Healthy School Christmas Party Ideas – Fun Games and Food for Kids but NO Sugar!

If you’ve followed me for a while, you probably already know how I feel about school birthday treats and sugar.  It means a lot to my kids when I volunteer in their classrooms, and as a former teacher myself (now running a cooking class for kids online), I know it’s a great help to have extra adults coming in to help. Plus as a writer, I always have lots of ideas for things like healthy Christmas parties.   I do really enjoy being back in the midst of the chaos, but I have a sneaky ulterior motive for signing up to be room mom as often as possible. *eyebrow waggle + smirk* I bet you can guess what it is. (Hint: What’s my blog all about?) I figure if the kids are already getting approximately 24 sugar fests in a school year (birthdays) + 5-10 more for classroom rewards and random celebrations, the least I can do is show how much fun healthy food can be for the 4 classroom parties. (And yes, I also tried for systemic change to eradicate sugary birthdays, but that didn’t go as well as I’d hoped…)  I’ve planned nearly a dozen classroom parties now, all with great games and little to no refined sugar involved. Thus far I’ve received only positive feedback from parents and zero complaints from the kids, who all have had loads of fun. I’ve even done Non-Food Birthday Celebrations for School. One confused kindergarten boy did ask during the Halloween party, “When do we get the candy?!?” which cracked me up, but I don’t think he was too despondent about it.(My answer? “Oh, that will come tonight at trick-or-treating…”)

Healthy Christmas Party Idea: Holiday Food Art

 Here are three different ways to make holiday food art with fruits and vegetables, at least one of which is still appropriate if your school requires you to really strip everything down to only be “winter” related.   You could either enlist a few parents to help you make the food art 15 minutes before the party or have the kids make their own as a dual purpose craft/food activity during the party.

Vegetable Christmas Tree

  

Supplies you’ll need:

• large plates
• For the tree: flat pea pods (“snow peas”), about 6-8 per child, washed
• For the ornaments: pomegranate seeds (one pomegranate should cover a whole class) – substitute options include dried cranberries or fresh raspberries, cut in half

For the star:

You have a few choices:

• a slice of starfruit :: below, expect 8-10 from one fruit
• diamond shapes cut from a pineapple :: one large pineapple should cover a whole class; see example at the end of the fruit section
• a star shape cut from pineapple :: you really can only do this right in the center of the pineapple (top photo above), so you might need two pineapples for a class with lots of “edges” left over for your family to make into fruit salad. Use a star-shaped cookie cutter like these found on Amazon.

    

For the trunk:

One cinnamon stick per child (optional, not edible, just for looks)

Fruit Christmas Tree

Supplies you’ll need:

• large plates
• For the tree: Clementine orange slices, 6 per child (that’s 3/4 of a Clementine)
• For the star: Same options as above
• optional cinnamon stick for the trunk, found on Amazon or at Olive Nation

 In second grade, parents helped make the Christmas tree food art and we served them like this, no trunk:    One really cool additional benefit of these cute food art examples is that you might get kids to try some foods that are new to them if you present it really positively and encourage them to taste everything.  

Fruity Candy Cane

    

Supplies you’ll need:

• large plates
• sliced bananas (about 3/4 of a banana per child)
• sliced strawberries (2 large or 3 medium strawberries each; frozen sliced berries would work as well, but not quite as cleanly)

I didn’t use any toothpicks to hold these together. The bananas stood up just fine, even when I moved the plate around the room trying to catch the last rays of winter sunlight for a photo (I failed). I only had frozen strawberries that I had flash frozen separately on a cookie sheet, so that worked, but fresh would look better. Frozen strawberries from the store are usually in juice, so they’d have to be thawed all the way to use and would be soft and mushy and wouldn’t stand up in their position.The party pooper note of the year, but important nonetheless: A reader reminded me that food safety includes gloves and hair nets for food preparation (see comments). Sounds like her school went to “all pre-packaged foods” because of a foodborne illness experience with something like a classroom party. Soooo…ask before you plan.

Pretty Christmas Water in the Classroom with Special Ice Cubes

I firmly believe that kids don’t need juice, and water is really the only drink that needs to be served at a party.  Who says water has to be boring?    I used a few fresh cranberries and some parsley or thyme in the photos above, going for aesthetics only. Once melted, the parsley will start to impart a flavor to the water, so you can’t use that combination if you’re going to have the cubes in the drinks more than 15-30 minutes.   They both look pretty cute though:  Thyme is on the left; I thought it looked a little “pine-tree-ish.” 

