With the holiday season comes cooler weather, twinkling lights, and cheerful excitement. Channel that excitement and holiday energy into some festive games and activities for PE class. The following ideas are an easy way to inject some healthy, heart pumping physical activity into the potentially low-activity winter season.
Quick Set Up Holiday PE Class Games
The Grinch
Students are elves with presents (an 8.5” ball), attempting to keep it away from the Grinch with their feet. The Grinch, one designated student, is attempting to steal a gift from an elf, and when successful becomes an elf. The student who lost the ball is the new Grinch. This game requires a ball for each student (except for the designated Grinch), four quadrants of a playing area made from cones.
Snowball Bowling
You’ll need a flat playing area, bowling pins, and foam balls. The bowling pins are scattered within in the playing field, and one student stands beside each one. The rest of the students grab a ball and stand along the sideline. At the signal, the snowball bowlers enter the playing field and begin to use their ball to attempt to knock over pins being protected.
Reindeer Games
This game of tag requires a competitive spirit, cones to mark a playing area, and some scarves or fluff balls to signal who is “it.” The elves with the flags are “it” and must try to tag and freeze the other students or “reindeer”. When a reindeer is frozen, they must stand with their legs apart and can only be unfrozen when another reindeer crawls between their legs.
Snowball Hoop Blaster
For this activity, students are partnered up and each pair gets 1 hoop and 4-6 yarn or foam balls. Students stand between 5 and 7 feet apart, or whatever is appropriate for their developmental level. One student holds the hoop and the other has the goal of tossing the “snowballs” through the hoop, earning a point for each successful toss.
How to Play Snowball Hoop Blaster
Battle of the Poles Tag
Create four grids or use a basketball court and place tossables (fluff balls, beanbags, etc.) in the center which is called the “Workshop Area.” Students are divided evenly between the four areas and two students from each grid are “Protector Elves” that wear a pinnie. The Protector Elves are guarding the tossables in the middle by tagging anyone who tries to steal them. Any successfully stolen tossables are dropped off outside the playing area.
How to Play Battle of the Poles Tag
More Holiday Activity Ideas for Kids
If you’re searching for more ideas to keep students active and engaged this year, check out the other blog posts in the PE and Out of School categories at the Schoolyard blog. We have ideas for every season and plenty of great tools to make PE class more fun and exciting.
Read More Schoolyard PE Blog Posts
