How to Host a Christmas Craft Party For Mixed-Age Students

Let's explore how to transform a typical school contest into a strong student-led project and gain a new perspective on your students' talents.

Choose Your Goal

Depending on your ambitions and the values you teach your students, the goals of a Christmas craft contest can vary. Here are five great reasons to organize a Christmas crafts contest at school at least once.

Give Children Freedom

Your school contest can be an adaptation of an adult art exhibition. Children can express their talents and artistic vision without a specific theme. Let them show how they see art. The main rule is no adults—each craft must be made by the child. This is crucial.

Set up tables, display the artworks, and invite "spectators" from other classes. Even an abstract paper installation mimicking a snowstorm can make a statement, especially if it was created by a third-grader.

It's important to present any school contest goal clearly to parents. They, in turn, can better explain the participation conditions to the children. Here's an example of an announcement for a crafts contest and an announcement letter for the parent chat group.

Turn Contest into a Dialogue About the Environment

The school exhibit might focus on caring for nature. For instance, birds that stay for winter find it hard to search for food under the snow. Students can compete by crafting birdhouses or warm hideaways for squirrels.

Workshops can be held on selecting materials and making designs appealing and safe. Afterward, the crafts can be displayed in the schoolyard or a local park.

Support an Important Social Issue

A school contest can be dedicated to a social cause. Themes might include caring for parents, pet responsibility, anti-bullying in schools, or environmental pollution. Creations can be decorative or practical—like plastic compositions for household use, clothes for cats and dogs, or crafts easing household chores for parents.

Host an Auction

The children's creations can be auctioned off to parents. All proceeds would go to a children's home or another charitable cause. Students will see how their work helps others, while parents recognize the value in their child's creativity, which is worth nurturing.

Reach Beyond the School

Your school contest can serve as a platform to elevate the school's reputation in the educational field through its students' talents. Museums and cultural centers frequently host creative contests for kids. Entries might reach the finals, gaining recognition for the school and its students in the process.

Also Read:

9 Ways to make Christmas magical for kids

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Set the Format

The right format makes the contest interesting and comfortable for children – especially for the younger ones, who might be shy about showcasing their work. Below are examples of formats to choose from according to the contest's goals.

If the Goal is Creative Freedom

Format: Open Exhibition Without Judging

Many kids feel shy about their creations. A formal judging panel might be fit for an art club, not a school contest.

Choose an open display format instead. Select a location: hallway, classroom, library, or foyer. Children can set up their mini-expositions with parents, and the works can be on display for everyone for some time.

This is a school gallery where you can simply look, get inspired, and discuss—without pressure and scores.

This approach relieves tension and inspires even the most reserved students.

If the Goal is Environmental Awareness

Format: Outdoor Exhibition & Workshop

Here, beauty and utility are key. Arrange the crafts in the schoolyard or a nearby park.

Host a setup day: students explain how their bird feeder or squirrel house functions—this becomes an informal showcase, not a contest.

To add a competitive element, have a selected jury assess practicality and originality. The focus is on how the craft benefits nature.

If the Goal is Talking About Important Issues

Format: Author's Commentary Exhibition

When social issues are the theme, it's not just about what was made, but why. Host a "show with the author's voice": alongside the craft, display a printed text with a brief explanation.

This is more of an exhibit than a contest. If you hold a competition, evaluate the concept rather than the technique. Offer several categories: Most Creative Idea, People's Choice, and so on.

If the Goal is Charity

Format: Exhibition-Auction

The exhibit transitions into an auction: items can be bought, with proceeds going to good causes. Participation is voluntary.

Avoid evaluating the crafts—it's not a contest. Let everyone feel that their work matters beyond its price.

To avoid awkwardness, set starting prices in advance to prevent bidding wars.

If the Goal is Participation in Larger Contests

Format: Qualifying Exhibit with Expert Jury

Here, the format can be more "official" yet transparent. Invite expert judges—artists, educators, museum partners.

Criteria should be clear: originality, technique, presentation. Explain to students that even if a project isn't selected, it's valuable—and you see it.

To alleviate stress, allow for multiple winners in various categories. This helps children see the contest as growth, not just competition.

Formulate the Evaluation Criteria

If you're opting for a contest format, provide students with clear, understandable criteria:

• Work Done Independently. It's clear the student did the work alone.
• Defined Concept. The craft has a purpose, not just a random creation. While making it, the student had thoughts, which they wrote down.
• Presented in an Interesting Way. Unique presentation, material combinations, and display.
• Usability. A bird feeder is useful, serving its intended purpose.

Determine the Prizes

Prizes don't have to be expensive. What's important is recognizing each participant:

• Certificates with Categories. "Kindest Craft," "Bold Idea," "Best Art Object," and so on.
• Kits to Continue Developing Artistic Talent. Books about art and tutorials, biographies of famous creative figures adapted for kids, sets of paints, pencils, or markers, and more.
• Publication of Work on the School's Website or Social Media with Positive Comments from Teachers.

Prepare the Discussion Platform

To make the contest an event, it’s important to give children the chance to not just view, but to discuss peers' work, share impressions, and receive feedback on their creations. This boosts confidence for future challenges and helps them see value in others' ideas.

Foster a vibrant atmosphere around the exhibit. Next to the exhibit, hang a feedback board where short comments can be posted, warm words can be written on sticky notes, or small associative drawings can be made.

Audience voting could be organized: every student or teacher picks a piece that particularly touched them. It’s not necessarily a contest appraisal—more a way to highlight something personal and meaningful. Voting can happen on social media or group chats.

If kids are comfortable speaking aloud, suggest mini-presentations: in class or during breaks, among friends or before parents. Let each participant explain what they created and why.

Discussion is as important as the work itself. It reassures children that their effort is noticed, their ideas are engaging, and they are remarkable.

How to Integrate Secret Santa into School Christmas Craft Contest

Have each participant create not just a craft, but a gift for a random classmate or student from another class. You can set up a craft gift exchange before Christmas. To keep the organization simple, use the MySanta app.

How does it work?

1. Sign up. Everyone interested should use their current email address and fill out a form to help the Santa come up with a handmade gift.

2. Draw Names. Once everyone is joined, hit the button to start the drawing, and the system will randomly assign who gifts whom. The recipient's name will be known only to their Santa or the organizer with a paid plan.

3. Prepare the Crafts. Participants should craft gifts: colorful Christmas cards, homemade ornaments, mini souvenirs from natural materials, posters with well-wishes, bracelets, etc.

4. Host the Exhibition. Display the crafts as numbered entries, without names. Adding descriptions hinting at the recipients can spark curiosity until the exchange happens.

5. Organize the Gift Exchange. At the end of the contest, participants open their gifts and discover who their Santa was.

Try our MySanta app

You can create wishlists, add exclusions, and communicate with your gifree secretly. Moreover, there is an option to track gifts and ensure that everyone buys a present on time.

Start

Your creative contest can focus on one or several goals, such as crafting eco-friendly items for social themes and presenting them at an auction.

The key is to give children freedom and not intervene at every step, doing the work for them and taking away the joy of crafting something.