A teacher has been on Pinterest sifting through Christmas party themes for hours, not finding anything easy or affordable to put together. Planning for and coming up with classroom party ideas can be stressful with a capital S! Luckily, team Lucky Little Learners is here armed with All Access and a one stop shop Lucky Little Party Plan! As you are in the thinking/planning phase for your classroom Winter Holiday Party, let us take over! All you need to do is look over the sections of the party plan, click, download and print. Viola! Your party is planned & prepped!
Lucky Little Party Planner
This Lucky Little Party Planner has your entire classroom Christmas in the classroom day laid out for you! It even includes lesson ideas for the week leading up to the party! AND, when you download the Party Plan, you will see it includes links to all the party activities!
Let's walk through each section of this template, and then consider your party planned! You can either download the Lucky Little Party Planner and click on the links to access each resource OR download each resource through this post.
Helpful Hint: Print off the Winter Holiday Party Planning Page and use it as a checklist when prepping for your party.
Jump to:
I) Suggested Materials
The suggested materials section is made up of things to print out beforehand, and perhaps send home. The Winter Holiday Party Planner includes a greeting card template, letters to send home for the stocking stuffing event, snack donation request and a home challenge activity. Below is a quick break down of each send home item!
1. Greeting Card Template
This cute card, featuring the Lucky Little Learners Winter Holiday Party graphic, could be used in a few ways.
Use it for:
- A thank you card to send home to all parents who donated snacks, etc.
- A handwritten card for each student to wish them happy holidays, a fun break, etc.
2. Scrumptious Snacks Letter
This letter asks parents to send in certain snack items to create a holiday trail mix. There are other snack options, but this trail mix, with all the yummy things, makes for one of the most delicious and easy Christmas party food ideas!
Bonus touch: Have the M&M's be the green and red colored kind for an extra festive touch!
3. Home Challenge: Design a Holiday Sweater
This is one of my favorite school holiday party ideas! Also, it is a great way to get parents spending some fun arts & crafts time together. They can decorate their sweaters with whatever materials they see fit. When they send them back to school, get them cut out and hung around the classroom for instant decor!
Helpful Hint: Copy these off on card stock for an extra sturdy sweater!
Or, try the digital version!
4. Stocking Stuffers
The final letter included in this party plan is a fun one! Many students want to get something for their classmates, but who has the time or money to buy a gift for all of their peers? Enter: Stocking Stuffers! This idea has been around awhile and is a phenomenal way for each student to get each other a little something without breaking the bank. It also takes away the pressure of buying a gift for a classmate, worrying the other student won't like the gift, etc.
Here is the basic premise: Students bring in a stocking from home plus enough of a small item for each of their classmates. Students will then walk around “stuffing” each other's stockings with these goodies.
What kind of goodies to bring? The Stocking Stuffers letter provides a few examples for families, but encourage them to be creative!
Stocking Stuffers Ideas:
- Stickers
- Pencils
- Erasers
- Drawings
This list could go on and on! Your students will love this!
Winter Holiday Party Plan & Prep
The Plan & Prep section of the Lucky Little Party Planner is basically your to do list to prepare for the party. This is why it is handy to not just click on the many amazing links on the party planner, but also print it off to use as a list to cross off preparation tasks when completed. (Does anything feel as good as crossing something off a to do list!?)
II) Decor Ideas
When planning a classroom party, decor is often left off the list. Why? There just isn't time! However, the Lucky Little Party Planner offers some easy, affordable decor options…some of which are made by students! Let's take a deeper dive into the Winter Holiday Party decor ideas!
1. Home Challenge: Design a Holiday Sweater
This was already mentioned above, just a quick reminder these can be the CUTEST decorations for your Winter Holiday Party. Hang some twine or yarn and clothespin them right on!
2. Design a Stocking
In this quick arts & crafts activity, students will color and cut out a stocking template.These can be hung around the room (with the cute sweaters) to give the classroom a festive feel.
Helpful Hint: Have students color or paint the stocking a few days before the party. They can glue cotton balls on the cuff for a cute 3D look!
3. Dollar Store Decor
Raise your hand if you are the teacher who runs to the dollar store for any classroom event. With very affordable items, this is a great decor stop that won't break the bank.
Winter Holiday Party Purchased Decor Ideas:
- Snowflakes to hang from ceiling
- Artificial Pine trim
4. Paper Chain
Before the party (maybe even a week or more before) have students start creating a paper chain using the theme colors you have chosen for the party. Kids will love taking on this task! This would be perfect to hang along the classroom ceiling, tape along a counter's edge or on a tree!
III) Snack Ideas
So, what to eat at this party? There are TONS of ideas to find in online teacher communities, such as our Lucky 2nd Grade Teachers and Lucky 1st Grade Teachers facebook groups. However, below is a teacher & student loved classroom treat recipe that is oh so easy to prepare!
