Fall Classroom Party Ideas

Many of the schools these days have opted out of having holiday parties in favor of a more generic theme. In the school my children attend, they no longer have Halloween or Thanksgiving parties... Now they have a Fall/Harvest party instead.

If you're the room parent for your child's classroom, this new school party tradition can present a lot of challenges and difficulties... but it still can be a lot of fun. Here are a few ideas to get you pointed in the right direction for your Fall classroom party.

Decorations

It's best to keep the decorations simple... balloons, streamers, etc. do a lot to make the classroom look festive without breaking your bank or time line. Decorations may not be necessary or appreciated in some classrooms, so be sure to ask the teacher before you plan them.

Personally, I think it's better to spend the time, money, and effort on the other parts of the party rather than on the decorations. Most classrooms already have Fall and Autumn themed items up anyway.

Food

The food for the party will depend a lot on what the teacher recommends. Be sure to find out about allergies first. Unfortunately, my children's school has a rule that all food brought into the school must be commercially prepared... No homemade goodies!

Here are some goodie ideas for your harvest classroom party: pumpkin bread, apple cider, rice krispy treats, cupcakes, cookies, chips, etc. Don't offer too much and be sure to have plenty of napkins.

Games

Be sure to check with your child's teacher before planning out your games to make sure there will be enough room, to see if desks can be moved, make sure music allowed, how long the party will last, etc. Sometimes the best way to plan the activities for a classroom party is to set up stations with a different activity at each station. This works especially well for larger classes.

Flying Turkeys - You'll need a child-size fishing pole, magnet, paper clips, construction paper, and a large container for this game. If you don't have a fishing pole, you can make a simple one with a wooden dowel and a piece of string.

Start by attaching the magnet to the end of the string on the fishing pole. Then make several turkeys out of construction paper. Put a paper clip on each turkey and put it into the large container. You'll want to do all this ahead of time. When you're ready to begin the activity, let each child go fishing for a turkey. This is a great "station" activity.

Pumpkin Seed Toss - Line up five or six small containers on a table. Paper bowls work pretty well. Then give each child a handful of pumpkin seeds and let them take turns throwing the pumpkin seeds at the containers to try to get them in.

Scarecrow Bean Bag Toss - There are two ways you can do this. The first way is to create a large cardboard scarecrow head with a large hole where the mouth should be. Prop it up against a desk so that it will stand up. You'll need at least 3 bean bags. Have the children take turns trying to throw the bean bags into the scarecrow's mouth.

A second way to do this is to wrap construction paper around 5 cans (coffee cans work well, but can be a pain to transport to the classroom). Decorate the cans with scarecrows on them. Once in the classroom, set the cans up in a pyramid (3-2-1) and let the kids take turns throwing the bean bags at the cans to knock them down. This can be a very loud activity for a classroom, so check with the teacher first.

Harvest Ring Toss - You'll need three hoops (embroidery hoops work well). You'll also need five harvest related objects like a turkey, indian corn, pumpkin, indian tee pee, small tree. Make sure the hoops will fit over each of the objects. Set each of them out on the floor and let the children take turns throwing them at the objects to try to catch them. You could make it easier by choosing 5 stuffed scarecrows or 5 turkeys to make it a "scarecrow toss" or a "turkey toss."

Pumpkin Straw Game - Divide the children into two teams (or more than two if you want). Give each child a drinking straw and line them up in their teams. Give the first child in each row a pumpkin cut out of construction paper. Each child has to walk from one side of the room to the other while sucking in on the straw to keep the pumpkin up (creating a vacuum). When they get back to their team, they pass the pumpkin on to the next teammate.

Turkey, Turkey, Dinner - This game is played just like duck, duck, goose.

Turkey Walk - Cut out construction paper turkeys equalling the number of children in the class and number them. Tape them down on the floor in a circle. Put all the turkey numbers into a bowl. Have each child stand on a turkey. Begin playing music and have the children walk from turkey to turkey. When the music stops, each child should be standing on a turkey. Draw a number out of the bowl and the child standing on that numbered turkey wins.

Freeze Dancing - Play music and have the children dance. When the music stops the freeze.

Pass the Turkey - Have the children sit in a circle and give them one stuffed turkey. Play music and have them pass the turkey around the circle until the music stops. The person holding the turkey is out. Play until one person is left in circle. This is a good way to hand out goodie bags at the end of the party.

Crafts

Hands and Feet Turkey - You'll need construction paper in brown, orange, red, and yellow, scissors, glue stick, and wiggle eyes (optional). Have each child trace their hands and feet: trace two feet (with shoes on) on brown construction paper and trace their hands several times on colored construction paper. Cut out all the pieces.

Put the two feet tracings together to make the turkey body and head, matching the heels together, and spreading the bottoms apart. Glue in place. Glue all the cut out hands onto the back of the body so that they fan out around it. Draw on a turkey face. If you have time, you can add a waddle, beak, feet, etc.

Turkey Place mats - Trace the child's hand out on a large sheet of construction paper and then let them decorate it.

Tissue Paper Turkeys - Have a picture of a turkey drawn out ahead of time and give each child a copy. Cut squares of tissue paper in different colors and give each child some. Crumple up a square of tissue paper and glue it onto the turkey.

Indian Headbands - Cut strips of brown construction paper and fit a headband for each child... staple together. Cut large feathers for each child and glue them to the headband.

Favors

The quickest and easiest party favor for a classroom is one that you can do ahead of time. Here's my favorite...

Use a harvest or fall stamp and stamp a lunch sized paper bag randomly. Let dry. Fold over the top about 3-4 inches and punch two holes in the top equal distance apart. Put your goodies in the bag and fold it back over. Put pieces of ribbon or yarn through each of the holes to seal them closed and then tie them with a pretty bow. Quick and easy!

Here's another quick and easy idea... Fold a paper plate into a cone and staple it. Spray paint it brown and let it dry. Now you have a cornucopia that you can fill with goodies.

The kinds of things you can include for party favors are small toys, crayons, coloring books, candy, etc.