A class party goes best with a plan that keeps every child busy and gives parent helpers a clear job. This one fits in 45 minutes, uses games that need no reading for the youngest, and ends at pick-up time. Everything below has a free page you can print today.
A 45-minute plan
| 0 to 5 min | Settle in Hand out a free Christmas I spy page on every desk for the youngest, or a word scramble from the trivia page for grades 2 and 3. Children start as soon as they sit down, which gives you time to greet parent helpers. |
| 5 to 20 min | Christmas bingo Bingo works for a whole class at once and nobody has to perform. Call one word at a time and show the picture or write it on the board for children who are learning to read. Five free cards are enough for a small group; a class needs one different card per child. |
| 20 to 35 min | Scavenger hunt Split the class into teams of four, each with a parent helper. Hide clue cards around the classroom: by the bookshelf, under the reading rug, in the coat cubbies. Our free scavenger hunt clues show how a chain of clues works; write classroom places on blank cards and keep the last clue at your desk with the prize bag. |
| 35 to 45 min | Quick trivia and goodbye Read the easy questions for kids from 60 Christmas trivia questions while families arrive for pick-up. Teams shout the answer, then everyone takes home their I spy page. |
Running it as stations
With a big class or many parent helpers, set up three or four corners instead of playing all together. Put one parent at each corner: I spy at one table, bingo at another, the scavenger hunt starting from the reading rug, and a craft or coloring table if you have one. Groups of five or six children move to the next corner every ten minutes when you ring a bell. Each child gets a turn at every game, and no adult has to manage the whole room.
Six games with nothing to print
- Snowball toss. Crumpled paper snowballs into a bin from a tape line on the floor.
- Freeze dance. Play Christmas music and stop it now and then; everyone freezes until it starts again.
- Christmas charades. Act out a snowman, a reindeer or wrapping a present while the class guesses.
- Pass the present. Pass a wrapped box around the circle; when the music stops, that child opens one layer.
- Hum that carol. The teacher hums a carol and the class guesses which one.
- Candy cane hunt. Hide wrapped candy canes around the room for a two-minute hunt.
How to play each one, and nine more, is in 15 Christmas party games for the whole family.
What to prepare the day before
- Print one I spy page and one bingo card per child, plus a few spares.
- Crayons for I spy, and dried beans, small candies or paper squares to cover bingo squares.
- Clue cards for the hunt, written or printed, and a small prize bag for each team.
- Ask families about food allergies before handing out any candy prizes.
- One parent helper for every 6 to 8 children during the hunt.
By age
For preschool and kindergarten, keep to I spy, picture bingo and a short hunt with picture clues, 15 minutes per game at most, with easy coloring pages for children who finish early. In grades 1 to 3, word bingo, the word scramble and the kids' trivia round work well, and teams can read their own hunt clues.
The printed sets
The Christmas Classroom Pack has bingo with 50 different cards and a caller list, trivia, charades and other party games, plus 25 pages of Christmas kindergarten worksheets for the days before the break. $6.
Get the Christmas Classroom Pack, $6For preschool and kindergarten, the Christmas Kids Pack has the scavenger hunt with picture clues, I spy, memory and picture bingo, and the kindergarten worksheets, $7.
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