With the winter holidays around the corner, homeroom parents and volunteers are brainstorming fun classroom holiday Party ideas. We've collated some of our favorite classroom party games, decorations, and food so you can pass it on to your parent volunteers. We have more ideas on specific Pinterest Boards, too! Consider us Santa's helpers!
Games and Activities for all Themes
Most games and activities can be changed slightly to fit the theme. Here are a few of our favorites, no matter what theme you choose:
For Laughs...
Wrap up the teacher - Depending on the theme, choose a material that the students can wrap the teacher up in. For a snow themed party, use rolls of toilet paper and black circles for eyes and colored circles for buttons. You may want to do this in small groups so that everyone has a chance to roll the teacher and make sure to take pictures afterward! Older kids will probably like to wrap their friends or do this in peer groups.
Pin-the-Tail type of games - It's amazing how much fun this game is, even for older kids. For a reindeer party, you may pin the nose on the reindeer but for a tree party, you may pin the star to the top of the tree. A good hint to make the game fun for older (and wiser!) kids is to make the rule that the first place they touch is where they must place the nose or star or whatever. Otherwise, they will feel around to the right place!
For Memories...
Photo Booths - Instead of worrying about finding photo props that fit the theme, just create a simple backdrop that is theme appropriate. If you don't want to draw or paint something on butcher paper - or whatever you use for your backdrop - consider hanging streamers or taping balloons to the backdrop to add dimension and interest. You can also simply add a few strings of colored lights to make it more festive.
For Calmness...
Coloring Pages/Holiday themed Mazes - For younger kids, especially, consider having coloring sheets handy so that they can return to it if there is downtime between activities or if they finish eating quickly. This is also a good transition activity after the party when the energy level needs to go down a few notches.
Snow Themed Classroom Holiday Party Ideas
Decoration Ideas
- Cover the table with white butcher paper and add eyes, buttons, and a nose with other colored paper.
- Hang up white and blue balloons.
- Hang up paper snowflakes.
- Spread fake snow on the tables.
Games
- Bounce ping pong "snowballs" into cups of varying point values.
- Roll a large white ball into paper towel snowmen.
- Provide kids with a variety of fun outlines such as ties, crowns, etc. and let them decorate their own snow person.
- Make snow slime or homemade snow.
Favorites from our Pinterest Snow Themed Classroom Party Board
- Food - White powdered donut kebabs
- Ornament - Snowman filled ball ornaments with scarves!
Gingerbread Themed Classroom Holiday Party Ideas
Decoration Ideas
- Cover tables with brown butcher paper with colored circles for buttons, face, and a little collar.
- Hang up a large paper gingerbread house with a little door. This can double as a photo backdrop, as well.
- Tape large colored circles on the ground to serve as a candy sidewalk.
Games and Activities
- Decorate gingerbread cookies or make graham cracker houses. Consider making the decoration table look very festive by laying out all the ingredients beautifully.
- Gingerbread "Cookie" Walk - tape an outline of a gingerbread man on the floor, add paper squares about a foot apart with numbers, turn on music, and let the kids walk along the outline. When the music stops, pick a body part and number, and that child wins a prize.
Favorites from our Pinterest Gingerbread Themed Classroom Party Board
- Food - Well, you know. Gingerbread. ;)
- Ornament - Mini gingerbread houses made with class and decorated with beads and other embellishments. (May have to start this a few days ahead of time.)
Santa Themed Classroom Holiday Party Ideas
Decorations
- Cover tables with red paper with black stripes for a belt.
- Use red and white crepe paper or banners.
- Hang jingle bells from the board or door.
- Tape cut-out footprints on the floor.
- Put one or a few wrapped presents in the middle of the table. (Make sure to let the kids know up front that they are for decoration only.)
Games and Activities
- Wrap about 5 boxes - wrap the box and lid separately. Put a fun item in each and then let the kids shake the boxes and guess what is in each one.
- Have kids pair off and throw light balls to their partner who tries to catch it in a Santa hat.
Favorites from our Pinterest Santa Themed Classroom Party Board
- Food - Strawberries with their bottoms cut off and filled with a bit of whipped cream
- Ornament - Glass ball filled with red sand/glitter, with painted black belt, and furry collar
Tree Themed Classroom Holiday Party Ideas
Decorations
- Cover tables with green paper with colored circles for ornaments.
- Tape "light" balloons over the board or door. (see Pinterest board)
- Place tiny, fake fir trees on paper plates with fake snow.
- Spread some tiny stars and confetti on the table to look like small festive decorations.
Games and Activities
- Ornament Toss - In pairs have the kids toss a non-breakable ornament back and forth, taking a step away from each other after each round.
- Tree Race - Have a small tree cut out for each team. Give them five minutes to decorate the tree with precut ornaments, a star, and presents. Best for older students.
- Have students put a white paper plate on their head, tell them to draw a tree complete with ornaments and presents, and start the timer. Share the results for lots of laughs.
- Cup Stacking into the shape of a fir Tree - Make sure to stock up on green cups!
Favorites from our Pinterest Holiday Tree Themed Classroom Parties
- Food - Arrange crackers, cheeses, fruit, etc. in a tree shape
- Ornament - Clothespin Tree Ornaments
Reindeer Themed Classroom Holiday Party Ideas
Decorations
- Cover tables with brown paper, eyes, and a red nose.
- Tape half-eaten carrots on the floor.
Games and Activities
- Antler toss - Add some sturdy branches to a box painted brown. Kids throw small hoops and try to get them onto the antlers.
- Reindeer Race - Give the kids the names of the reindeer from the Rudolf song. Put a notecard with one name of the reindeer on the back of their shirt. Then, have them get in the correct line order. Good for older kids.
- Nose Toss - Layout around 12 paper cups of the same color except for a few red ones. Color a ping pong ball red and kids will try to bounce the ping pong ball into one of the red ones.
Favorites from our Pinterest Reindeer Themed Classroom Party Board
- Food - Sandwiches cut on the diagonal with pretzel ears and candy nose and eyes
- Ornament - Reindeer Popsicle stick frames with a photo inside
Whatever theme you go with, the kids will have a blast. We can't wait to see what you come up with!
P.S. Make sure to pass this on to other volunters who will appreciate the information.
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