Holiday snack ideas for kids, plus crafts, games and story ideas for a festive and FUN class party! From VolunteerSpot & FamilyFun

1. Class Party
Ideas
for
THE HOLIDAYS
PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEXANDRA GRABLEWSKI

2. Holiday
Must-Haves From
Magazine
Our exclusive guide for class parents
has all you need to make the season
joyful for every student. Enjoy sweet
(and savory!) make-ahead treats, DIY
gifts the teacher will love, and creative
winter crafts and decorations for the
merriest class party yet.
Happy celebrating!
To make these, cut a
pan of brownies into
dreidel and tree shapes.
Spread colored frosting
on top of each piece,
then use hard-drying
white icing to add the
details. Finish them off
with a pretzel stick or
piece of candy cane.
PHOTOGRAPH BY LAURA JOHANSEN

3. ■ Ask the teacher for the class party
start and end times
■ Check guidelines on theme:
“Holiday” vs. “Winter”
■ Create a SignUp.com
class party SignUp for parents to help with:
• Decorating and setup
• Snacks and beverages
• Crafts, games, and activities
■ Alert snack parents about food allergies
■ Keep decorations simple—think paper
tablecloths and balloons
■ Don’t forget cleanup supplies
(trash bags, paper towels, etc.)
■ Use a kid’s wagon to carry supplies
through campus
■ Remind parents to set phones to silent
■ Ask a parent to take pictures
■ Have FUN! The kids will have a special
day no matter what happens!
Room Parent
Party Checklist ✔
To make these fancy
cupcake toppers, pipe
melted white chocolate
onto a snowflake
template (find it at
familyfunmag.com/
printables) and press
on silver sprinkles.
PHOTOGRAPH BY TARA DONNE

4. Save Time With FREE Class Party SignUps!
• More parents pitching in means
more FUN for everyone!
• Quick, easy setup for room
parents and teachers. Parents
choose what to bring and how to
help from anywhere on any device.
• No passwords needed!
• Plus, automated reminders keep
everyone on track!
Try it now:
SignUp.com

5. Holiday Party Crafts
Mini Snow Globes
Set the scene with a tiny
winter wonderland!
Trace the opening of a clear plastic
shot glass (we got ours at a dollar
store) on cardstock. Use pinking
shears to cut a circle slightly larger
than the traced line for a base (cut these
out before the party). Kids can then use
a glue dot to adhere a small plastic
figure to the center. Add 1 Tbs.
Epsom salts to the plastic cup, then
line the rim of the cup with tacky glue
and adhere the cardstock base. When
the seam is dry, glue a metallic pipe
cleaner around the bottom of the globe.
Thread string through two buttons for
a hanger, then glue it in place.
PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN VOTE

6. Keep the kids happy at your holiday party with a
no-mess project. Using our template, cut face
pieces and hooves from dark and light brown
felt. Adhere each hoof with double-sided
tape to a packaged candy cane.
Candy Cane Reindeer
Keep the kids happy at the holiday
party with a no-mess project that
turns into a sweet takeaway!
Using our template (download it from
familyfunmag.com/printables), cut face
pieces and hooves from dark and light
brown felt; make a set for each student
before the party. Have the kids adhere
each hoof with double-sided tape to a
packaged candy cane. Wrap a dark
brown head piece around both candy
canes, as shown, and secure it with tape.
Use more tape to attach the light brown
snout. Attach a pair of googly eyes and a
pom-pom nose with glue dots.
PHOTOGRAPH BY AARON DYER

7. Colorful Candy
Circles
These pretty ornaments
are cleverly woven from
twine and cardboard.
Before the party, use pinking
shears to cut circles from thin
white cardboard (ours are 2½
inches across). Have each child
wrap a length of baker’s twine
around the circle and knot it in
back. Continue wrapping the
twine around the cardboard,
using the notches to hold it in
place, then tie the end in back.
Add a self-adhesive gem
to the center. Make a hanger
by threading a length of twine
through a loop on the disk.
PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN VOTE

8. Holiday Party Snacks
Gingerkids
Plump pals made with sugar,
spice, and everything nice!
Combine ½ cup sugar with 2 tsp.
cinnamon and ½ tsp. ginger in a
medium bowl and set it aside. Fill
another bowl with water. Melt 1 cup
white-chocolate chips according
to the package directions, then
transfer it to a zip-top bag and snip
off a corner. To form each pop, slide
two marshmallows onto a lollipop
stick. Use the melted chocolate to
adhere mini marshmallow arms
and legs as shown. Let the chocolate
set. Dip the pop in the water, then roll it
in the sugar mixture until coated. Pipe
on a chocolate face, then use chocolate
to attach heart and confetti
sprinkle details. Makes four.
PHOTOGRAPH BY DOUGLAS MERRIAM

9. Pretzel Snowmen
These jaunty guys give a sweet
and salty kick!
Melt 1 (12-oz.) bag of white-chocolate
melting wafers. Dip 18 pretzel rods
in chocolate and spread it over each
one with a spoon. Let dry on parchment
paper, about 20 minutes. Melt 1 cup
semisweet chocolate chips and
transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a
small plain tip. Pipe eyes, buttons, and
twig arms as shown. Let chocolate set,
about 10 minutes.To make top hats,
use leftover white chocolate to “glue”
together licorice coins and licorice
gumdrops. Cut strips of red fruit
leather for the scarves and use orange
Nerd candies for the noses. Attach
all to snowmen with white chocolate.
Makes 18.
PHOTOGRAPH BY TARA DONNE
Click here
to find the
snowflake
template!

