Put four Christmas-card actions in an order that works
Make four picture cards about preparing and giving a Christmas greeting. Put them in a workable order, then see which steps can swap places and which need something finished first.
Put one action on each picture card
Take four small pieces of paper and crayons or pencils. Together, draw four actions: drawing a Christmas picture on a greeting card, adding a short message, putting the completed card in an envelope, and giving that envelope to someone.
Simple symbols can help. A tree and crayon suggest drawing; a pencil beside a few short writing marks suggests the message. A card partly inside an open envelope shows packing, while an envelope between two hands shows giving.
Name each action before playing. If a picture is confusing, add a short label and read it aloud, or redraw it together. The child needs to know what the cards mean before deciding where they belong.
Lay out a sequence and tell it
Mix the four pictures and ask your child to put them in a row from left to right. Agree on the job: someone will receive a finished Christmas greeting inside its envelope. Let the child choose an order first.
Read the row together, one action at a time. The child can point or describe what is happening. If the envelope is given before the picture or message exists, ask, “What is inside the envelope at this point?”
You can move a picture while talking. There is no need to keep an awkward order just because it was the first attempt.
Try swapping the first two steps
One workable row is drawing, message, envelope, giving. Another is message, drawing, envelope, giving. You can write before decorating or decorate before writing, so both beginnings can do the agreed job.
Try that swap with the actual pictures. Then look at the later steps: for this version, the finished card goes into the envelope before the envelope is handed over. Those actions have something they need first.
If your child suggests giving a card without an envelope, recognize it as another possible plan. You could draw a different giving picture for that version. Keep this four-card round focused on the job you agreed, rather than declaring every different plan wrong.
Leave a starting point and a place to stop
For a shorter turn, place the drawing and message pictures yourself and let the child arrange the last two. You can also tell the whole sequence together, with the child moving one picture.
Finish after one order that works; a second arrangement is optional. If you make a real greeting afterwards, choose its recipient and words separately. The game does not promise anyone a card.
