December ECON/PFL Resources (the NEW stuff!)

Lesson Plan - NGPF's "December Dash: Holiday Word Search"

This one was actually new last year from NGPF, but was then updated this year (so hopefully it doesn't feel repetitive if you used it in 2024). This is a combination of a word search and a "MOVE" activity - students solve a puzzle, then it directs them to a new location in the classroom to get a new puzzle. While you can use the ones they provide, this is also a good one to supplement with content from your classroom (like having a problem or two to solve in each location).

“December Dash: Holiday Word Puzzle”, updated Dec 2025, https://www.ngpf.org/blog/curriculum-announcements/december-dash-holiday-word-puzzle/ (blog article w/links)

Lesson Plan - Foundation for Economic Education's "Build Your Best Holiday Memory With $20"

This one is a short activity - I think of it as an icebreaker or discussion starter more than a full lesson. I should also note that it doesn't have a written lesson plan with it that I have been able to find - I was introduced to the activity when I attended an FEE session at a conference earlier this year. The idea of the activity is focusing on choice and opportunity cost - students are encouraged to put together their best combination of Christmas-themed items for $20. Here is a quick look at a portion of the materials you print off:

“Build Your Best Holiday Memory With $20”, Foundation for Economic Education, Dec 2025, https://docs.google.com/document/d/16rkx5c2NNOYJ6c5sOdG_XiOUnn1MCfnd0JebNkJpVY4/edit?tab=t.0

Video (w/discussion questions) - NGPF Fincap Friday - "Holiday Hype or Hidden Debt"

If you are not already familiar, Fincap Fridays is NGPF's weekly series, with 3-5 minute videos covering financial literacy current events topics. Beyond the video, NGPF also provides a Kahoot quiz (can also be found in a no-tech version) and extended resources on the topic. Below I have links to the YouTube version of the video, as well as a link to the blog article (which will lead you to the other resources mentioned above).

“FinCap Friday: Holiday Hype or Hidden Debt?”, Dec 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8miAAX4o90 (video) and https://www.ngpf.org/blog/fincap-friday/fincap-friday-holiday-hype-or-hidden-debt/ (blog article w/links)

Economic Blog Article - Econlife.com on "The Top Ten Ways That Santa Thinks Economically"

This article came out late last year, so I am including it as "new" in this year's list. Most of you know I am a big fan of Elaine Schwartz's website - she does such a good job of taking difficult economic concepts and finding ways to relate them to current events and examples from real life. In this case, I also like the "top ten" format as a way to make several small connections rather than one big concept:

“The Top Ten Ways That Santa Thinks Economically”, Econlife, Dec 2024, https://econlife.com/2024/12/santa-top-ten-list/

U.S. Census - "A Week of Festive Fun with U.S. Census Bureau Data"

Given how many government agencies have had a difficult time "catching up" with time-sensitive reports in the wake of this fall's government shutdown, I was impressed to see this new presentation from the U.S. Census Bureau. To be fair, there isn't a lot of new material included here - I've seen some of these before - but the new presentation is a great way to give teachers 5 opportunities to slip some content into a holiday format before break.

“A Week of Festive Fun with U.S. Census Bureau Data”, U.S. Census, Dec 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/sis/resources/week-of-festive-fun.pdf

A few other new resources on December “holidays” (just so you don't lose them in the long list):

“Holiday catalogs are making a comeback“ (article or podcast episode), Marketplace, Nov 2025, https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/11/10/why-retailers-like-amazon-jcrew-are-reviving-holiday-catalogs

“The office holiday party can tell you a lot about a business' health (article or podcast episode), Marketplace, Dec 2025, https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/12/12/what-the-office-holiday-party-can-reveal-about-your-workplace

“Survey: Fewer Americans are planning to tip this holiday season”, Bankrate.com, Dec 2025, https://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/news/holiday-tipping-survey/

“Winter Holidays Data and Trends”, National Retail Federation, Dec 2025, https://nrf.com/research-insights/holiday-data-and-trends/winter-holidays