Christmas Party for the Classroom or Your Troop

The games have been planned, and the supplies have been gathered for my fourth grader's class Christmas/Winter party this afternoon. I have shared our past class and troop party plans on this blog. This year I chose to incorporate activities that required few supplies and little, if any, preparation.  I always plan more than I think we'll finish because I prefer to keep the students busy.  Here is this year's agenda:

 1.  Draw, Write, Draw.  I was prepared to have the kids play this game at the Halloween party, but we didn't get to it.  I loved the idea, and I thought it would be fun to try at this party.  The desks are arranged in clusters of four or five throughout the classroom.  We will give each desk cluster a winter theme.  The first student will write a sentence about the theme.  The next student will draw a picture about the sentence.  The paper will be folded to hide the original sentence and passed to the next student who will then write another sentence about the drawing.  The process is repeated until everyone has a chance to participate.  Then students unfold the paper and share the stories.  Here is a picture from the example posted at Halloween. 

  

Update:  Here are the themes we gave to each desk cluster for Draw-Write-Draw:
Snowman                             Sledding
Hats and Mittens                   Holiday Treats
Santa and His Elves               Christmas Tree 

2.  Face the Cookie .  This fun Minute-to-Win-It game is sure to entertain a group of school-aged kids.  Give each student a cookie. The kids must move the cookie from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands. Set a timer for one minute.  Repeat as time allows.

3.  Pass the Book.  This is one of my favorite party activities. I will read Snowmen at Christmas as I have in the past, but instead of wrapping activity books for prizes, I found these National Geographic books at Dollar Tree.

4.  Pasta Pick-Up.  Place six uncooked pieces of penne pasta near the edge of a table.   Give the player an uncooked spaghetti noodle to hold in her mouth and use to try and pick up the penne noodles.

5.  Minute-to-Win-It Cup Stack.  Divide the class or troop into teams and have them race to stack 15 cups in a pyramid. Each participant builds the pyramid and then stacks the cups for the next person. For smaller groups, set a timer for one minute for each individual.

6.  Would You Rather. There are many lists available online from which to choose. I printed a copy and highlighted 15 statements.  If there's time, the students will move from one side of the classroom to the other based on their reaction to the statement read.

Two parents offered to donate holiday cupcakes and drinks for the party.  We will have the students return to their seats in the final fifteen minutes of the party for to enjoy the treats.

Fingerprint Light Strand Gift for Teacher.  I originally planned to pull kids to a separate station during the party to add their fingerprint to this canvas.  After additional consideration, I decided to visit school prior to the party and had the kids complete the project during indoor recess. 

GENERAL PARTY AGENDA:
1:30 - 1:45pm  Draw, Write, Draw
1:45 - 1:55pm  Face the Cookie
1:55 - 2:05pm  Pasta Pick-Up
2:05 - 2:15pm  Book Pass
2:15 - 2:30pm  Snack

*Cup Stack and Would You Rather, as time allows.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Thank you for reading.