Celebrations and National Events

Get ready for a joyful, inclusive Christmas season with simple, practical ideas you can use in your early childhood setting. This article gives easy‑to‑make presents children can give to family and friends, art and craft activities, and fun games to play together — plus guidance on answering children’s tricky questions and respectfully talking with families from different cultural and religious backgrounds about the meaning of the celebration.

Use these ideas to plan meaningful, age‑appropriate experiences that celebrate creativity, kindness and belonging while honouring the diversity of your tamariki and whānau.

Practical, age‑appropriate ideas to mark Waitangi Day in your centre or in home-based ECE — from kapa haka and weaving to whānau engagement and iwi consultation.

Tips and guidance for planning meaningful, respectful learning that connects tamariki to history, culture and community.

This article offers many appropriate activity ideas for celebrating the Chinese New Year with children, parents, grandparents, and teachers in early childhood education settings.

It also explains the legend of the beast Nian, who threatened crops, describes traditional family customs for Chinese New Year, and outlines how contemporary festivals are celebrated today.

Children’s Day in NZ is usually held on the first Sunday of March. 

A number of countries have a similar special day for children on their events calendars.

It is an opportunity for parents, grandparents and other family members to celebrate the special day with children.  

It is also an opportunity for early childhood

Supporting family culture, values and beliefs is central to caring for and educating young children. Yet early childhood services often recognise some cultural and religious practices while overlooking others.

This article explores why that happens, the key questions educators should ask, and the practical ways services resolve differences in belief and celebration. We’ll consider what celebrations mean to families, tamariki and communities, and outline how services can respond respectfully and thoughtfully.

Shrove Tuesday marks the day before Lent in many Christian traditions and is often celebrated with pancakes — a fun, food‑based way to explore culture, seasons, and family customs with young children. This article explains the origins and meaning of Shrove Tuesday in simple terms for ECE settings, and offers practical, child‑friendly ideas for celebrating, from safe pancake‑making and tasting activities to stories, songs, and inclusive extensions that honour diverse family beliefs.

World Down Syndrome Day on 21 March is a chance for early childhood educators to celebrate inclusion, raise awareness, and make simple, practical changes so every child with Down syndrome feels welcome and supported.

This article offers practical, age‑appropriate ideas for marking WDSD in your service, shows how centres in New Zealand and overseas observe the day, and suggests simple ways to make your programme more welcoming and supportive for children with Down syndrome and their families.

Easter is a wonderful time to bring joy, creativity, and hands‑on learning into your programme.

Here are some favourite activities that children love and educators can adapt for different ages and abilities. We also give you ideas for learning links and documentation.

But first, it’s important to pause and reflect before planning. Consider how your centre and families feel about the commercialisation of Easter, its religious significance, and health matters such as allergies or chocolate consumption.

This article shares fabulous ideas to help teachers bring the spirit of the day into their early childhood education service, sparking curiosity and delight while celebrating together.

St Patrick’s Day, celebrated each year on 17 March, is a joyful occasion that began with Irish traditions but has since spread across the globe—including right here in New Zealand and Australia.

For early childhood educators, it offers a wonderful opportunity to weave cultural celebration into playful learning experiences.

Whether through creative crafts, music, storytelling, or simple themed activities, St Patrick’s Day can be marked in ways that are fun, age‑appropriate, and meaningful for young children.

Here is teaching and learning information about the meaning of ANZAC Day, along with early childhood activity ideas and a simple recipe for making delicious Anzac biscuits with children.

ANZAC Day is officially observed on April 25th. It commemorates Australians and New Zealanders who have died in conflict and honours returned servicemen and women.

This date marks the landing of Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) soldiers at Gallipoli in 1915 during the First World War.

Teaching and Learning about Matariki and Celebrating in Early Childhood Services

This article presents ideas and teaching and learning activities for marking this culturally important event in the curriculum of early childhood education centres and home-based services. 

In late May or early June, a cluster of seven stars becomes

Involving children in the Games is a perfect fit with the Te Whariki curriculum – focusing on wellbeing (physical and mental health), belonging, contribution (including good sportsmanship), communication, and exploration.

Children become inspired in seeing their heroes and following the achievements and stories of their own country’s represent

Birthday cakes.

Birthdays are a very exciting time for children in early childhood and it is important that children can celebrate these special occasions with their peers to acknowledge and appreciate this day with them. We can probably all remember the excitement of a birthday cake and waiting with anticipation to eat this tasty treat.

In e

Mother, Father or Special Person’s Day is a celebration of the special person in a child’s life.

It is an opportunity for children to honour the special person who is raising them, who is being their constant support, and their protector.

These special occasions have an interesting history which you might like to read about here. In this article we also give you lots of early childhood appropriate ideas for different events you could offer at your service and activities including gift making ideas. 

In the commercial world we live in it is easy to forget that sometimes the best presents or gifts for children do not cost a lot of money. 

The 5 Best “I Love You” and “You are Special” Gifts

An own plate and cup set decorated with a Disney scene or otherA scooter or new bike or outdoor play toyA first wrist watch or named item of jewell

When planning a children’s birthday party at your centre or home the first things to consider are:

The birthday child’s age and developmental abilities so that the party games, food (etc) are appropriate.The child’s personal likes and interests (e.g. you would not organise an inside noisy dance party with lots of friends for a 4-year-old girl wh

What can you do to celebrate Guy Fawkes at your early childhood centre or home? Today the history of Guy Fawkes is often forgotten about and it is simply viewed as fire-works time.  With very young children, sparklers are popular. Safety is however a concern with sparklers and any fireworks.  

History

Traditionally the 5th of Nov

TITLE: Halloween and Different Ways of Celebrating in Early Childhood Services.

Children will talk about it and ask questions and as educators we can’t pretend Halloween isn’t happening.

However, it’s important to remember, as with all celebrations, that different ethnic and religious groups will have very different perspectives on their children celebrating this occasion.

It’s therefore a good idea to consult with the whānau community at your service to find out what parents think of Halloween and how they celebrate it at home (if in fact they do).

The age and development of the children in your care is another consideration.

This article is written to cover teaching and learning on rugby or soccer during either the rugby or the soccer world cup times.

When NZ has success in international soccer or rugby it captures our whole nation’s interest. We celebrate the All Whites, Football Ferns, All Backs and Black Ferns.

The way the world affects New Zealand has been a

Celebrating Diwali or Deepavali, the Indian Festival of Lights is a fun way to bring Indian music and culture into your early childhood service and strengthen links with the Indian diaspora (or scattering of people to other countries).  

It is very important to be strong in one’s own cultural heritage and to participate in a shared, common c