Holiday Memes for Spanish Class: Why & How to Use Them
I love memes. They’re a fun way to deliver comprehensible input—using visuals + text to help students infer meaning and stay engaged.
Holiday memes offer an especially rich opportunity: they tie language learning to cultural moments, give authentic context, and make the classroom feel timely and relevant. Below, I walk through why holiday memes are useful, strategies for using them, and tips + example ideas you can adapt.
Why Holiday Memes Work
- Cultural & calendar relevance
Because holidays are already in students’ minds (especially around that date), tying memes to them gives natural interest. The meme isn’t just random—it connects to what’s happening in the world or on the calendar. - Emotional resonance & motivation
Holidays evoke feelings (anticipation, nostalgia, excitement). Memes that play on those feelings can make language more memorable. - Scaffolded meaning through visuals + humor
A holiday meme might show a holiday scene (e.g. Christmas tree, Día de Muertos skulls), plus text that combines known vocabulary and new phrases. Students use the visual cues to help decode the language. - Low-stakes input + language play
Because memes are casual and often humorous, they reduce stress. Students feel freer to guess, interpret, and experiment. It’s less “high-stakes grammar test” and more “we’re playing with language.” - Bridging real language & culture
Many Spanish-speaking communities have holiday traditions or holidays different from those in other contexts. Memes are a way to bring in those cultural dimensions and invite discussion. Consider displaying one of these at the appropriate time. After reading about the same holiday or a similar one in the Spanish-speaking world, do a compare and contrast poster. Here are some readings in SpanishSpanish Class: Holiday + Traditions Readings I would recommend doing this as it provides more relevant input and output than perhaps having students create their own. This, of course, is also an option.
Play the video and pause on the one you want. There are about a hundred for holidays throughout the year. You can also click where it says “design” and click through them manually.
How to Use Holiday Memes in Class
Here are practical strategies to make holiday memes pedagogically effective:
| Strategy | How to Use It | Why It Helps |
|---|---|---|
| Project & pause | Show one meme on the screen. Let students read. Pause. | Gives time for processing. |
| Think-then-share / pair discussion | Ask students to interpret what it says, what the joke is, what cultural reference is implied. Then share. | Encourages noticing, discussion, peer learning. |
Holiday memes can be more than “cute extras” — they can give your class a springboard into cultural comparisons through comprehensible input and grammar in context. They invite curiosity and laughter, but also deeper attention to phrasing, vocabulary, and cultural nuance.
I made a collection of everyday ones, too. Check them out here: Memes for Spanish Class
I hope you and your students enjoy these!
5 Weeks of No and Low Prep Fun
Need quick, engaging activities for your class? This free guide includes 25 no-prep and low-prep ideas to save time while keeping students excited about learning.
Download your free copy now.
