Party Ideas and suggestions

The following are some ideas for party activities, games & crafts. Consult with your child’s teacher for things he/she has seen done in the past, and if there are any games he/she would prefer not to have in the classroom. Please do not feel constrained by these ideas – they are merely starting points. Following the ideas, there are several sample parties to give you an idea of how to structure/schedule the party activities.

Choose a theme – snowstorm, Mexican fiesta, luau, Haunted House, 50’s, etc., and model crafts and games around it. Music from holiday appropriate CD’s help create a great atmosphere.

REMEMBER: the parties are for a very short duration, so activities that are too complex don’t work well. Also, any game that demeans, scares, or embarrasses a child should not be played.

GAMES:

It is always a good idea to have a “throw-away” game, so that if you don’t get to it at the end of the party, you have not wasted any money. But if you have extra time at the end of the party you still have a game to play.

For younger classes you may want to divide class in half or thirds and run your activities as “stations.” Have one half play a game, while the other half is doing a craft, then switch, so all kids can do both, but in smaller groups.

  • Relay race to assemble a scarecrow, snowman, etc. Bring in several sets of jeans, flannel shirts, work gloves or white garbage bags which can be stuffed with crumpled newspapers and taped or safety pinned together to make scarecrows and snowmen. This can also be done with letter phrases to spell something as they get older, or flat papers on a white board/filing cabinet
  • Pin the ‘nose’ on the pumpkin, witch, snowman, etc.
  • Bozo buckets for the holiday or with holiday themed tossing items – rolled up socks can be snowballs, eyeball colored ping pong balls into pumpkins
  • Balloon race – have a bag filled with 2 or 3 different colored balloons. Dump it on the floor and have the kids scramble to find their assigned color and put back into the bag. Or assign the different colors point values and count up the points each team collected back into their bag.
  • Gift/mummy wrapped hot potato – wrap a small treat in wrapping/toilet paper, have a treat for all the kids who are playing at that time. Pass around until the music stops; the child who is holding it unwraps the first layer and gets that treat. Continue until there is 1 treat left.
  • Mummy wrap – divide into teams and choose someone to be the mummy – wrap in toilet paper.
  • Heads Up, 7 Up game (or 5, if small class)
  • Musical chairs with numbers – there are enough chairs (numbered) for everyone, so there should be no pushing. Play as normal until the music stops, then call a number. The child who is in that chair is out. Take the chair out and continue the game. Have a planned activity for the children to do, as they get “out”.
  • Relay races with tokens on spoons, cotton balls (snow balls) on larger spoons, bones from 3D skeletons, picture pieces of snowmen or skeletons, letters to spell out sayings or holiday names. Change it up to get the most, return to a main bucket, or form a picture or saying on a poster board or blackboard.
  • Bingo, use kernels, paper hearts, stickers, etc. as markers.
  • Limbo, balloon volleyball from your knees, or hula dancing-Simon Says for a beach theme.
  • The “no” game. Have the children walk around and talk without using the word “no.” You’re out once you use the word. This works better for older kids.
  • Trivia games, holiday hangman, matching games, etc., to coincide with your theme.
  • Hula hoop race. Children form 2 lines holding hands. Each line has a hula hoop at one end. The children must pass the hula hoop over their heads and step through without dropping hands. Then go back.
  • Silent tic-tac-toe. Masking tape a tic-tac-toe board on the floor and have boys against the girls take turns sitting in a square without talking to each other. See if they’re paying attention to figure out where to sit. Tape 2 or 3 and have the multiple games going at once, or let them choose which board to sit in as they get older.
  • Twister – can be adapted to a specific holiday if you get creative and create a board from a white sheet.
  • Hot potato with a present for everyone.
  • Spiderweb. Have 2 teams each with a ball of black yarn and a spider sit in 2 circles. They need to hold one end of the string and toss the string to someone else. That person catches the string and holds while he tosses to a 3rd person. The team which has made a spider web tight enough to support a small (5-8 inches) plastic spider (check the Dollar Store) first wins. Raffle off the spiders when you are done.
  • Karaoke of guitar hero for older kids.
  • Bean bag toss – cover the board with a plastic table cloth and decorate for that holiday. Toss items which tie in to that holiday
  • Miniature golf. Get holiday cutouts (such as a Frankenstein head or giant heart from the Dollar store again) and tape to gallon milk jugs that have a few inch wide hold cut into the bottom. Cut a corresponding hold in your decoration. Use brooms or plastic golf clubs and ping pong ball eyeballs, Styrofoam “snowballs”, etc. to play mini golf and get the ball into the jug.
  • Charades (simple for little ones – animals are good)

CRAFTS:

