When school starts again in January, many children come back with stories about Three Kings Day. On January 6, families in Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico and many other places celebrate Día de los Reyes with small gifts, paper crowns and a special sweet bread.

It is a perfect welcome-back topic. Here is how to explain Three Kings Day to young children, with easy Three Kings Day crafts for kids and activities for PreK–2.

What Is Three Kings Day?

Three Kings Day remembers the Christmas story of three wise men, often called kings, who followed a bright star to visit baby Jesus. Their names are traditionally Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar (Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar in Spanish), and they brought three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

For many families, January 6 marks the end of the Christmas season, and in several countries it is the day children receive their gifts. For young children, you can say:

  • Three Kings Day is on January 6.
  • It remembers three kings who followed a star.
  • Many children receive small gifts.
  • Families share a round sweet bread called rosca de Reyes.

How Families Celebrate Día de los Reyes

  • Shoes and shoeboxes: On the night of January 5, many children in Mexico and Spain leave their shoes out, sometimes with a letter to the Kings. In Puerto Rico, many children fill a shoebox with grass or hay for the Kings’ camels. In the morning, they find small gifts.
  • Rosca de Reyes: This ring-shaped sweet bread is decorated with colorful candied fruit, like a crown covered in jewels. Tiny baby figurines are hidden inside. In Mexico, whoever finds one is expected to host a tamale party on February 2, Día de la Candelaria.
  • Parades: In Spain, cities hold big parades called cabalgatas on the evening of January 5, where the Kings ride on floats and toss candy to the crowd.
  • Crowns: Paper crowns are a favorite part of the day for children.

Teaching Three Kings Day Respectfully

  • For many families, Three Kings Day is both a religious holiday and a family tradition. Present it as “how many families celebrate.”
  • Invite children who celebrate to share what they did, if they want to.
  • Some children may not celebrate any winter holiday, so keep the activities about learning, art and stories.
  • Use the Spanish words: rey (king), corona (crown), estrella (star), camello (camel), regalo (gift) and rosca.

Easy Three Kings Day Crafts for Kids

Paper Crowns

Give each child a strip of yellow paper with zigzag points. Children decorate it with paper “jewels” in different shapes: circles, squares, triangles and diamonds. Ask them to make a pattern (red circle, blue square, red circle) and count the points on their crown.

Rosca de Reyes Playdough Bread

Children roll playdough into a ring and decorate it with beads or buttons as candied fruit. For a fun guessing game, hide a small toy figure inside one of several playdough roscas and let the class guess where it is.

Shoebox for the Camels

Cut green paper into thin strips of grass. It is excellent scissor practice. Children fill a small box or a paper shoe shape with their grass, just like children in Puerto Rico do for the Kings’ camels.

A Letter to the Kings (Writing)

Kindergarten and first-grade students can write a short letter: “Dear Kings, my name is… I am thankful for… I hope…” Preschoolers can draw a picture and dictate one sentence. Focus on kindness and wishes for others, not only on toys.

Follow the Star (Math and Movement)

Hide numbered paper stars around the room. Children find them and put them in order from 1 to 10 (or to 20 for older students), then “follow the star” to the next center.

Words, Puzzles and Printables

Make a Three Kings Day word search with our free word search maker using rey, corona, estrella, camello, regalo and rosca. For a welcome-back game, create a vocabulary set with the bingo card maker.

A Warm Welcome Back

Three Kings Day is a joyful way to restart the year: crowns, kindness and a little sweetness. To rebuild your class community after the break, try our classroom community activities, and keep celebrating Hispanic cultures all year with our collaborative bulletin board activities.