1. Christmas Trail Mix
Ingredients:
- 1 bag of pretzels
- 1 bag of mini marshmallows
- 1 bag of chocolate chips
- 1 bag of M&M's (green and red if you are feeling festive)
Directions:
- If possible, have students/parents donate the items above.
- Pour all ingredients into a big bowl and stir.
- Use a measuring cup to scoop out trail mix for each student.
- Enjoy!
Helpful Hint: Send home the Scrumptious Snacks at least a week before the party to get the food items in time!
2. Hot Chocolate Party
A creamy cup of hot chocolate definitely hits the spot! Did you know it is not super hard to whip up a class size portion? There are a couple ways to do this, but this might be the easiest:
- When it is at the desired temp, pour in Hershey's chocolate syrup OR enough hot cocoa packets to match the amount of milk.
3. Other Snack Ideas:
Trail mix is definitely not the only option! Here are some other great snack ideas.
- Ice cream…always a hit! Add green or red food coloring (or Strawberry soda for floats) for a festive touch.
- Need to feel cozy on this chilly day? Make campfire free s'mores! Smear marshmallow creme on fudge stripe cookies…viola! A s'more.
IV) Centers & Crafts
A manageable way to structure your classroom parties is by having students rotate through stations, followed by whole class game time. This way, all students get to do all of the party activities and there is no running around chaos! Below are our team's top choice centers & crafts for a classroom Winter Holiday Party.
1. Dice Roll Sweater Decorating
The first art activity requires almost NO prep and the kids will love it! Simply download & print the activity sheet and set out some dice. Students will roll, color and design their sweaters.
2. December Math Puzzles
Math puzzles are always a hit! There are a few options when using this resource as part of a classroom party.
- Option 2: Print the black & white version of the puzzle. Students will solve, color and cut apart. They can either try to put it together or challenge someone at home to put their puzzle together.
- Option 3: Print out the scrambled version of the puzzle (black and white or color) and have the students solve the math problems, cut the strips apart and solve
Download All Resources in this Post
3. Directed Drawings
What kid doesn't love a directed drawing? Lucky Little Learners has TONS of directed drawing activities. The few that might suit a Winter Holiday Party the best are a cute little Penguin, a jolly Santa and a Pine Tree. Download these below or from the Lucky Little Party Plan.
4. Christmas Color by Numbers
Color by numbers are another no prep resource that would work great at a classroom party! Just download & print and students do great!
V) Read Alouds
It is always a great idea to interweave subject areas. One way to integrate Science, Reading and Social Studies well before the day of the party is to read the passage about one country's holidays. Do this daily! Not only will your students learn from these informative passages, they will have fun!
Another great resource for finding the perfect read alouds for this classroom party is our previous blog post: Christmas Read Aloud & Activities for the Classroom.
VI) Party Games
Christmas party games are at the top of most students' list. They will ask, what should we play at the party? Instead of digging through old files to find the perfect game for your students, let us plan game time for you too!
1. Christmas Musical Pictures
After you download this activity, you can kiss musical chairs goodbye! In this game, students will NOT be running towards and pushing each other off chairs.This is because Christmas Musical Pictures has enough (24) pictures, one for each student. They will walk in a circle until the music stops, then the teacher pulls a card or picture out of her bucket, basket, etc.
If the teacher calls your word, you are out!
2. Winter Pictionary
Pictionary is fast and exciting, but who wants to come up with something for each student to draw. Well, the website, Game Gal, has an AMAZING Pictionary word generator. And, you can set the level of word! Check out the Pictionary Word Generator Here.
3. Christmas Bingo
The last game option is a classic, Bingo. Who doesn't love a good game of Bingo?! This All Access exclusive product is set for a print-n-go prep for you! Have fun!
VII) Party Playlist
Last but not least, you need some festive tunes to liven up any classroom party! Team Lucky Little Learners has put together a Winter Holiday Party Playlist for you! Click the image below to start listening to these tunes. Click the image below to head to the playlist!
Enjoy the Party!
The last thing left to do is simply enjoy the party! See the magic of this time of year through your students' eyes. It truly is a wonderful time of year.
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Blank Template
If you just want the blank template to plan your own party, download it here.
Video Walkthrough
Join me, Katie, from Team Lucky Little Learners, as I walk you through our winter holiday party plan, step by step.
Classroom Transformations
If you love setting up for classroom parties, try doing a classroom transformation! Check out the all things Classroom Transformation on All Access! There are tons of resources to make your next transformation amazing and doable!
Get All the Classroom Transformation Kits
And, check out these classroom transformation blog posts!
Snow Globe Day – This is a perfect alternative to a holiday party if you prefer to cut out the holiday references and just celebrate winter!
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