  • Photo frames with holiday appropriate stickers or embellishments
  • Ornaments filled with glitter / other glossy strips of paper
  • Toilet paper pumpkins (wrap plastic orange tablecloth squares around a roll of TP secure by shoving excess in one end of the roll. Secure by sticking a rolled up piece of green construction paper in it for the stem. Decorate with markers)
  • Toilet paper snowmen (follow above, but use white tube socks for base, tie with felt scarf, then insert Styrofoam ball for head. Tie and put on black hat. Decorate with markers or embellishments.)
  • Purchase pre-cut, blank puzzles at Chalkboard. Have the children color a puzzle for themselves.
  • Boxes – Michaels sells small wooden boxes. Ore-cut felt to glue/double sided stick in to cover the bottom. Decorate the outside with foam shapes or the children’s pictures.
  • Use model magic clay to make the base of a photo frame using giant paperclips sticking up to hold the photo. Have a room mom contact the teacher to go in ahead of time and take digital pics so the kids can give a picture of themselves in the frame.
  • Make bookmarks from pretty cardstock, or door hangers from fun foam. Draw or glue on foam shapes.
  • Make masks from paper plates (for the kids to take home – not wear at school). Colored paper/yarn/pipe cleaners can be cut for whiskers, eyebrows or eyepatches, warts, hats, etc.
  • Coloring pages for little guys, or puzzle sheets for older kids.

HINTS:

  • Oriental Trading crafts may contain many small pieces. Consider some pre-assembly for younger children.
  • Parents like crafts with the year and their child’s photo on them for the younger kids. Check with the teacher for copies of the school photo proofs.
  • Consider using glue dots instead of glue to avoid coming apart on the way home.
  • Print off puzzles like mazes and word searches.
  • If a game is too elaborate the children may get confused. Try to keep it simple and run it twice if they liked it (relays work well for that)
  • Make sure crafts and games can be adapted for children with gross motor issues.

Some helpful websites:

**Please remember to notify your teacher what you have planned for the party. They might have some requests or restrictions. Thank you for all your time and effort.

Here are some sample parties. They have been altered to remove names of moms and teachers:

1st Grade Room Mom Meeting

Planning the Halloween Party

Party Date:Party Time:

No siblings may be brought to any party! (District policy)

Halloween Party Planning:

Games/Activities:

Mr. Bones Relay –will laminate & get to before the party

Halloween Twister –

Halloween CD

Bingo – 22 bags of kernals – Donating Mom

Packets of coloring pages and games

Crafts/Goodie Bags:

Craft: Halloween Bookmarks – order from Oriental Trading -

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Halloween Party

Craft -Masks from soft clay (will dry to firm but flexible state - remember to leave holes for elastic). Can be colored with their markers if desired.

Games –

“Bobbing” for apples – using fishing poles, try to find/pick up a red apple with a magnet on it to win a prize. Put back green & yellow ones.

Balloon sweep – set up a slalom of 3 – 4 chairs and compete in relay teams to see who can sweep their balloons around the chairs & back using a broom. Pass broom to the next person, etc., until all members have swept the balloon.

Time permitting, Halloween pictionary – two teams (boys against the girls?) draw at the same time certain words given to them by the room moms. First team to guess the correct picture wins each round.

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Halloween party –1st graders

Craft – wrapped rolls of toilet paper to make pumpkins

Games – bozo buckets, pass the pumpkins, freeze dance, multi-person mummy wrap race

Room moms:

Prep / set up:

Cut tablecloths into squares for pumpkins

Stems for pumpkins

Clear area for bozo buckets and pass the pumpkin games and possibly freeze dancing

Music in CD player

Flow of party:

  1. A room mom will demonstrate how to make a pumpkin craft. Supplies for pumpkins will be distributed & children will assemble their pumpkins.
  2. When they have finished, they can leave the pumpkin at their desk and play either pass the pumpkin or bozo buckets.
  3. If time permits after playing these games for 10-15 minutes, they can either freeze dance, or the teacher/room moms can make multi-person mummies of the kids.

Bringing in…..

Construction paper stems –

Toilet paper –

Pumpkin (pass) –

Bozo pumpkin buckets –

Prizes –Stamp on hand?

Music –

1st Grade Holiday Party Notes

Party Date:Friday, December 22nd

Party Time:1:30 – 2:30PM

Mom’s attending Party:

*** We will need to meet again before the party to wrap all of the presents!!!

Look for an email in the beginning of December for meeting date. Please bring wrapping supplies: paper, tape, gift bags, etc. The gift for the children will include a book that we ordered from Scholastic and a Holiday Fun Pad, donated by

Order of Party:

  1. Game: all together, divide into 2 teams
    Build-A-Snowman – 2 teams, relay format to build the snowman

Stations: 3 groups

Game: Carry the ornament – 2 teams, use a straw to inhale and pick-up a tissue
decoration, carry across the room to a bowl

Craft: Snowflake Frame

  1. Game: Pass the present – Read a book and pass the present when a specific word
    is read; when the story is over, open present they end with

(Gift - Fun pads and book)

To Do / Bring to Party
Order from Oriental Trading / Snowmen
2 bowls for Game
Snowflake Craft & glue dots
Book to read– Rudolph/ ‘Twas the night before
Presents
Make tissue decorations
22 + straws / will pick-up before the party
Donations needed: / 22 QuartZiploc bags for craft

We will be making a gift for Mrs. from the students. It will be a snowflake puzzle. In December, we will be sending home a note with the students offering the opportunity to participate in a group gift for Mrs. (a gift card to a store) and the puzzle piece for each student to decorate and put in a picture of him/herself.

