Two Easy Cotton Holiday Music Practice Activities to Keep December Practicing Joyful
- Christy | the Practice Pro
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
By Christy | The Practicing Pro
The holiday season is here, and I have two of my absolute favourite music practicing activities to share with you today!
Looking for a holiday practice tracker or music practice advent calendar? These cotton ball activities are perfect for keeping your child engaged over Christmas break!
Both have been hugely successful at Scotia Suzuki School of Music in Halifax — we've done them as school-wide activities for over 250 students, and families keep coming back to them year after year and I am happy to share with you!
The best part? You only need two things: white circle stickers or cotton balls, and our free coloured PDF printout. That's it! Easy, fun, and convenient.
Meet Santa and the Snowman
I'm offering two festive options this year — a Santa's Growing Beard and a Snowman. Both work beautifully, so choose whichever one sparks joy for your young musician (or use both!).
You can use these holiday practice trackers in two ways:
Option 1: Music Practice Advent Calendar - Start December 1st (or any time) and add one cotton ball or sticker each day for 25 days of practicing leading up to Christmas.
Option 2: Christmas Break Practice Tracker - Teachers can send the activity home for the Christmas break and let your child earn cotton balls throughout the holidays. This is my personal favourite because it keeps the momentum going when regular lessons pause. If you're wondering how to keep kids practicing over the holidays, this is your answer!
Here's how I structure it: Your child can earn one cotton ball for listening to their Suzuki CD and one cotton ball for practicing their holiday practice chart. But the most exciting cotton balls? Those come from giving the gift of music to others!
If you loved our Halloween Listening Challenge with the paper chain links, you'll love this Christmas activity!
The Gift of Music: Where the Magic Happens
Dr. Suzuki taught us that music education is about so much more than playing the right notes — it's about nurturing beautiful hearts. And what better way to nurture a generous heart than by sharing music with others during this season of giving?
Every time your child shares the gift of music with someone, they earn an extra cotton ball for their Santa or Snowman.
Here are some wonderful ways to give musical gifts:
Zoom or FaceTime concert for grandparents, aunts, uncles, or friends who live far away
Caroling at a neighbour's door — bring cookies to make it extra special!
Visit a seniors' residence to play for residents
Perform at church or a community event
Play for a friend who comes over during the holidays
Christmas dinner concert — perform for your whole family before the meal
Christmas morning performance — what a magical way to start the day!
Record a video and send it as a gift for someone to watch on Christmas Day
That last one is one of my personal favorites! Imagine a grandparent opening their phone on Christmas morning to find a video of their grandchild playing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" on their instrument. So special!
Can you think of even more ideas? I would love to hear them! Send me your creative gift-of-music ideas, and I'll share them with everyone.
Get Creative: Build a Snow Family!
Here's where things get really fun. You don't have to stop at just one Snowman!
Make multiple snow people and assign each one a different task:
One Snowman for listening — fill it up with cotton balls as your child listens to their pieces
One Snowman for practicing — track their daily practice sessions
One Snowman for sharing music — celebrate every gift of music given
You could even create an entire snow family where each member represents a different practicing goal:
The "Parent Snowman" could be for scales (five times through!)
The "Grandparent Snowman" could be for playing six review pieces
The "Sibling Snowman" could be for sharing music with a neighbor
The "Baby Snowman" could be for listening to their CD
Mount them all on a piece of blue Bristol board and create a whole winter scene! By the end of the holidays, your child will have a beautiful snowy display that shows all their hard work — and it makes for a wonderful keepsake or photo opportunity.
Your snow family can look however your family looks. Two parent snowmen, one parent snowman, grandparent snowmen, pet snowmen — make it your own! The whole point is to make practicing visual, fun, and celebratory.
Why These Activities Work
When you give your child a fun practice activity like this, something wonderful happens. Practice stops being a chore and becomes a game. They can SEE their progress growing — literally watching Santa's beard get fluffier or the snowman filling up with cotton balls.
And when you add in the gift-of-music element, you're teaching your child that their hard work isn't just for them. Their music brings joy to others. That's a powerful lesson that goes far beyond the instrument.
These are the kinds of Suzuki holiday practice ideas that make the season magical — combining daily practice with the joy of giving.
Love using visual trackers to motivate your young musician? Check out my 100-Day Practice Challenge Charts for more ideas that work all year round!
Ready to Get Started?
Download the free PDFs below, grab some cotton balls or white circle stickers, and you're all set! If you're a teacher, print these on card stock and send them home with your students before the break. If you're a parent, surprise your child with one as a fun holiday gift that recognizes all their hard work this year.
I would absolutely love to see photos of your completed Santas, Snowmen, and Snow Families! Send them my way, and let's celebrate your musicians together.
You've got this — and so do your young musicians!
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