Do you need easy activities for your 2nd and 3rd grade class Christmas party? Well, look no further! I’ve rounded up 17 of my favorite Christmas party ideas for the classroom that are easy to do and most of them are educational!
I love having classroom parties, especially holiday-themed ones! I enjoy setting up themed activities all around the room and watching the students’ faces light up with excitement. However, I know that to some the thought of planning (yet another) event can be overwhelming. I hope these ideas make your planning easier and your party more fun!
1. Decorate Cookies
Decorating cookies is always a fan favorite in my classroom. You can make this activity educational by turning your gingerbread cookies into a data and graphing lesson.
Start by decorating your gingerbread cookies according to a glyph key. Be sure to have students put their name on the back of the plate. Then, mix up the plates and have students interpret the cookie glyph using the glyph key.
Once finished, students get to take one bite of their own cookie and graph the data.
Animate Your Cookie Glyphs
Want to send your engagement over the top? Check out how we used the ChatterPix app to interpret our glyphs!
2. Make Pop Up Cards
These gingerbread man-themed pop-up cards are a great idea for any classroom Christmas party! Pop-up cards are simple to make and can be used in a lot of different ways that are fun and educational! All you need is a sheet of copy paper to get started. See how to make a pop-up card with a folded sheet of paper and two quick cuts!
Although you could have your students make fun cards for a loved one or classmate, you could also tie math into it! Have your students draw a scenic background, add a math word problem that goes with the scene, and then illustrate the problem on the card!
3. Take a Virtual Christmas Market Field Trip
As much as we wish we could show our students the world, field trips just aren’t always possible. In the past few years, I have loved using virtual science field trips to help reinforce topics and show students real-world examples. Why not take your students on a Christmas virtual field trip to see holiday traditions around the world?
If you’re planning to do a Holidays Around the World Unit, check out the resource I use! The included PowerPoint, with vivid photos of holiday traditions, will take your students on a holiday adventure to 18 different countries!
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Holidays Around the World & Christmas Holidays Unit
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The holiday unit comes complete with a suitcase folder, passports, boarding passes, and exit ticket quizzes that students take before they depart for the next country! See how to make teaching holidays around the world MAGICAL for your students!
Download the FREE Flight Script
4. Wrap Gifts
These gingerbread houses are the perfect addition to any classroom Christmas party! Not only is it a great hands-on and low-prep activity, but they can also double as wrapping paper for parent gifts! All you need are these coloring sheets and paper lunch bags!
Gingerbread House Lunch Sack Craft
How To Make Lunch Sack Gingerbread House
5. Have a Holiday Movie Day
Whether you’re planning a last week before Christmas break movie day or planning a movie for your class Christmas party, movie day is always a favorite for kids. I’ve put together a FREE Movie Day Activities download that will keep your students engaged and still learning, make movie day even MORE fun, AND make it educational!
Download FREE Movie Day Activity Menus
6. Make It a Holiday Math Party
Try these holiday math party ideas and host another class! Set up stations around the room with math games for different countries so students can “travel”. Of course, no travel is complete without a passport!
Holidays Around the World Math Centers
Give your students a math passport as they head around the world. Students stamp their “mathport” after they complete the math task in each country!
7. Decorate Candles
There are so many fun Christmas crafts that you can make from candles! In previous years, my students have decorated candles with tissue paper and Modge Podge and painted others to look like a snowman. They make great parent gifts! There are so many cute Christmas crafts that you can make from dollar store candles! In previous years, my students have decorated candles with tissue paper and Mod Podge and painted others to look like a snowman. I found these candles for less than a dollar at Walmart. Dollar Tree also has them for $1.25.
Learn how to make snowman candles in a jar.
8. Taste Tests Treats
A personal favorite of mine at any holiday party…taste testing treats! Ask families to bring in their favorite Christmas treat and host a tasting party. You could tie this into science or math by graphing the results or completing the Great Cookie Dunk science experiment.
9. Holiday Book Exchange
One of the best Christmas party ideas for the classroom is to host a book exchange! Students love exchanging presents and they will be excited about reading their new book over the winter break!