Christmas Party for class

Thursday, December 22nd @ 1:30 p.m.

Parents attending:

Possible scenario bold is set

Overview:

Explain the craft to the children. Do craft. Play games until time to go. Distribute gifts.

Craft – glitter ornament with each child’s face on it and the year on the back.

Needed – glue, q-tips, glitter, children’s faces, gold & silver pens, ribbon,

Games – snowman race, musical chairs

Gifts - books

Prep: Craft - Cut out children’s faces with circle punch & put double sided

sticker on back. Cut ribbon pieces. Save milk caps for glue.

Gifts – wrap books

Set- up: Craft - tops off of each ornament, distribute q-tip & face to each child, parents pour glitter, put tops back on ornaments, write year on back, tie ribbons (while playing games?)

Games – make & laminate snowman parts, rearrange chairs for relay or musical chairs

Christmas party

Craft:bobble-head snowmen

Crumble newpaper in bottom of sock. Cinch off with a rubberband. Insert Styrofoam ball for body. Tie “scarf” on, then insert Styrofoam head. Use rubberband to cinch off top, and trim. Glue hat on snowman. Decorate with child’s picture or sequins, google-eyes, etc.

Will go in red or green sack when dry just before children leave.

Games:snowball fight & erase the tree

Snowball fight: Move desks to sides of room. Draw line down middle of the floor with masking tape. Divide into 2 teams. Each child gets 2 pieces of paper, which he crumples up. At the signal, the teams “throw snowballs” at each other. After designated time, the teams count up how many snowballs are on their side of the line. The team with the least wins.

Erase the tree: Divide into two teams. Draw 2 identical trees on the chalkboard. Give each team a rag. In relay fashion, have each person close eyes & walk to board trying to erase the chalk. The first team to do so wins.

Valentine Party for class

Party Date:Friday, February 13th

Party Set-up: 2:30 PM

Party Starts: 2:45 PM

The parents attending the party are:

Valentine Party:

Set-Up:

Craft on each student’s desk

Baskets of gorillas and empty baskets set-up across room from each other

Hide heart puzzles all around room

Party Order:

  1. Heart Puzzle –make 11 heart puzzles. Children will each find one half, then find their matching partner to complete their puzzle.
  2. Craft :Valentine Inchworm

Glue dots –

  1. Pass the Valentine Gorillas – divide into 2 teams and sit in a long line. At one end for each team, have a basket filled with 11 gorillas. Each team needs to pass one gorilla at a time down the line to a basket at the other end. Once all of the gorillas are passed to one end, pass them back to the starting end. At the end of the game, each student gets to keep one gorilla.
  2. Filler games:
    Freeze dance
    Simon Says
    Hot Potato with 2 extra gorillas

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Valentine’s Day party

Craft:make a card for mom & dad

Games:

1)balloon drop: Divide into teams based on number of different colored balloons. One person from each team has a garbage bag full of balloons. When we shout go, the person holding the bag empties the bag of balloons onto the floor. The rest of the team has to scramble to pick up the balloons and get them back in the bag before the other teams do.

These 2 might be played at the same time if enough people.

2)hearts relay: 2 teams try to move construction paper hearts from one end of the room to the other by balancing them on spoons.

Throw away games:

Relay to pop the balloons

girls vs. boys hangman

Possible words

HeartCandy

LoveFebruary

Nelson PrairieCupid

ValentineParty

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Valentine Party

SET UP:

The room should be roughly divided into 3 groups of desks & chairs for the 3 teams later on. There are 30 matching squares which need to be hung (using a piece of tape at the top only of each sheet) on the bulletin board.

PARTY:

1)Match ups - As each child enters the room, he will be handed a small heart. They all need to find the person with the matching heart to claim their prize. They should hold on to their heart, as they will be sitting in groups/teams sorted by the color of the heart they have. Team 1 will be red, pink & orange, Team 2 will be green & yellow, and Team 3 will have blue or purple hearts.

2)Craft – The kids will make treasure chests for Valentines’ Day. This is a fairly simple craft, as all of the stickers are already on each item to be stuck. Each child should get a treasure chest and a Ziploc bag with his name on it. Inside the chest is a piece of felt. Inside the bag are one large heart, 4 small hearts and each child’s picture.