the ideas your child likes on the checklist. Talk about each choice and ask why they picked it.
- Choose one idea and plan the first step. Check the notes on page 2 if you need help or a stretch idea.
- Come back to it another day. Repeating a familiar activity builds confidence, and you can pick a different idea next time.
Help, stretch and game ideas
If it feels too hard
Choose one idea and plan the first step. Ask who it would help, then write or say one thing you need. A card needs paper and pens. A thank you note needs a name. Start with the idea that feels easiest, and ask your grown up to help.
To stretch confident children
Write a short plan for your chosen idea. Say who it helps, what you need, who will help you and when it will happen. Then add one way to find out whether it worked, such as asking the person how they felt.
Make it a game
Try to do one kind thing every day. Keep a tally on a sheet of paper for each kind thing. Share one at tea time. Kind things can be small, such as holding a door or saying thank you. See how many you can collect.
Talk about it
- Which idea would you most like to try, and why?
- Who would your idea help, and how might they feel?
- What would you need to make it happen?
- Why might a kind act matter to someone who is on their own at Christmas?
- How would you feel if someone helped you like this?
- What is a small kind thing you could do tomorrow with a grown up?
Take it off the page
Make a card
Make a Christmas card from paper and pens with a short kind message. A grown up can help you decide who will receive it.
Toy sort
With a grown up, look through a toy box and set aside toys in good condition that you no longer play with. A grown up checks what a charity shop will accept.
Kindness jar
Write kind things you have done on strips of paper and put them in a jar. Read them out together at the end of the week.
Who it is for
Parents
Sit beside your child and let them lead. Talk about each idea and remember that all ten are done with you. Ask who would be helped and how they might feel. Praise their thinking, not only the idea they pick.
Teachers
Use it as a PSHE starter, a plenary or a table activity in the run up to Christmas. Children discuss the ideas in pairs and choose one. Any idea that goes beyond the classroom needs adult planning, supervision and any usual school checks.
Home educators
Print it as part of a wider PSHE plan. It pairs well with stories, a family discussion or a local community project. Plan and supervise every idea yourself, and use the sheet again for brothers and sisters or as a refresher later.
Where this fits in PSHE
Before this, children usually practise noticing feelings, saying thank you and being kind in their own friendship groups. They learn that small acts, such as sharing or including someone, can change how another person feels.
After this, children can look at wider ideas of community, such as how local groups work together, why people volunteer and how to plan a project with others. Gratitude and setting goals are good next steps, and both build on choosing and planning one kind act.
Check it worked
Ask these when the sheet is finished. Listen for the reasoning, not just the answer.
- Who would your idea help?
- What would you need to do it?
- How would you feel if someone helped you like this?
Questions parents and teachers ask
- What age is Christmas Charity Ideas for?
It is written for Year 5 (ages 9 to 10), in Key Stage 2. Younger children can join in with a grown up reading the ideas aloud, and older children can write a fuller plan.
- What will children practise?
They practise thinking about how to help others in the community. They talk about who an idea would help, choose one to try and think about the first step. It supports PSHE through short, focused practice.
- Can children do the ideas on their own?
No. Children do every idea with a grown up, including cards, thank you notes, bake sales, litter collecting, visits and trips to a charity shop or food bank. An adult arranges, supervises and does anything unsafe.
- What if it feels too hard?
Choose one idea and plan only the first step. A small step, such as deciding who a card is for, is enough to start. The help idea on page 2 gives more support.
- Is it free?
Yes. It is free to print for home and classroom use. You can print it again for brothers, sisters or another class, and you can choose a different idea each time.
- Is this a screen free activity?
Yes. It is a screen free printable that needs only paper and a pencil. It works well for quiet time, rainy days, school holidays or a calm moment at a family gathering.
- Do I need to print in colour?
No. It prints well in black and white on plain A4 paper. Print both pages, give page 1 to your child and keep page 2 for the grown up.
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Made by Jaques of London, making games for families since 1795. A printable supports classroom learning and does not replace a teacher.