If you’re looking for an easy Christmas STEM activity that feels festive, a little bit magical, and uses stuff you already have, this fizzy Christmas tree experiment is it. It’s basically a classic baking soda and vinegar reaction… with a holiday twist and that fresh Christmas tree smell in the background. The best part is it looks impressive, but it’s low effort: set it up on a tray, hand your kid an eye dropper, and let them “wake up” the fizz.
We did this with tiny cut pieces from the ends of our Christmas tree branches (the bits you usually trim off anyway). They become your “letters,” and kids get to build a Christmas word like MERRY, JOY, or NOEL before making it bubble and fizz. It’s science, sensory play, and a little fine motor practice rolled into one.
Why You’ll Love This Fizzy Christmas Tree Activity
- It’s true hands-on Christmas STEM with a wow factor
- The eye dropper turns it into a fine motor workout without feeling like “work”
- It smells like a Christmas tree while you play, which makes it extra cozy
- Super flexible: use any holiday word, make shapes, or even a tree outline
- Quick setup, easy cleanup (tray = your best friend)
Supplies
- Pieces of your Christmas tree (cut from the ends of branches)
- Tray (a baking sheet or plastic serving tray works great)
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Red food coloring
- Green food coloring
- Eye dropper (or small spoon if you don’t have one)
Optional: small bowls or cups to mix colored vinegar
Step-by-Step: How to Make a Fizzy Christmas Tree Word
1) Prep your tree “letters”
Trim small pieces from the ends of your Christmas tree branches. You want short segments that are easy to place like little lines. Think of them like nature “sticks” you can use to form letters.
Tip: If your pieces are too long, just snap or trim them into smaller bits so kids can shape letters more easily.
2) Build your word on a tray
Place your tray on a table (or the floor if you want a bigger workspace). Arrange the tree pieces into the word MERRY. You can make block-style letters using straight lines, which is easiest for kids to copy. If MERRY feels too long, start with JOY or NOEL.
Make sure there’s a little space between letters so the fizz doesn’t instantly blend everything together.
3) Add baking soda
Sprinkle baking soda over the tree pieces. You don’t need a mountain, but you do want a visible layer so the reaction pops. If you want more control (and less mess), you can sprinkle lightly first, then add more only where kids want extra fizz.
4) Mix your colored vinegar
Pour vinegar into two small cups. Add red food coloring to one cup and green food coloring to the other. Stir. You’re basically making “Christmas fizz potions.”
5) Start the fizz with an eye dropper
Use an eye dropper to suck up colored vinegar and drip it onto the baking soda-covered tree letters. The fizz starts right away, and the color makes it look extra festive. Encourage kids to move slowly and aim for specific spots on the letters — it’s a sneaky fine motor skill builder.
6) Keep experimenting
Once the fizz slows down, add more baking soda and drip more vinegar. Kids love seeing what makes bigger bubbles: more powder, more liquid, or dripping in different spots.
Quick Science Behind the Fizz
Baking soda is a base and vinegar is an acid. When they mix, they create a reaction that releases carbon dioxide gas — that’s the bubbling and fizzing your kids see. It’s one of those simple experiments that never gets old, especially when it’s dressed up like Christmas.
Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers
There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!
But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.
Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.
Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!
These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!
Click here for more information: Play2Learn
Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids
Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.
Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.
Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.
Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids
Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.
Find out more and grab your copy here.
Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.
Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids
Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.
- 350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
- Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
- Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.
Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!
Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.
TV Show: Curious Crafting
I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.
Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!
Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.
In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.
Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.
This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.
