Making Memories at Christmas: Lessons for Experiential Learning
Christmas nostalgia is rarely about the presents we received. When we think back to childhood Christmases, the memories that linger aren’t the shiny toys or neatly wrapped boxes. They’re the laughter around the dinner table, the chaos of family games, the smell of mince pies, accidentally burning the turkey, the sound of carols and those Christmas songs we all secretly love (Wham! Last Christmas for me…), and the warmth of being surrounded by people we don’t always see, our family and friends.
These moments endure because they are experienced, not consumed. They are lived through emotion, connection, and playfulness. And that’s exactly why they stick.
Experience Over Objects
Psychologists like John Bowlby remind us that even in the earliest years of life, experiences of attachment and love form our Internal Working Models, shaping how we connect with others for the rest of our lives. We may not consciously recall every detail but the feelings of fun, belonging, and love leave deep imprints.
Christmas memories are powerful because they are emotional. The laughter, the chaos and the warmth we feel as well as a sense of belonging. For some, it may also be a time to reflect and remember those not able to share the day with us - or those we are not sharing the day with. These feelings can run deep…and there’s always the East Enders Christmas Day episode if you want to watch examples of how bringing people together isn’t always the best thing for some families!
On the lighter side, it is the season to be sociable - connections with people we don’t always see, or those we see regularly but we get to spend meaningful time with. Cards, phone calls and messages of seasonal greetings show how we think about those near and far.
It’s often a time where we become more playful too. Whether through traditional games like Monopoly or Charades, the terrible jokes in your Christmas cracker, putting a toy together (have you got your stash of batteries ready?), or finding moments of joy…even when grandma buys you the same pair of socks for the 5th year in a row!
Then there’s the imperfect and spontaneous nature of it all and the moments that lodge in your mind, retold for years. “Remember when Mum forgot to roast the potatoes?” “Remember when we found the missing puzzle piece as we packed the tree away when Dad had blamed the dog?” “Remember when the children swapped the labels on the presents, and Uncle Dave ended up with glittery nail polish (it just wasn’t his colour, he said!)?” It’s often those imperfect, unexpected moments that become the most memorable.
Tis the season for…. Experiential Learning
Experiences, good or bad, form deeper memories than information alone. Just as Christmas nostalgia is built through participation and emotion, memorable learning is shaped by how the experience feels.
We can look to theorists like John Dewey, David Kolb, Jean Piaget, and Kurt Lewin whose studies indicated that true learning comes from the experience and that we don’t remember what we’re told; we remember what we do and how we connect with that.
Christmas memories stick with us because we aren’t following a set of rules or sequences we’ve been given. We’re experiencing the events as they come. We’re living in the moment. The same principle applies when we’re learning something new too. Whether it’s a skill at work or a personal challenge.
Shaping Memorable Learning Experiences
So is it possible to design learning that sticks? Learning that feels like memory-making? Learning that possibly doesn’t feel like learning at all? Well, there are three ideas that appear in our challenges that our customers say reflect this:
Connection: Create safe, welcoming spaces where people show up fully and authentically. Learning becomes collaborative, not transactional.
Playfulness: Invite curiosity, experimentation, and creativity. Play reduces fear of failure and makes learning joyful.
Imperfection: Embrace mistakes as part of the process. Just as we laugh about the year the turkey got burnt, learners remember the moments when things didn’t go perfectly but still led to growth.
Memorable learning isn’t about delivering information - it’s about living the experience. Aim for sessions people feel, not just attend. In years to come, the lived moment will be remembered more than who won the coin toss.
Christmas offers us a chance to reflect that memories are made in the messy, human, shared experiences of life. If we want learning to be just as memorable, we need to shape it the same way: playful, emotional, imperfect, and deeply connected.
Because in the end, whether it’s Christmas or a workplace workshop, learning that sticks is lived, not delivered.
Perhaps this is your reminder, to go and grab that board game, sit down with your family and enjoy!
Merry Christmas!