Gingerbread season is here and it brings the perfect excuse to mix sensory experiences, fine motor challenges, and playful learning into your pediatric therapy sessions. Whether you work in early intervention, school-based therapy, or a clinic setting, these activities will help you keep kids engaged while targeting important developmental skills. Each idea below is linked to its original creator and includes quick highlights so you can skim, choose, and incorporate them right away.

1. Dress A Gingerbread Busy Bag

Adapted from: Powerful Mothering

Think of this as a portable holiday themed toolkit that sparks creativity while sneaking in plenty of skill work. Kids decorate a gingerbread figure using shapes, colors, and simple design prompts. The activity works beautifully in therapy sessions because it encourages visual attention, motor planning, and early geometry concepts in a playful format.

Therapy Boosts:

• Strengthens pincer grasp and precise placement
• Encourages decision making and expressive language
• Builds shape identification while keeping kids engaged through play
• This is an easy go to for independent work, transitions, or calming stations.

Click here to check out the activity

2. Sensory Rich Gingerbread Cloud Dough

Adapted from: Sugar, Spice and Glitter

If your kids crave hands on sensory exploration, this gingerbread cloud dough is the holiday win you’ve been waiting for. The dough is soft, light, and perfect for squeezing, scooping, and pretending. Add cinnamon or ginger and suddenly your sensory bin feels warm and cozy without overwhelming the senses.

Why Therapists Love It:

• Ideal for tactile sensory input that supports regulation
• Encourages bilateral coordination while kids mix and mold
• Inspires pretend play that strengthens social and language skills

This low cost, low prep activity is a strong fit for occupational therapy sessions focused on sensory integration.

Get the details here.

3. Scented Gingerbread Writing Tray

Adapted from: The Imagination Tree

Handwriting practice doesn’t need to feel like handwriting practice. This gingerbread scented writing tray transforms letter formation into a sensory adventure. The salt mixture creates just the right texture for kids to trace letters, shapes, or early writing strokes.

How It Helps in Therapy:

• Makes prewriting practice more motivating
• Strengthens finger isolation and controlled movement
• Uses multisensory input to support memory and focus

A writing tray like this is especially powerful for kids who struggle with traditional pencil and paper tasks.

Click here to see the activity directions.

4. Easy Printable Gingerbread Worksheets

Adapted from: Kids Activities Blog

Printable activities are a holiday lifesaver for therapists and teachers. These gingerbread themed sheets combine dot to dot activities, coloring pages, and a cut-and-assemble doll that appeal to a wide range of ages and ability levels.

Therapy Advantages:

• Dot to dot pages support visual tracking and motor planning
• Coloring encourages hand strength and endurance
• The paper doll activity builds scissor skills and sequencing

These sheets make great warmups, take home practice, or quick fillers between structured tasks.

Get started by clicking here.

5. Gingerbread Sensory Bags for Quiet Play

Adapted from: Gift of Curiosity

These sensory bags are mess free, wonderfully squishy, and perfect for any kid who needs tactile exploration without the sensory overload of direct touch. Children press and move the materials inside the sealed bag to trace shapes, outline a gingerbread figure, or simply enjoy the movement.

Best For:

• Calming strategies and emotional regulation
• Finger isolation and early writing skill development
• Kids who benefit from tactile play but dislike getting messy

They’re also portable, making them great tools for classrooms and waiting rooms.

Check out the activity here.

6. Easy Build Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses

Adapted from: The Printable Princess

This simplified take on gingerbread houses keeps the fun and loses the chaos. No milk cartons and no complicated assembly. Just graham crackers, frosting, and creativity. Kids build and decorate while developing a wealth of functional skills.

Therapeutic Skill Targets:

• Fine motor precision during decorating
• Sequencing and planning during construction
• Social communication when building as a group

These houses create a joyful, confident building experience that kids remember. You can take a look here.

7. Roll and Move Gingerbread Activity Cube

Adapted from: Rock Your Homeschool

This printable activity cube is the secret weapon for managing holiday energy. Kids roll the cube and follow action prompts that promote movement and motor development. It turns wiggly days into purposeful play.

Why It Shines in Pediatric Therapy:

• Supports gross motor strengthening
• Encourages turn taking and activity switching
• Gives kids a structured outlet for excess holiday excitement

It is quick to prep and endlessly reusable. Click here to see all the information.

Bringing It All Together

Gingerbread themed therapy activities blend sensory play, fine motor development, early writing practice, and social emotional learning into joyful holiday experiences. These ideas help children stay regulated, engaged, and motivated while supporting the therapeutic goals you work on all year long.

Even better, use this blog as parent guide or school handout by sharing the link.