The Pobble blog

Looking for something a little different to the usual letter to Santa? Try these festive writing ideas that start with talk, build confidence, and get words flowing.

1) Elf CV, apply for a job at the North Pole

Oracy warm-up: In pairs, list three skills a great workshop elf needs. Use sentence starters, I am reliable because…, I can…, I enjoy…
Write: A CV or short application letter for a chosen role, toy tester, sleigh navigator, or cookie quality control.
Differentiate: Provide a CV template for support, and add a personal statement challenge for confident writers.
Pobble tie-in: Use Pobble's Frosty find' prompt to build vocabulary and generate sensory language about what the North Pole might be like.

2) The reindeer’s point of view

Oracy warm-up: Hot seat a reindeer. Class asks questions about training, weather, and nerves. Use a question grid if you have one.
Write: A first-person recount of Christmas Eve, or a diary entry from a rookie reindeer.
Differentiate: Offer sentence starters, meanwhile, although, and later that night. Stretch with varied clause structures.
Pobble tie-in: Use our festive favourite 'Let's fly' for inspiration.

3) Christmas news report

Oracy warm-up: Pupils form a newsroom. Assign roles, anchor, field reporter, and eyewitness. Rehearse a 30 second bulletin.
Write: A short report about a festive hiccup, lost map, delayed launch, power cut in the workshop.
Differentiate: Provide a report frame, headline, lead sentence, who, what, where, when, and why.

4) The present that went missing, a festive mystery

Oracy warm-up: Build a suspect board on the board. Students propose motives and clues. Use a close-up prop image, tag, ribbon, and footprints to spark inference. 
Write: A mystery story that uses red herrings and reveals. Focus on openings and tension.
Differentiate: Offer a problem, events, resolution scaffold. Challenge with show not tell and precise verbs.
Pobble tie-in: Perhaps it's The Greatest Gift that goes missing? 

5) New traditions

Oracy warm-up: Small groups design a tradition. Agree food, music, colours, a ritual. Each member pitches one idea.
Write: An explanatory piece that introduces the tradition and explains its meaning.
Differentiate: Provide a planning grid, what, who, where, why it matters. Stretch with cause and effect language.
Pobble tie-in: Perhaps a new tradition could be carolling with kittens? 

6) Elf logistics, instructions that actually work

Oracy warm-up: Sequence a simple task verbally, pack a sleigh safely in four steps, or how to build a giant snowball.
Write: Imperative instructions with numbered steps and an equipment list.
Differentiate: Provide verb starters for support. Challenge with conditionals: if the sack is overfilled, then…
Pobble tie-in: Extend the theme by writing a story about a Snowball Surprise! 

7) Festive adverts, persuasive writing with style

Oracy warm-up: Ten-second elevator pitch for a new seasonal product. Class gives one specific piece of feedback.
Write: A persuasive advert or social post for a festive treat with catchy adjectives and slogans.
Differentiate: Provide a checklist, features, benefits, call to action. Challenge with rhetorical questions and contrast.
Pobble tie-in: Choose to sell tickets for a ride on The Christmas Express or to a Starlit Ice rink. 

8) Courtroom drama, the naughty list appeal

Oracy warm-up: Simple debate, should the character be removed from the naughty list. Use agree or disagree cards.
Write: A balanced argument or a formal letter of appeal that uses evidence.
Differentiate: Give paragraph starters for balance. Stretch with counterarguments and concessive clauses.
Pobble tie-in: Rude Ruby is the perfect prompt for this, what will your class think of her? 

9) Recipe for a winter gathering

Oracy warm up: Build a sensory word bank together, sounds, smells, textures of your school celebration.
Write: A procedural text, recipe or how to guide, for a class celebration or cultural dish.
Differentiate: Provide headings and bullet frames. Stretch with precise measurements and time connectives.

10) Postcards from the future

Oracy warm up: Think, pair, share about how Christmas might look in 100 years time. Focus on the environment and the community.
Write: A postcard from a future Christmas, narrative or informative, with place specific detail.
Differentiate: Offer a prompt bank for support. Stretch with shifts in formality and viewpoint.
Pobble tie-in: Perhaps your class could use the postbox in 'Letters through time'.

Make it oracy-rich without extra workload

• Always talk before writing, build ten to ninety seconds of partner talk into the start.

• Model one sentence aloud, then ask students to adapt it. Low lift, high impact.

• Use a visible question grid to push beyond what you can see, aim for why, how, and what if.

• Keep starters visible, I think…, I noticed…, This suggests…, so students can rehearse academic language.

Quick planning checklist

• Purpose and audience named out loud before writing starts.

• Two or three target words pre-taught, for example, glint, frost, and lantern.

• Visible success criteria that focus on meaning first, clarity, structure, and then accuracy.

• Time to share and celebrate at the end, a quick read-aloud or pick a writer of the week.

Pobble can take care of the hook

Hooks like props and whole school events are brilliant, but they take time and budget. Pobble 365 gives you a new, high quality prompt every day, one free prompt daily with a free account, the full 365 calendar with three challenge levels and editable slides with a subscription. Project the image, use the built-in questions, then choose a short writing outcome that fits your timetable.

💡 Try one this week. Open the calendar, pick a winter prompt, run a one minute talk, and write for five minutes. Small routines, repeated often, build confidence, creativity, and stamina right through December.