So a few years ago I published a
12
Days of Teachers Appreciation Gifts, and this year I decided to create one
for all the students. This was a great way to detash a bunch of leftover
Halloween candy as well as some supplies in my craft stash, so it was a win-win
for everybody.
I started with 12 brown paper lunch sacks with colorful tags marked 1-12.
In each bag, I put either one gift for the class to share, or 23 identical
items (one for each student plus one for the teacher). Also included in each bag
was a four-line poem that started with “On the 12th Day of Christmas…” and so
on.
Here’s what was in the first bag to be opened 12 days before Christmas
break:
Yep – day 1 was candy. Leftover Halloween candy, to be precise. This poem
explained to the class that they’d get one bag each day leading up to Christmas
break.
Day 2 included a holiday DVD I found for $5 at Target. It just happens to be
my kids’ favorite holiday movie so I can vouch for it as I’ve seen it many, many
times … and it’s a winner!
Day 3 - Probably my favorite day because it gave me the idea of throwing an
Elf-themed party for the class. I had a bunch of wooden squares in my craft
stash, so I made elf labels with the kid’s names on them and glued them to the
squares. Then I put an eyelet screw in each and tied ribbon on them for
hanging. The kids put them on the classroom Christmas tree and took them home
the last day of school.
Here’s a couple closeups…
Day 4 – This sack contained a classical CD that the kids listen to while
they’re working. They love the background music. I picked this up in the Walmart
value bin for around $5.
Day 5 – Time for another Halloween candy destash on day 5. I tried to spread
out the sugar days for the sake of the teacher. ha!
Day 6 – This sack had purse size hand sanitizers with
these
labels that say “Hand Santa-tizer”. These are available 3/$1 at Dollar
Tree. I was able to use up a bunch I still had from a previous project.
Day 7 – I picked up a Christmas Madlibs at a discount store for $2 and there
were 24 sheets in it. That way each student got to have one, or they could do
them as a class.
Day 8 – I made custom bookmarks for all the students, but you could easily
pick up holiday or fun bookmarks at Dollar Tree or Mardel. Let’s face it, what
kid doesn’t like something with their name on it?! The teacher sent me a note
that she LOVED the bookmarks.
Day 9 – Christmas pencils are a staple at any class Christmas party. They’re
cheap and everyone loves school supplies. I picked up 12/$1 at Dollar Tree.
Day 10 – Halloween destash of Jolly Rancher suckers.
Day 11 – In this bag was a Spot It game for the class to share. I struggled
with what game to get but ultimately settled on this because 1) all the cards go
in the tin so it’s easy to keep track of 2) no small pieces or dice 3) no
batteries required 4) several kids can play at once 5) the games are quick and
varied so they can be played in a short time (like indoor recess or Friday Fun
Day) 6) good for boys AND girls and 7) it’s FUN! There are several different
themed versions of Spot It, but I chose the original. It’s about $10 at Target
or Walmart.
Day 12 – This was actually the day we had the class Christmas party, so I
originally wasn’t going to put anything in the bag other than the poem saying it
was party day. Then I decided to destash (surprise) some jingle bells I have in
my craft stash. I thread black ribbon through each one and everyone got a
festive necklace to wear on party day. =) I know the pic shows Starbursts, but
since I knew there would be lots of sweets this day, I ended up leaving those
out of the bag.
The teacher put the bags up high on the cabinet and each day a different
student got to get one down, read the poem, and hand out the goods.
Hope you liked my 12 Days of Christmas for the Classroom! Check out my next
post for the Elf-themed class party!
Merry Christmas!
