Reasons to Love Christmas
This B1 lesson explores why people love Christmas through a heartwarming video about holiday spirit. Students learn vocabulary like “generous,” “grumpy,” and “share joy,” then discuss traditions, kindness, and what makes the season special. The activities include ranking reasons to love Christmas, matching sentence halves, rephrasing exercises, and planning small acts of kindness for the week ahead.
Lesson overview
- Practice holiday vocabulary related to generosity, traditions, and emotional connections
- Watch a short video explaining why Christmas makes people kinder and more thoughtful
- Discuss whether people genuinely change during the holidays and why some might not enjoy Christmas
- Build speaking skills by ranking holiday traditions and completing personal opinion statements
Student's Version (Light/Dark)
Teacher's Version (Answer Keys)
Printable Classroom Version (A4)
| Level | Vocabulary | Video Length | Lesson Time |
| B1 / Intermediate | 8 words | 1:00 min | 60 min |
Vocabulary
- grumpy
- generous
- wonder
- get away with something
- share joy
- think of others
- make someone feel loved
- spirit of Christmas
Contents
- Lead-in
- Speaking
- Vocabulary
- Video
- Comprehension
- Speaking
- Practice
- Vocabulary Practice
- Agree or disagree
- Name 3
- Homework
Start with the lead-in questions about whether students celebrate Christmas and what traditions their families follow. B1 students can describe basic customs and special foods using simple past and present tenses. The visual activity on slide 3 shows eight common Christmas traditions like decorating trees, giving gifts, and eating festive meals. Students identify which ones happen in their country.
The vocabulary section teaches eight useful phrases that appear in the video. Make sure students understand “grumpy” versus “generous” since the video contrasts how people act less grumpy and more generous during Christmas. “Spirit of Christmas” captures the overall feeling of kindness and togetherness that the lesson explores. After matching definitions, students see these words in authentic context.
The video runs exactly one minute and features a girl explaining why people love Christmas so much. She says it’s because everyone wants to make each other feel more loved, people act less grumpy, and we think about what others might like instead of focusing on ourselves. Play it twice. First viewing asks general questions about the main message. Second viewing uses multiple-choice comprehension questions testing specific details.
The speaking activity on slide 8 asks students to rank eight reasons to love Christmas from most to least important. This personalizes the topic and creates natural debate when students compare their rankings. After ranking, they discuss whether some people don’t enjoy Christmas and why. B1 learners can handle this with support since reasons might include loneliness, financial stress, or family conflict.
The sentence matching on slide 9 uses phrases directly from the video. Students connect beginnings like “Maybe it’s that everyone’s a bit…” with endings like “…less grumpy.” This reinforces listening comprehension and helps them notice natural spoken patterns. The rephrasing exercise asks students to rewrite eight sentences using the new vocabulary, which tests both understanding and application.
The agree/disagree statements explore whether Christmas was more exciting as a child, whether people are genuinely kinder during holidays, and whether adults should maintain childhood traditions. These debates work well when students defend positions with personal examples. The “Name 3” activity adds quick speaking practice covering Christmas destinations, movies, stressors, past gifts, and ways to ruin dinner.
For homework, students plan five small acts of kindness they can do during the week to share joy and show Christmas spirit. This connects lesson vocabulary to real actions and emphasizes that holiday spirit comes from behavior, not just decorations and gifts.
