Is it just me or have school holiday parties transformed from fun, casual celebrations to PC-pressure cookers?

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• I'm questioning all my activities to make sure they don't cross any lines:
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~ Are games, crafts, movies or projects too religious (do Santa and reindeer cross a line; should I just stick with a winter theme? How many snow flakes can we really make).

~ Should I still try to knock out the next step in my curriculum even though the kids are totally checked out before break?

~ Can I include snacks? (With health food initiatives at a lot of schools, do parties have to be all fruits and veggies? Should we decorate apples like they’re snowman faces instead of doing cookies and other sugary fare?)

Holiday parties may be getting a little dicier, but luckily there are tons of resources and activities out there to knock your students' candy-cane-striped socks off - whatever your grade level or school rules!

Here are my holiday party favorites:

Educational Holiday Lessons & Activities

Scrooge for Mayor Lesson

Christmas Carol Writing Prompts

Santa Letter Pop Culture Lessons

Christmas Word Wall

Find out about Holidays Around the World with this Elementary Scavenger Hunts

Speakaboos Animated Video Stories – themed for different holidays

 
Reindeer Games Writing Prompt

Rudolph hated his nose until it came in handy on a snowy Christmas night and made him famous. What is something you're self-conscious about (maybe something kids make fun of you for)? How could that be something good? 

Games & Crafts

Santa Pants Race

“At another party, a mom brought in giant Santa pants and kids took turns wearing the pants and trying to shove as many small balloons as they could fit into the pants.”

Holiday Bingo

With construction paper, a few folds and some handy scissors, you can easily decorate your classroom with each student's unique snow flake. If you want to up the tech factor, try this:

Snow Flake Making Goes Ed Tech

Rudolph Race and/or Snowman Race

Hand and Foot Reindeer Craft Project

Spreading Good Will in the Classroom

12 Days in Our Classroom

1. Put students in groups & have them come up with 12 days in Our Classroom that recognize funny moments, memories and traditions from the first half of the school year.

For example:

On the First Day in Our Classroom, my teacher gave to me…

2. Have groups perform their skits.

Nice Candy Canes

Pair up students, have then decorate candy canes saying something nice about their partner on each stripe.

Holiday Sing-A-Long

Everybody loves a sing-a-long. Check out this carol site to pick your song and find lyrics to print out for your kids.

Other Great Resources

If you still haven't found the perfect activity for you and your class, try these sites to find many more lessons & activities:

abcteach Holiday Ideas  

Mifflin County School District of PA has TONS of options, esp. for MS and HS

What are you doing to celebrate the holidays with your students? Share in the comments section!