Other red and green options include:

• raspberries
• dried cherries (not as bright red, but won’t add flavor at all after the ice cubes melt)
• chopped strawberries
• pomegranate seeds
• mint leaves (yum!)
• cucumber skins
• spinach (go really all out and cut a leaf in the shape of a Christmas tree!)

 The cranberries did actually float to the surface of the ice cube, and you can see how they jut out quite a bit:  I tried cutting them in half to see if they’d sink, and it more or less worked. They still float, but they’re flat across the surface of the water so nothing actually sticks out of the ice cube.

More Healthy Food to Eat at a Kids’ School Party

 The key to getting anyone to eat the healthy food is to NOT serve 5 or 6 things. Serve two or 3. They’ll survive, and they’ll have time to eat it all and enjoy it.   If you make one of the food art examples above and then plunk a cupcake, a handful of pretzels, one piece of candy, some cheese and a juice box down in front of the kids, guess what won’t get touched? I recommend serving just one more item, two at the most, and water to drink.To supplement the food art, try including one or two of the following:

• Popcorn is always a hit, can be made with real fats like coconut oil and organic popcorn, and still be very inexpensive and not time consuming for you. You could even string it together with thin thread to make a traditional sort of garland that the kids could eat.
• Cheese slices cut with holiday cookie cutters
• Red pepper slices and homemade guacamole (red and green!) or homemade blender hummus – both are very easy to make and nourishing with healthy fats
• Carrot sticks and raisins as “melted snowmen”
• If you make the veggie Christmas tree craft, offer fruit to go along with it, and maybe homemade ranch dressing for dipping to add fat for staying power

All of the above are nut-free and gluten-free (note: tahini in hummus contains sesame seeds), and you could choose dairy-free options depending on the needs of the class.

Winter Holiday Party Games

Whether you’re allowed say “Christmas” anymore in your school or not (official opinion on that: *eye roll*), these kids’ party games will be perfect for the classroom.

Snowman Wrapping Party Game

 Teams of four or five children race to see who can wrap up their “snowman” the fastest. When one whole roll of (cheap!) toilet paper is gone, they put faces and buttons on their snowman and raise their hands to see if they won!  Supplies needed for each group:

• 1 roll toilet paper
• two eyes (cut out of black construction paper)
• an orange carrot nose (paper)
• 3 coal buttons (paper or real buttons)
• roll of good tape (an adult to help tear and fold it for younger children)
• optional but fun:
  • “corn cob pipe” i.e. a party favor blower horn thingy (technical terms…um, see in the picture there? Like this on Amazon)
  • hat or bow (like from wrapping presents)
  • scarf

Be sure to take pictures and cheer them on!

Snowball Poppers Party Game

 Kids of all ages have a blast throwing things where they’re never allowed to be rowdy, like in a classroom. No one will get hurt or cold in this snowball fight, but everyone will have fun.  Supplies you’ll need for each popper:

• medium-sized paper cups (9 oz. worked great)
• balloons Note: ask the teacher to make sure there aren’t any latex allergies in the class
• scissors
• paring knife
• masking tape
• poof balls (another technical term…you know those little balls for crafting, less than an inch in diameter? Those things.)

Directions to make poppers:Each child will need their own popper. I recommend having all of them ready before the party – they’re way too tricky for small hands to make on their own. Do the activity in rotating stations or centers with the food art and another craft so you don’t have to make so many.  1. Cut the bottom out of the cup, leaving the rim for stability. I found a paring knife was easier than scissors.  2. Snip the very tip of the balloon off. Cut off less than you think since you can always make the hole bigger but can’t go backwards.3. Tie the balloon as if you’ve just filled it, but with no air in it.4. Stretch the balloon over the bottom of the cup. You’ll need two hands and a little practice. If you allow the cup to bend quite a bit, that will help.The final popper looks like this:But I recommend adding one piece of masking tape all the way around so your creation holds together under kid power.Place a poof ball in the bottom, centered on the balloon (a cotton ball would work but would have more “drag” and not go as far or fast).Hold the cup with one hand and pull the knot of the balloon with the other.

