Classroom Personalized Christmas Gift Activities
Posted: Monday, November 17, 2008
by Stephany Springer
It is that time of the year again and gifts made in the classroom can become treasures for parents and grandparents. I personally kept every gift that my children made over the years.
As a teacher, I realize the importance of these treasures for parents and grandparents. Here are a few activities to make the parents of your students shout with glee this Holiday season.
There are so many cute activities with handprints and footprints. These gifts are cherished because parents can look back and remember how small their children once were. One fun activity is to make a reindeer. Take brown paint and a roller. Roll paint on the bottom of the child's foot, try not to do the toes. Then place the foot print on red or green paper. Let dry. Next take a darker brown or black paint. Dip the child's hands in the paint. Place above to footprint to make antlers. Let dry. Then allow the kids to glue googly eyes and a red puff on the reindeer made out of their hands and feet. Be sure to laminate. You can also include a picture of the child wearing antlers on the project. Be sure to also write the year on the project.
Another popular handprint project is to do a handprint in white upside down. Then cut out Santa hat templates in red for the kids to glue above the palm area. Then place eyes and a nose. Allow the kids to draw the mouth. The fingers then become Santa's beard.
Another good present for fathers is to allow the kids to walk in paint then walk across paper. Write at the top the saying, "I Am Following In Your Footsteps." Then laminate the project or create a frame for it out of foam and stickers.
Another gift for the moms or grandparents is a cooking apron. These can be purchased for under ten dollars. Allow the kids to decorate with handprints or other designs. You can even take a fabric marker and say something like, "My Mom or Grandma is the Best Cook Hands Down."
Write a Story
There are so many ways to make a child's work come to life. Writing a story can be a fun present for parents and grandparents. Allow the kids to write a story and draw pictures to go along with it. This project may have to be funded along with the parents depending on your school's budget. Tikatok.com is without a doubt my new favorite website for kids. Kids can upload their stories and pictures then order a paperback and hardcover book of their creation. What an awesome gift! They can take it one step further by writing about someone special in their lives such as their mom or dad or grandparent.
Pictures
Taking pictures of kids while they are away at school can be a great present as well. You can even make a card out of the picture and have it mailed to the parents. Be sure to bring lots of props to school such as Santa Hats, antler ears or a Christmas tree to pose the children with while taking the picture. You might even have the kids help make a scrapbook for their parents with all the pictures.
Make Ornaments
Ornaments for the family Christmas tree are fun keepsakes to look back over the years. There are several ways to do this. One such way is to make an angel, snowman, etc out of clip art then glue the child's face on the ornament. Laminate and hole punch a hole in the top.
Another project is to get an actual ornament. Paint the kids fingers white. Then press them on the ornament to make snowmen. Attach this poem to the sack it is delivered to the parents in, "These aren't just 5 snowmen as anyone can see. I've made them with my hand which is part of me! Now each year when you trim the tree you'll look back and recall the Christmas of (year), when I was just this small!"
These are just a few suggestions. Feel free to leave additional personal gift ideas for the classroom in the comment section below.
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