10 Best Christmas Poems to Teach (And How to Teach Them)

Christmas in the classroom can be a tricky balance. You want texts that feel seasonal but still carry enough weight to justify lesson time. The good news is, there’s no shortage of poetry that captures the spirit, questions the traditions, or uses Christmas as a lens to explore bigger human themes.

The best Christmas poems do more than decorate the season — they invite us to think about faith, nostalgia, anticipation, renewal, and even doubt. That makes them perfect for December lessons: short enough to fit into packed timetables, but rich enough for deep analysis and meaningful discussion.

Here are ten of the best poems to bring into your December teaching, complete with classroom ideas and writing extensions to keep students engaged.

1. In the Bleak Midwinter – Christina Rossetti

A classic of both hymn and poem, Rossetti’s work captures the stark beauty of winter alongside faith and devotion. Its imagery of frost, snow, and scarcity is unforgettable, and the contrast between external bleakness and internal warmth makes it ideal for analysis.

Classroom use: Focus on imagery of cold and scarcity. Ask students to contrast bleakness with the warmth of faith and love. Compare the poem to carol versions for intertextual analysis.
Writing extension: Students write their own stanza beginning “In the [adjective] [season/setting]”, using contrasts between harshness and hope.

2. The Oxen – Thomas Hardy

Hardy reflects on a childhood belief that oxen kneel at midnight on Christmas Eve, contrasting innocence with adult doubt. Its nostalgic tone makes it deeply moving.

Classroom use: Discuss tone of nostalgia and disillusionment. Compare with other poems about lost faith or childhood memory.
Writing extension: Students write a poem about a childhood belief they once held — and how they see it differently now.

3. Christmas Eve – Christina Rossetti

Rossetti’s reflective voice considers Christmas as a moment of spiritual anticipation, making this poem ideal for exploring tone and mood.

Classroom use: Explore diction of waiting and expectation. Encourage students to notice how anticipation is built through repetition and imagery.
Writing extension: A free-write on the theme of waiting — for a gift, an answer, or a change.

4. Ring Out, Wild Bells – Alfred, Lord Tennyson

From In Memoriam A.H.H., this New Year’s section doubles as a seasonal reflection. The ringing of bells becomes a call for renewal, change, and progress.

Classroom use: Analyse symbolism of the bells. Collaborative activity: write a class stanza about what they’d like to “ring out” and “ring in.”
Writing extension: Students create a personal “Ring Out / Ring In” list poem for the year ahead.

5. little tree – E. E. Cummings

This short, tender poem gives voice to a Christmas tree, capturing innocence and vulnerability in Cummings’ signature free verse.

Classroom use: Excellent for teaching personification. Students can write from the perspective of another Christmas object — a bauble, stocking, or candle.
Writing extension: Draft a monologue for their chosen object, imagining what it might witness on Christmas Day.

6. Snow in the Suburbs – Thomas Hardy

Not overtly “Christmas,” but Hardy’s image of snow settling on rooftops, fences, and animals captures the stillness of winter.

Classroom use: Study Hardy’s observational style and focus on detail. Students can write descriptive “snow snapshots” in his voice.
Writing extension: Write a vignette describing how snow changes an ordinary street, classroom, or town.

7. The Darkling Thrush – Thomas Hardy

Written on New Year’s Eve 1900, Hardy’s poem contrasts despair at the turn of the century with hope symbolised by a thrush’s unexpected song.

Classroom use: Analyse the juxtaposition of bleak landscape and sudden hope. Connect to wider themes of endings and beginnings.
Writing extension: Students write a poem where one unexpected detail shifts the mood of an otherwise bleak setting.

8. Journey of the Magi – T. S. Eliot

One of the most sophisticated Christmas poems, Eliot imagines the Nativity through the eyes of a weary Magus, blending history, faith, and existential reflection.

Classroom use: Use with older or advanced groups for higher-level analysis. Debate whether the ending expresses faith, doubt, or both.
Writing extension: Students write from the perspective of another witness at the Nativity — the innkeeper, a shepherd, or even a child.

9. Minstrels – William Wordsworth

Wordsworth captures the tradition of Christmas music and its connection to community and festivity. Its simplicity and warmth make it accessible and joyful.

Classroom use: Explore the musicality of the language. Ask students to connect the poem to their own soundscapes of Christmas.
Writing extension: Create a “sound-map” of holiday noises (bells, laughter, wrapping paper) and shape it into a poem.

10. Carol of the Brown King – Langston Hughes

Hughes honours the Black king of the Nativity, reclaiming voice and visibility in the Christmas canon. Its inclusivity makes it an essential addition to the classroom.

Classroom use: Analyse perspective and representation. Discuss why Hughes’ poem still matters for teaching an inclusive view of Christmas.
Writing extension: Students retell a well-known Christmas story or tradition from an overlooked perspective.

Final Thoughts

From faith to nostalgia, joy to doubt, Christmas poetry offers much more than festive decoration. These ten poems allow students to approach the season through imagery, symbolism, and reflection — while keeping lessons rigorous and rooted in literary craft.

They also show how Christmas, in literature, has always been about more than cheer. It’s about memory, longing, endings, beginnings, and what we choose to hold on to when the year turns. And with the writing extensions, every poem becomes a springboard for students to find their own voice in the season.