Ready, aim, POP!

Somehow I didn’t capture an action shot of the actual popping motion, but here’s one of my son waiting for his to come back down – so you can see they get some pretty good distance!To play the game:You have a few options for what to do with the poppers.1. Play catch in pairs. Two kids pair up, starting close together, and try to pop the poof ball into the other person’s cup. No winners, just lots of fun.2. Snowball catch challenge. (for older kids) Like the classic water balloon toss. After some practice, pairs of kids line up against each other in two parallel lines. The adult counts down and everyone pops their poof ball toward their partner at once. Anyone who drops is out; anyone who completes a toss takes a step backward for round two, and so on. The winners are the last ones standing.3. Bullseye practice. Choose a target – either a bullseye drawn on the board, a few cups standing on a desk, or a couple paper plates taped to the wall. After some practice, kids can pop their poof balls at the targets and earn points for direct hits. Winner has the most points after a certain period of time or certain number of pops (decided beforehand).4. Individual challenge: Each person tries to pop the poof ball straight up and catch it in their own cup as many times in a row as they can without a miss. Highest consecutive number wins!Thanks to Real Simple for the inspiration, although they used marshmallows – after feeling terrified that someone would step on a marshmallow and ruin the carpet or that the poor teacher would find ants feasting on a marshmallow behind a bookcase come spring, I realized that the poof balls we used to test out the game at home would have been a much less sticky option, and therefore quite preferable!

Additional Craft/Activity Ideas for the Party

First, let’s talk structure. If you do the snowman wrap race, which is super fun, everyone needs to participate at the same time. I recommend starting or ending with that activity so that you can use centers for the rest of the time. I think centers are a great way to manage a classroom full of kids and keep them engaged and out of trouble, especially if you have enough parent helpers to have at least one at each station.

1. Food Art & eating any other snacks
2. Game (the Snowball Poppers works great as centers)
3. Craft Table
4. Activity

Here are some ideas depending on the age of the kids for the craft or activity station:

• Pasta Snowflakes :: Pasta, glitter, tissue paper, glue and paper, plus any extra crafty stuff you want to provide. If time, allow them to paint the pasta too. For young children, you  might want to copy a snowflake image for them to fill in, and older kids may just need a reminder that snowflakes have six sides.
• Build Your Name :: Print out bubble letters of each child’s name and allow them to paste holiday colored M&Ms or other candies plus glitter to decorate their own name. Or just provide cotton balls for “snow” for the same task, since that’s easier to glue than candy. (for younger grades, K-1)
• See-Through Ornaments :: put down clear contact paper, sticky side up, and allow the kids to decorate it with crafty bits and pieces, leaves, pine needles, glitter, etc., then put another sheet of contact paper over the top to stick it all together. Then you can cut it into shapes to make ornaments. (There are tons of ornament crafts online as well!)
• Christmas Picture Frames :: Using jumbo craft sticks (like popsicle sticks but thicker) hot-glued together (parent job!) or blank foam craft frames and foam stickers and glitter, etc., the kids can make photo frames for special holiday pictures.
• Holiday Word Build :: How many words can you make out of “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” before the time is up? (for older children, 2nd and up)

If you’re planning the party, remember to ask the teacher if you need to build in time for a book or gift exchange, for the teacher to open students’ gifts, or for a story. I like to read a funny holiday book to the children while they’re eating to keep them engaged.If you have other ideas for the stations or if you try any of the food art or games here, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Merry Christmas!

(waits for politically correct police to drag me away…)

For some wonderful resources and activities for kids and adults outside of school, you’ll love these eBooks from my affiliate partners (the FTC says I have to say that) and friends/colleagues (I want to say that, because these women are just lovely and great at what they do):

• FEAST: Real Food Reflections and Simple Living for the Christian Year by Daniel and Haley Stewart (for families/adults)
• Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands by Amanda White (for preschool/kindergarten/1st grade)
• 101 Days of Christmas: Recipes and Crafts for a DIY Holidayby Mandi Ehman on Kindle
• A Simpler Season by Jessica Fisher (for families/adults)

If you’re curious about plans for other holiday parties, here they are:

• Healthy Valentine’s Day school party
• Healthy Halloween school party

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post from which I will earn some commission if you make a purchase. See my full disclosure statement here.