Explore German food and culture with these family-friendly Oktoberfest activities, crafts, and recipes. Plus, I’ve included a free printable pack with six different kids activities.

Make a Pretzel Necklace

Let your kids hone their fine motor skills by making a pretzel necklace. All you need are some bite-size pretzels and some yarn or string. According to History.com, German children wore pretzel necklaces to symbolize luck and prosperity for the new year.

If you want to take this a step further and back an authentic German soft pretzel with your kids, here’s a great, easy recipe from Amanda’s Cooking.

Make a Special Dessert

Whether it’s a Black Forest Cake or a frozen apple strudel, there are so many delicious options. I love to introduce my tot to different cultures, places, and seasons through food. Not only is cooking together a great educational activity, but it’s usually a lot of fun and can be calming (for them).

Stir Up Some Jello “Lager” Dessert Cups

While beer is one of the first things that comes to mind when celebrating Oktoberfest, I don’t recommend giving it to kids. Instead, your kids will have fun making these Jello Lager Dessert Cups. Make Orange Jello, pour into small glasses, and top with whipped cream. Easy and the kids may think it’s funny to snack on something that looks like an adult beverage.

Folksy Music Freeze Dance Game

Amazon Prime (and other streaming providers) usually have seasonal playlists. When in doubt, try some Polka music! Tell the kids to dance to the music, but they have to freeze each time you pause it. My tot loves dancing, and this game is a fun way to get her boundless energy out!

Turn on Some Classical Music

Once you have worn out your folksy Oktoberfest playlist, switch over to some classic works by Bach or Beethoven. Germany marks the classical music capital and is the birthplace to both famous composers. It makes great background music while you and the kids play, craft, snack, or work on one of my free printable activities below!

Oktoberfest Free Printable Pack

In celebration of Oktoberfest, I developed a free printable pack that includes play dough mats, crafts, and learning activities. Here’s a look at what’s included:

1. Make a Cuckoo Clock. It’s best to print this one on card stock. Simply cut out the parts of the clock and paste them on construction paper. You may even use a pipe cleaner to make the bird pop out.
2. Design an Alpine Hat. Let the kids glue feathers onto their hats with this super simple activity. It’s great for groups, play dates, and siblings.
3. Zoo Cut and Paste Activity. Kids can cut (or you can cut) the hats and paste them on each animal based on whether the animal is small, medium, or large.
4. Complete Oktoberfest themed patterns marks a great activity for older toddlers through elementary. Cut along the doted lines and paste the picture of the item that comes next.
5. Oktoberfest Play Dough Mats. Four play dough mats encourage kids to make pretzels, alpine hats, gingerbread hearts, and cuckoo birds. Play dough is a great tool for building fine motor skills.
6. Oktoberfeest coloring page. Use crayons, markers, or paint to add some color to these dancing children!

Click here to print my free, Oktoberfest pack. And don’t forget to share it with your friends on social media.

I hope you and your family likes these activities as much as mine does! If you are interested in more printable learning activities, check out my Etsy shop. I sell a variety of activity kits, busy books, file folder games, and more. Proceeds benefit this site, so it’s a win, win.