12 Reindeer Day Crafts and Stations that will rock your world!!!
On the last day of school before Christmas break, we have our annual Reindeer Day celebration! Out in our first-grade neighborhood, we have set up 12 Reindeer stations that our students can roam through at their own pace. We have games, activities, crafts, food, and music! My team also has matching Reindeer Day T-Shirts that we wear together!
Here are 12 Reindeer crafts and stations that we’ve had. And, of course, we couldn’t do this without the help of our amazing parents! We send out a sign-up genius so they can sign up to help out so all we have to do is just walk around and monitor!
Reindeer Crafts and Stations
1.) Reindeer Hats
2.) Reindeer Ornaments
3.) Reindeer Pancakes
4.) Jingle Bell Necklaces
5.) Jingle Bell Toss
6.) Reindeer Antler Toss
7.) Reindeer Magnets
8.) Reindeer Food
9.) Pin the Nose on the Reindeer
10.) Cookie Decorating
11.) Reindeer Face Painting
12.) Reindeer Direct Draw
So, let’s back up. A week before Reindeer Day- we send home a letter to the parents about our Christmas/Winter Sock Exchange. Each child can bring a pair of Christmas/Winter socks to exchange with another student. They have to write “to A Boy or A Girl” on the package. So, on Reindeer Day, I put all the girls in a circle and all the boys in a circle, and I read them a story and they pass their socks to the left or the right. At the end of the story, whichever package they have in their lap is the one they can open. If they accidentally get their own, then they can switch with someone. It’s a blast and my students LOVE it! This gets them excited about their Reindeer Day Stations!
If you would like a copy of the letter that we sent out, click here.
After we have our sock exchange, we are ready to go out into the neighborhood to have fun with our Reindeer Stations. But first, we always have to go over the rules.
Rules:
1.) No running or horseplay- or you cannot participate.
2.) Make sure to have your bracelet punched with the station number so you make sure to go to all of them.
3.) Anything that you make, you must bring it back into your classroom and put it on your desk.
4.) Any trash that you have please throw away.
5.) Do not go to a station 2-3 times, only 1 time.
A couple of days before Reindeer Day, I make sure to go over these rules because the day of can be very crazy and hectic, so going over the rules beforehand, really helps! However you decide to do your Reindeer Day, just make sure you set your rules and consequences ahead of time so your students know your expectations! Having set rules will make you happier and less stressed!
So, you’re probably asking, how do you know if the students go to all the stations and how do you know if they’ve already been to one so they don’t go twice? Well, we’ve cut strips of construction paper and numbered them from 1-12 with a black Sharpie. We make the strips into bracelets or pin them onto the student’s shirts. The parents have a hole puncher and punch the number of the station when they go to it. This way, if a student tries to go to a station 2 times, the parents can look at their bracelet and tell them to move along to the next station! Works like a charm!
1.) Reindeer Hats/Antlers
We’ve done many different types of antlers and hats- and we’ve found that having the students color and cut out the least amount of paper possible is so much easier! If you’re interested in having your students make Reindeer hats, click here. This station takes about 2-3 parents to help.
2.) Reindeer Ornaments
Reindeer ornaments are so fun! You just need Sharpies or markers, string, push pins, a stapler, and di-cut ornaments. The students will color their ornament and then you can staple or hang them onto the reindeer antlers on a bulletin board! It’s so fun to see all of the different designs! Just make sure to cover the table with butcher paper so the Sharpies don’t bleed through onto the table! This station takes about 1-2 parents to help.
3.) Reindeer Pancakes
This station is by far the most popular! Each first grader gets a Reindeer Pancake! You will need large and small pancakes, griddles, bacon, cherry sours, whipped cream, chocolate kisses, paper plates, forks, and napkins! You will need about 6-8 parents working this station as you will need an assembly line. You’ll need parents to work the griddles for pancakes, work the griddles for the bacon, assemble the reindeer, and serve the students. It takes a village on this one, but it’s the favorite! Aren’t they just too cute???
4.) Jingle Bell Necklaces
These jingle bell neclaces are too cute! All you need are red, white and green pony beads, small and big jingle bells, and necklace rope. You’ll need 2-3 parents for this station so they can tie the rope together at one end and show the students how to string the beads and jingle bells. I love seeing all of these necklaces!
5.) Jingle Bell Toss
This game is a favorite. All you need are large jingle bells, and red solo cups shaped like a Christmas Tree. You can basically make up your own rules to the game. So the students make a line and they each get 3 jingle bells to toss into the cups. The goal is to try and get all three jingle bells into the cups. This game is so easy to manage, and it only takes 1 parent.
6.) Reindeer Antler Toss
You need two parents for this game especially to blow up reindeer antlers and rings. The parents can sit or stand. The students stand in a line and toss the rings to see if they can hook the rings onto the antlers. They each can have 4 rings to try and toss.
7.) Reindeer Magnets
This fun craft takes a lot of prep, but the students LOVE it! I like using about 2-3 parents at this station to help manage the supplies and help the students glue their magnet. You’ll need round magnets to hot glue onto these wood-slotted clothespins. They resemble reindeer and they are so cute! You’ll want to hot glue the magnets on the back of these before Reindeer Day so you won’t need to worry about gluing while the students are making the magnets.
You’ll also need glue, red sequins for the nose, small google eyes and brown piper cleaners for the antlers. These turn out so stinking cute! I like to use chip trays to organize all the supplies for the students to find what they need easier.
8.) Reindeer Food
Making reindeer food is a must for Reindeer Day! You’ll need some big bowls to mix all the ingredients together so the students can come by and scoop their food into a quart-size baggie. For our reindeer food, we like to use rolled oats, red glitter, and raisins. This station will need 2-3 parents to help mix the food and then scoop it into the bags for the students.
9.) Pin the Nose on the Reindeer
Pin the Nose on the reindeer is also a favorite! You’ll need two parents for this game, a reindeer hung on the wall, and a blindfold. We like to use a bandana for the blindfold. The students stand in a line and get to try and pin the nose while blindfolded. They love it and they get so giggly when the nose ends up somewhere else!
10.) Cookie Decorating
Who doesn’t get excited to decorate cookies? For this station, you’ll need 2-3 parents to help with the decorating, red, white, and green frosting, vanilla cookies, plastic knives, plastic plates and Christmas sprinkles. The parents can sit at the table and monitor the students decorate the cookies. They can either eat the cookies right then or put them on their desk for later.
11.) Reindeer Face Painting
Having your face painted or tattooed is so fun! We got our Art Teacher to come and draw reindeer on our students’ faces! This station is about 2-4 parents who are willing to come and paint faces. Of course you’ll need all of the face paint and tatoos for this station.
12.) Reindeer Direct Draw
The students LOVE doing a direct draw especially if it’s a reindeer! We put up the directions on the wall next to the station and have the students practice drawing their reindeer.
I hope you got some fabulous Reindeer Day ideas for your class party or celebration! If you’re interested in checking out my Day in First Grade, click here. I show you my whole first-grade day from beginning to end!
Until next time, let’s take your classroom to the next level!
