December is only just about to begin, but with schools wrapping up in only a few weeks, some of you may be thinking about throwing a classroom Christmas party. This might be for a bit of end of term fun, or it might just be the best way to spend the very last day of term with all the buzzing excited students! It may seem simple, but with a classroom of children…nothing is ever simple! So here’s our guide to throwing a class Christmas party at school.
Party prep
Your students will probably know that there’s going to be some kind of party, and be excited about it, so find some time to plan the party with them to give them an outlet for that excitement. If you find your students discussing the Christmas party during their maths lesson, remind them of when you’ll be having your ‘party planning’ session and to save their ideas for then.
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Get their opinion
What games do they want to play? What about music – Christmas music, or just normal music? What kind of decorations would they like to have? Ask what they think! Make sure they know it’s an ideas session, and not everything they ask for will happen. This might also be a good time to temper expectations a little, so you can point out to them that there probably won’t be an actual disco ball!
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Set expectations
We all want to have a fun party, but it’s important to set clear expectations for behaviour. Discuss with the children which rules won’t apply, and which ones will. Maybe for the party, they can sit wherever they like and they don’t have to put up their hand to speak – breaking the rules! But rules about being kind and respectful to one another still apply. You could look at a social story about children getting a bit too carried away, or do some role play.
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Make decorations together
You could do this as an art lesson if you’re getting crafty, as a morning activity, or something to do during a rainy playtime. Decide on some decorations and spend some time making them together. You could make your own snowflakes by cutting pieces of paper, or print out some Christmas colouring pages like crackers and Christmas trees. Collect these all up and put them around the classroom before the party, so the room is transformed with their own decorations!
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Move the tables
I don’t know what it is, but children always find moving the tables just so exciting! It’s a quick way to make the classroom feel totally transformed into party mode. How you arrange the tables will depend on your activities and your students; you could move them all to the edge and just have a big open space, or you could move them into a horseshoe shape or small groups – as long as it’s different, they’ll walk in super excited for party time!
Activities
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Classic games with a Christmas twist
What games do you like playing in the classroom? Can you put a Christmassy twist on it? You could play 'Santa says' instead of 'Simon says', or play charades with Christmas-themed words. Talk with your students about the best games they’ve played in the classroom.
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More than just games…
Have you seen our blog post – 5 Fun Christmas Activities To Do with Your Class? Check it out here for more ideas!
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Music and dancing
Have a dance party! You could use normal music or Christmas music, or a mix. Let it be free-flow dancing, or set challenges. Can they dance in a certain style, like a certain animal or a robot? Can they dance in a circle and each take a turn doing a solo in the middle? Can they make up their own dance move and then teach it to the rest of the class? Get moving!
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Christmas games
There are lots of ideas online for fun Christmassy games, like pin the carrot on the snowman. Make a big snowman out of paper and stick it up on a pinboard, then print out lots of carrots and ask the children to take turns pinning it on in the right place, blindfolded! This may work better with magnets if you have a magnetic board, or blutack.
Plan some downtime
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Consider the length of your party
If your party is on a half day on the last day of term, with an assembly and break time to consider, then your actual party time may end up being quite short. But if you’re doing something longer, plan to have some downtime. Many children can get overexcited, overstimulated, or overtired from exciting activities, and some breathing room and quiet time may be a good idea. Plan it in as a transition between two activities, or as a bit of restful time when they come in from lunch or break.
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Colouring
Colouring is a great activity for some quiet downtime. Let them know that this isn’t for decorations, it’s for them to keep, so they can just colour it however they like. Put on some calming music or a calming ambience video on youtube. Provide a few options for colouring sheets and as many pencils and resources as you can, to avoid squabbles over colours.
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Design your own Christmas dinner
Another fun activity for some quiet solo time, you could do this as another option if some of your students don’t enjoy colouring, or do this one at another time. Ask the children to think of their perfect Christmas dinner – it could be traditional things, or not! Maybe their perfect Christmas dinner is just the desserts! This is also good if you have students that don’t celebrate Christmas, as you can change the activity to designing their perfect big family dinner. Get the children to draw and decorate a table laid out with all the dishes they want, and add labels to show what everything is. They could design their own menu too!
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Create a quiet corner
Depending on the needs of your students, you might want to designate a particular area of your room as a ‘quiet zone’ or calm area. Put in some things that the children are familiar with, and make it feel a bit more private by using a chair or a table – though make sure you can still see the area. Some of your students may feel a bit overwhelmed by the change of routine or the structure of the classroom, so this will give them a space to retreat to.
There are lots of different ways to throw a Christmas party, and you’ll need to consider the individual needs of your students and the dynamic of your class. It’s only fun if everyone can have fun! But as long as you’re clear with your expectations, have a range of activities, and an opportunity to calm down when needed, we think it’ll be a big success!
