These helpful classroom party tips are sponsored by our friends at VolunteerSpot – the leading, online sign-up tool that makes organizing people (and school parties) a snap!
Organization
As with most things, the key to a successful event is organization and planning ahead. Help from other parents in the class is crucial. You know the saying…”Many hands makes light work.” The organization process can be broken down into a few categories: Agenda, Food/Drinks, Budget, and Before Prep .
Agenda
Before you contact any of the parents to enlist help, have a plan of attack. Know what games you want to play and any other activities you want to do during the party. It’s also a good idea to talk to the teacher about the school’s holiday policy. Will you be planning for winter and snow themes, or are Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza themes welcome and expected? For some winter game ideas, you can check out our post HERE.
Food/Drink
What food will you have at the party? Easy snacks work best for the kids (pretzels, apple slices, teddy grahams) but it is a PARTY so don’t make it too boring. Juice boxes or small bottles of water are the easiest drink options..they are quick, easy and the kids love them. Keep it simple. Again, some schools will have restrictions on what is allowed so check with the teacher about your food choices first.
Budget
Will you collect money from parents and purchase everything yourself or will you just have different parents volunteer to bring everything? Sometimes it’s easier to have one person buy everything, so it’s all there on the day of the party. Either way, it’s best to know exactly what you need for the party, which is why it’s important to have the agenda and food figured out ahead of time. If you choose to collect money from the parents, we suggest using VolunteerSpot! You can quickly collect and manage funds for the party…it’s secure, fast and easy!
Before Prep
Time flies when you’re having fun. Once the party starts, your time will go by quickly. If you can have some of the tedious tasks done in advance it will help the party go more smoothly. Enlist the help of other parents to prep for games or crafts.
Volunteers
Now that you know what you will need for the party, it’s time to find some help. Parents and grandparents are always eager to join their student for the party. VolunteerSpot is a great resource to use for class party sign-ups. The website is so easy to use and you can set up tasks for volunteers to do in advance and also assignments for the day of the party. (AND don’t forget about the easy option to collect money. As a busy parent, I really appreciate how easy VolunteerSpot makes everything for both the event coordinator and volunteers!!)
Set up
How you set up the classroom for the party is also an important step! Hopefully your agenda is already done so you know when you will be eating and when you will be doing activities, but how will you transition between the two? If you have the space, you might want to make a few ‘stations’ that the kids can move through. Keep the pace active for the kids and the group-size manageable for parent volunteers.
Party Time
Things will not always go as planned and that’s OK…Enjoy the chaos! The kids will have fun regardless of whether or not a game goes as planned. Tip: Ask one of the parent volunteers to take photos throughout the party to share with other class parents that couldn’t make it.
Wrap Up
Make the last activity something that brings all the kids together and has them sit down. It could be as simple as giving the teacher a class gift or reading a winter related story. Having all the kids calm down will help in any transition that they will be doing after the party is over. It will also give the parent volunteers a chance to clean up the room.
Good luck with your next class party, you’ll do GREAT!! For more great party tips, check out VolunteerSpot’s free party guide.
