Bring Holiday Spirit and Christmas Fun to Your Class
With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s the perfect time to start planning a Christmas fun party that your 3rd-5th graders will love. These classroom Christmas activities combine creativity, fun, and a bit of learning to keep students engaged and in the holiday spirit. From quick crafts to educational games, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Here’s a comprehensive guide with the best ideas for your classroom fun holiday party!
1. Create Ornaments for the Christmas Tree
Making ornaments is always a huge hit with kids! You can keep it simple using clear ornaments filled with glitter or fake snow. Or, you can opt for a personalized touch with photo ornaments featuring each student’s picture. Provide markers, stickers, and ribbons to let them decorate how they want. Christmas music in the background is the best part to set the holiday mood.
2. Build Gingerbread Houses
Let students unleash their creativity with gingerbread houses! You can buy gingerbread house kits or prepare graham crackers and frosting for a DIY experience. Green icing works great for adding some color, and pretzel rods can serve as fences. This activity lets students work in small groups to foster collaboration while having fun.
3. Candy Cane Relay Race
For a burst of energy, plan a candy cane relay race. Divide students into teams and have them pass a candy cane from one person to the next without using their hands—just their elbows or a sheet of construction paper! Set a time limit for extra excitement and emphasize teamwork for this fast-paced game, similar to relay races.
4. Merry Christmas Word Game
This quick activity only requires a whiteboard and some markers. Write “Happy Holidays” or another holiday phrase, and challenge students to create as many words as possible within a set time. You can adapt it for spelling practice or to build vocabulary. Prizes for the longest word or most words made add an extra layer of fun!
5. Hot Chocolate and Movie Time
A great idea for the end of the party is to let students enjoy a classic holiday movie like The Polar Express or The Best Christmas Ever while sipping on hot chocolate. Set up a hot chocolate station with marshmallows, whipped cream, and candy canes. This is a great way to create a cozy atmosphere and give yourself a bit of extra time to catch up on tasks.
6. Paper Snowball Fight
All you need is some paper for a no-prep classroom holiday party game! Give each student a few sheets to crumple into “snowballs.” Establish clear rules, such as no running or screaming, and a freeze command for easy clean-up. You can turn this into a math or vocabulary review activity by having students aim for specific targets.
7. Pin the Nose on Rudolph
This holiday twist on the classic “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” game is perfect for younger students. Create a large cut-out of Rudolph and hand out red circles (for Rudolph’s nose) with some double-sided tape. Blindfold each student and see who can pin Rudolph’s nose closest to the right spot!
8. Class Photo Booth
Set up a festive photo booth with a red or green backdrop, holiday props, and an empty picture frame. Snap fun photos of each student to send home as a Christmas gift to parents. This is a great way to make memories while keeping students engaged.
9. Snowman Fraction Activity
This educational activity keeps your students in the holiday spirit while reinforcing math skills. Have students color and cut out paper snowmen to demonstrate various fractions. You can pair them in small groups or have them work independently to encourage both teamwork and individual growth.
10. New Year’s Resolution Writing Prompts
As the year wraps up, guide your students to reflect on their past year and set goals for the new year. Writing prompts about Christmas break or holiday plans can also inspire creativity and encourage them to share their stories with their peers.
11. Gingerbread Man Decorating Contest
Instead of building houses with a gingerbread house kit, let students decorate gingerbread cookies to show off their creativity. Set up a station with red, white, and green icing and candy toppings, and hold a contest for the most creative designs. Award prizes to the winners for added fun!
12. Jingle Bell Toss Game
This is a simple yet engaging game to add to your winter holiday party. You can grab some jingle bells and set up containers or rings for students to throw the bells into. You can adjust the difficulty by varying the distances and sizes of the targets.
13. Santa Says Game
Put a holiday twist on the classic Simon Says game by becoming Santa for the day! Give commands like “Santa says to pat your head” or “Santa says to hop on one foot.” It’s a fun way to get the class moving and practice their listening skills.
How to Adapt These Activities for Middle School
Many of these activities can be modified for middle school students to keep the holiday spirit alive. For instance, the Gingerbread Houses activity can be turned into a group engineering project where students plan, design, and build structures. The Merry Christmas Word Game can include more complex phrases and be tied to vocabulary lessons, while the Paper Snowball Fight can incorporate questions related to social studies or science. Older students also enjoy the creativity of a photo booth or a class Christmas party focused on community-building and celebration before the Christmas break. The key to success with older students is encouraging independent work while allowing them to explore more complex ideas.
These creative ideas for a classroom party are designed to be flexible, engaging, and easy to prepare. Whether you’re planning for elementary or middle school students, these ideas are sure to create a memorable experience during this special time of year.
Just a heads-up: This post contains affiliate links. If you decide to make a purchase through these links, we’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Rest assured, we only recommend products and resources that we truly believe in and think will be valuable to you. By using our links, you’re helping to support this site, and we truly appreciate your support!
Leave a Reply