December is such a fun month to teach. I find it fun to keep students engaged by adding in some fun Christmas activities into our schedule. During December, I like to make my students Christmas gifts that I send home right before winter break. So today I thought I would share my classroom Christmas gift ideas for students, including classroom Christmas gifts for parents, and the student Christmas ornaments I have them make.

 

Classroom Christmas Gifts Ideas for Students

 

To help encourage students to read over the winter break, I give them a super cute bookmark that says, “Season’s Readings.” I tell students that it is a play on words with the common phrase, “Season’s Greetings.” My second graders love a good pun and think it is so fun!

 

I print these bookmarks on white cardstock. The bookmarks don’t have a lot of color, because students actually get to color on them! I pair a fun retractable pen with these bookmarks. Students use the colors of the pen to color these bookmarks at home. Find the retractable pens I use here.

 

After winter break I notice students bring these bookmarks back to school to use. They are colored in and everything! Find these bookmarks to gift your students here.

 

Here’s more classroom Christmas gift ideas for students that you can add to these bookmarks and pens.

 

I print out a fun Christmas Activity Book for students. This is something else they can use their new retractable pens for. These activity books have word searches, mazes, I Spy pages, spot the difference activities, and so much more! Plus plenty of cute holiday themed clipart that will keep them entertained coloring for hours. Find these Christmas activity books here.

I bundle the bookmarks, pens, and activities books together by putting a strip of paper around the activity book. I can slip the bookmark and pen under the strip of paper to keep everything together. It also acts as a gift tag. Together, these make cute Christmas gift ideas for students from teachers.

Another idea is to give students a book. That way they can use their new bookmark at home. Scholastic often has one dollar book deals that can be a good option for this.

 

As fun as it is to make student Christmas gifts, it’s fun to have students make classroom Christmas gifts for parents. 

 

Classroom Christmas Gifts for Parents

 

It’s fun to help students make a little gift for their parents or caregivers around the holidays. It’s a fun surprise for parents. Plus, students work so hard on them.

 

When I was thinking about what I wanted my students to make for classroom Christmas gifts for parents, I envisioned something unique like a holiday photo calendar or cute picture frames, keeping it simple and cost-effective.

 

Each December, I buy cardboard frames from Amazon and have students decorate them. Students dip their fingers into different colors of paint and put finger prints all around the frame. After it dries, I take a black permanent marker and connect the finger prints with a line, adding in loops so that it looks like a string of Christmas lights.

Find the frames I use here.

 

Then I take photos of each of my students. I use some green butcher paper from our school and hang it up as a background. I have students wear a Santa hat and I take their picture. I print them out at Walmart and put them in the frames.

 

I write students’ names on the back of the frame along with the year. Then when parents take out their Christmas decorations each year, they take out this one and can remember when their child made it. It’s so sweet!

 

To get my students even more involved with this gift, I have them wrap the present and write a card. I precut the pieces of wrapping paper to make it easier. Then I have students write in the card, color the front, and tape it on the gift.

Print the cards that I use here.

 

Student Christmas Ornaments

 

Okay, so I love decorating my Christmas tree at home. Each year when I pull out my ornaments, I find the ornament I made in my 2nd grade class. So when I became a second grade teacher, I knew that I wanted to help my students have this tradition.

 

I wanted to find an ornament they could make that involved more than just paper. So I discovered how to make the cutest winter hat ornaments. And all students have to do to make them, is to tie some simple knots with string.

I prepare all the materials beforehand. You need paper towel rolls, yarn, cotton balls, and label stickers.

 

For the paper towel rolls, I cut half inch rings so that there is enough for each of my students.

 

For the yarn, I cut 12 inch pieces. Students need about 28 pieces of yarn each. I put each student’s pieces of yarn in a little baggie for them. A quick way to cut the yarn is to wrap it around a hardcover book 28 times and then cut down the side of the book where it opens up. I always use a Hunger Games book and it works great!

 

Then I show students how to make the knots. They fold the string in half, put the loop side through the paper towel roll piece, put the ends of the string through the loop and pull it tight. They continue this with each piece of string until there is string all the way around their paper towel roll.

 

Next they bring it to me and I finish the rest. I make sure all of their knots are nice and tight and that they are all going in the same direction. 

 

After that, I take all the ends and push them up through the paper towel loop. I put a cotton ball up through the loop as well. All the end pieces will be around the cotton ball. Tie them together with another piece of yearn and it will look like a little hat!

 

I use that same tie to make the loop for hanging it up on the tree by putting a knot at the end. Then I trim the end pieces of all the pieces of string so that it makes a little pom-pom on top.

 

Finally I write the student’s name on a label sticker and put it on the underside where you can see the cotton ball. I have students hang these up on our school Christmas tree and this makes it so they can find theirs again when it’s time to take them home.

 

My students feel so accomplished when they finish their student Christmas ornaments. They make the cutest decorations on a Chrismtas tree and I hope that my students hang them up on their family’s Christmas trees for years to come.

 

I hope that this blog post has given you the classroom Christmas gift ideas for students that you were looking for. By doing these little gifts, you bring in the holiday magic into your classroom. Doing these projects and gifts are the things students remember for years and years to come.

 

Looking for more fun Christmas themed activities for your classroom? Check out these blog posts:

 

5 Christmas Math Activities Perfect for 2nd Grade

 

3 Ways to Use These Classroom Door Decorations for Christmas

 

7 of the Best Christmas Read Alouds for 2nd Grade