10. Visit Google’s Santa Tracker
Explore, play and learn with Santa’s elves all December long with Google’s Santa Tracker! Created by Google, this adorable site is filled with interactive learning games. There are games to practice and learn about coding, simple machines, wind, geometry, art, and so much more for elementary-aged kids.
My favorite game, and a perfect addition to teaching about holidays around the world, is called Holiday Traditions. Students play by clicking on different countries on a full-screen world map. Then up pops a box with interesting facts about holiday traditions in that country!
Be sure to check out the Yule Log, too. It’s an animated kids version of a fire in a fireplace complete with crackling log sounds. It’s a fun one to put on your whiteboard while kids work! Tip: leave the sound off. It starts out sounding like a crackling fire but moves into Kid Bop songs that may be distracting. The visual is very soothing though!
11. Make Puzzle Piece Ornaments
If you are looking for the easy parent gift ideas AND a fun activity for your Christmas party, then grab a few supplies to make simple ornaments! I keep my eye out for puzzles from thrift stores and garage sales to make wreath ornaments!
I’ve seen so many ornaments online that are easy for kids to make at school, that I created an entire Pinterest board with easy ornament ideas!
One of our favorites is to make popsicle stick trees. Everything you need can be found at Dollar Tree. Tiny Beans blog has 21 DIY ornament ideas if you don’t find one you like on my Parent Gifts Pinterest board. (FYI…I collect LOTS of classroom ideas on Pinterest!)
12. Play Pin the Nose on Rudolph
In addition to crafts, it’s fun to play games at your party! Pin the Nose on Rudolph is one of the easiest and most fun Christmas party ideas for your classroom. All you need is a blindfold, chart paper, and red stickers to play Pin the Nose on Rudolph! This cute idea comes from Michelle at Smitten With First blog. If you’re a first grade teacher I highly recommend you visit her website!
13. Have an Indoor Snowball Fight
Your students will think you are the coolest teacher ever with the help of an indoor snowball fight! No snow is required! You can use yarn, crumpled-up paper, or pom-poms instead! Then, decide on some ground rules (it can’t be complete chaos), and watch your students have the time of their lives! I just ayw large puffballs at Dollar Tree that are perfect for this game!
14. Have a Jingle Bell Jog
Make learning festive with a Jingle Bell Jog! The dollar store usually has necklaces with bells or you can find bags of bells at any craft store or Walmart to tie around wrists. Then, tape task cards around the room and have students jog with their jingle bells around the room to find them and answer each question.
If you have extra time, you could even make your own jingle bell bracelets!
15. Set up a Photo Booth
A photo booth is THE perfect addition to any classroom Christmas party. After completing some crafts or watching a movie, students will have a blast taking silly selfies or group pictures with their friends.
The Dollar Tree typically has the best props so you can create your Christmas photo booth for under 10 dollars! Holiday photo booth prop sets are also available on Amazon.
16. Compare Versions of The Gingerbread Man
For those looking for a more educational way to spend the Christmas Party, compare and contrast the different versions of The Gingerbread Man. Your students will love the hilarious versions of this story, and your administration will love the educational aspect of the day!
Download this FREE story elements booklet to get started on comparing your favorite versions!
17. Make Gingerbread PlayDoh
If you are finishing up a Gingerbread-themed unit, making Gingerbread PlayDoh is the ultimate celebration! Grab some cookie cutters from the Dollar store for students to make PlayDoh ornaments. Simply press out the shapes, make a hole in the top for yarn to hang it, and let the ornaments dry overnight. Have students roll out the PlayDoh fairly thin. Depending on their thickness , dryiing time could take longer.
Need ideas for the last week before Christmas or Winter break? Check this out! It is the MOST fun thing I’ve ever done with my students!
I hope you have the best classroom Christmas party with the help of these simple crafts, games, and learning activities! Leave a comment below to share your favorite Christmas party ideas for the classroom!
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Find more holiday party ideas for your classroom!
Holidays Around the World Math Party Ideas
Valentine’s Day Math Party Ideas
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