Help me with party ideas for dd class

[luvmyfam444]

I got a phone call today & was asked to be in charge of the CHristmas party for ther 2nd grade class...(oh great!) the teacher picked the "theme" of a "WHOville" party (Grinch) so someone is supposed to bring roastbeed, pistachio pudding, fruit & chex mix -so all the food is picked out. I've never even seen the movie - well maybe saw the old one as a kid but don't remember it other than it being scary (so dd hasn't seen it either!)

SO my question is - what do I do to entertain the kids? Craft ideas? game ideas? if it's not too cold we can go outside - otherwise it'll have to be all in the tiny classroom.....the games & stuff dont' have to relate to the theme - I'd just as soon they didn't (I wouldn't have chosen anything to do with this!) but I'm needing help here....

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!

 

[Duchie]

I'm right there with you! I'm trying to plan kinder, 2nd, and 3rd grade parties. K was easy - the teacher told us precisely what she wanted, and we went and did it. Here are some other ideas I've researched for the other parties.

First you need to figure out how much time you have, and that will help you decide how much you can do. Also, is it a private or a public school? If it's public you might have to be more PC, not so heavy on the "Christmas".

Second get help from other parents! So many parents are very happy to help and are just waiting to be asked what they can bring (or send), what they can do, etc. Take them up on their offer!

I personally don't like craft projects (too messy and time consuming) but others love them. What about a holiday photo project? Go to the school ahead of time and take pictures of all of the kids wearing a hat or reindeer antlers. Print them out, then have the kids make an ornament or a photo frame using the picture. I think you can get the stuff at Michael's or Oriental Trading.

What about decorating cookies as a craft? You can have a parent bring the undecorated cookies then ask the others to bring stuff to decorate them (icing, sprinkles, etc.) It's crafty, and kids get to eat the results (which they love).

Then there are games. You can play musical chairs using holiday music. If you want the kids to stay in their seats, you can play something like Winter or Holiday Bingo. I found a site to print them out here. What I liked about this site is that you can print a bunch of different cards (the site tells you how). You can use Hershey's Kisses or M&M's as markers that the kids get to eat at the end.

On to the food - keep it simple! Juice boxes are easy, so I'd recommend those. The teachers for my kids' classes want to minimize the sweet stuff (not eliminate it, but not over-do it either). So try to have some healty stuff on the "menu". (Again, ask the other parents to send in this stuff.)

Also, are you doing "goodie bags"? I personally wish we could just skip them altogether, but the other moms are insisting on them, so I put the moms in charge of them. I'd recommend asking the teacher what she wants.

I hope this helps! But feel free to PM me if you've got questions.

 

[barkley]

my kid's school does the same "craft" every year and the kids love it (k-8th grade). they make gingerbread houses out of graham crackers and canned frosting. all the parents send in a little candy (we all joke that it's a great way to get rid of the last of the halloween stash), and the kids are each given a small pile which they decorate their houses with (on a paper plate-they are given a separate one with the crackers, a pile of frosting, and a plastic knife). you could color the frosting green and they could make "whoville houses". as far as games-how about "pin the heart on the grinch"? get someone to draw the grinch, get some heart stickers-label with each kids name...

 

[JKLLady]

I have three activities planned for DS's 3rd grade party. The first is "Santa's Helper"; it's on the Family Fun website & we did it last year in 2nd & it was a blast! You split the class into teams, and each team has to wrap a "present" (gift box of your choosing) with each child only using one hand (they keep the other one behind their back). I pre-cut the wrapping to the right size, provided a tape dispenser for each team & gave them a stick on bow.
The first team to
wrap their present correctly "wins". Last year I had two coloring books in each box, so that each team got a "prize" at the end & had Holiday pencils for the "winners". This year I have Holiday plastic tumblers to go in the boxes (got them at Walgreen's 8/$1.00 w/coupon). I love this game because it promotes teamwork; they have to work together if they're ever going to get their box wrapped!

The second is Pin the Nose on Rudolph; I have a large laminated Rudolph head that DS's 1st grade teacher gave me because she was retiring. I make red paper noses with each child's name on them, we hang Rudy on the blackboard & each child gets a chance to put Rudy's nose (we put rolled up tape on the back of the nose) on while blindfolded (or with eyes closed); the child who gets the nose closest to where it belongs wins.

The third activity is Musical Snowball; it's a cross between Hot Potato & Musical Chairs. Have the children stand in a circle & toss a styrofoam ball back & forth while music plays; when the music "stops", whoever has the snowball is "out"; do this until only one child is left.

Other than these, I suggest checking the Family Fun website. They have a lot of ideas.

Good Luck!!!!

 

[Miller1412]

We do a fun activity every year where we make Christmas trees. We take a sugar cone turn it upside down and then ice it with green frosting. The kids stick on M&M's, sprinkles, nerds, string licorice, whatever things you can find to use for tree decorations.Good luck!

 

[golfgal]

You could bring in Beef Jerkey for the "roast beast"?