10. Reindeer Games
The kids won’t turn up their noses
at these adorable appetizers!
Tiffany Yang, who runs the Cute Food
for Kids blog, created the critters
from wedges of plain Laughing Cow
cheese. Press on two mini-pretzel
antlers. Snip two small pieces from
raisins, and roll them into balls for the
eyes. Use a round piping tip to cut a
nose from a red pepper or a black
olive. Arrange all the face pieces on the
cheese wedge.
PHOTOGRAPH BY TARA DONNE

11. Teacher Appreciation Checklist
✔ Keep it simple & meaningful
✔ Survey the teacher for likes
and dislikes
✔ Check school policies on gifts
✔ Get lots of parents involved with
teacher-appreciation activities like:
• Holiday brunch or potluck
• Group class gift
• Holiday "latte a day"
• Class photo album or scrapbook
✔ Encourage students to write their
teacher a thank-you card
✔ Use free, online class party SignUps
Planning & Gift Ideas
Credit

12. Constant Compliments
A collection of sweet sentiments—
each wrapped around a chocolate
candy—makes a delectable present
for a teacher your child loves!
On the back of decorative paper (our
strips are 2¾ x 1⅜ inches), write messages
for the teacher, such as “I love your smile!”
or “You make learning fun.” Wrap the strips
around mini candy bars and secure them
with tape. Put them inside a glass jar (a
quart-size canning jar will hold about 52
mini chocolate bars) and close the lid.
Embellish the lid with washi tape and
decorative paper secured with glue, as
shown. Use ribbon to attach a cardstock
tag labeled “Complimentary Chocolates.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEXANDRA GRABLEWSKI

13. Candleholders
Your child’s creativity will
light up the room!
Scan or take a high-resolution digital
photograph of a horizontal artwork.
Print it on an 8½ x 11-inch sheet of
plain vellum paper. Wrap the
paper around a cylindrical glass
vase (measure and cut the paper to
fit) and adhere the overlapping
edges with double-sided tape.
Trim, then discard excess paper.
Place a battery-operated tea light
inside the vase.
PHOTOGRAPH BY LUCY SCHAEFFER

14. Iron-On Pouch
This is the perfect, practical gift—
and it’s easy to make a bunch!
Photograph your child’s artwork—you
might experiment with using multiple
images or cutting out selected images
from different drawings. Reduce the size
to fit a small canvas pouch (we
ordered ours from inkodye.com) or tote
bag, and print onto iron-on transfer
paper. Peel off backing and iron the
image in place.
PHOTOGRAPH BY LUCY SCHAEFFER

15. So Many Ways to
Celebrate!
Learn about different holiday
traditions with these kids' books.
• My First Kwanzaa Book, by Deborah
Chocolate
• The Seven Days of Kwanzaa, by Ella Grier
• Kevin's Kwanzaa, by Lisa Bullard
• Hanukkah Lights, by David Martin
• Elmo's Little Dreidel, by Naomi Kleinberg
• The Night Before Hanukkah, by
Natasha Wing
• The Legend of the Poinsettia, by
Tomie dePaola
PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF HARRIS
Make this rugelach in 30
minutes: Spread 3 Tbs.
whipped cream cheese
on a refrigerated pie
crust; sprinkle on ½ cup
walnuts (finely chopped),
2 Tbs. sugar, and ½ tsp.
cinnamon. Slice into
wedges, roll, and bake.

16. Save Time with SignUp.com’s FREE Online SignUps
• Class parties
• Field trips
• Weekly readers
• Potlucks
• Performances
• Service projects
• Fundraisers
• Team snacks
• Parent conferences
For Everything You Organize:

17. NOVEMBER 2016
FAMI
LYFUN
MAG.C
OM
DECEMBER/JANUARY2017
KIDS’COOKIEGUIDE|BESTTECHTOYS|HANUKKAHCRAFTS|NEWYEAR’SEVEPARTY|FESTIVEGETAWAYS
GREAT MEMORIES START HERE
COOKIES
LIGHT UP
THE NIGHT
SIMPLE
HANUKKAH
CRAFTS
LET’S GO ON
HOLIDAY!
FESTIVE
FAMILY
GETAWAYS
HOTTEST
TECH TOYS
8 PICKS WORTH
EVERY CENT
PARTY WITH
THE KIDS!
FUN FANCY
IDEAS FOR
NEW YEAR’S EVE
They’llbe
decorating
bythedozen!
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DECEMBER/JANUARY 2017
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OM
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PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEXANDRA GRABLEWSKI