Now it's almost time for my favorite social committee events of the year...10 Days of Winter Cheer! The last few weeks before winter break can be stressful for educators and other school staff. Everyone is trying to get their homes and families ready for the holidays while also trying to A) keep their students from going bonkers with excitement and B) make sure some the little humans are still learning in their classrooms. To boost morale, our committee plans a special event or activity for staff members on each of the last 10 days before winter break: the 10 Days of Winter Cheer. Not every staff member participates in every activity but everyone looks forward to the 10 Days of Cheer!
Day 1: Trivia Challenge
What is mom cooking in Hollis, Queens, according to the Run-D.M.C. holiday song, "Christmas In Hollis"? Every year one of the teachers on our committee creates a set of 10 questions staff can attempt to answer. Questions can be related to the holidays, to our staff members, or to the theme of our winter party (last year's theme was 80s, so his questions were about the 80s). The staff member who answers the most questions correctly gets a prize! I love to stuff the prize baskets with teacher favorites like flair pens and Mr. Sketch markers, as well as little goodies from the Target Dollar Spot.
Day 2: Selfie Challenge
On this day we ask staff members to take a holiday- or winter-themed selfie with another staff member who is NOT on their PLC. This encourages people to get out of their grade level and collaborate with someone new! We send out a Google Form in the morning for staff members to submit their entries. At the end of the day, our committee meets and randomly chooses the winning selfie. The pair of staff members who took the picture get a prize, and we hang all of the selfies in the lounge for everyone to enjoy! This is the winning selfie from last year--it's still making me laugh a year later:
Day 3: Hot Chocolate Bar
As a treat for staff, we set up a hot chocolate bar in the lounge. We usually make two slow cookers full of homemade hot chocolate (cocoa powder, sweetened condensed milk, cream milk, vanilla, chocolate chips -- super easy) and put out some hot cocoa powder, too. We spread out TONS of toppings. Some things we've used in the past: every kind of marshmallow you can imagine, chocolate chips, M&Ms, mini Reeses, candy canes, chocolate-coated spoons for stirring, and, of course, whipped cream!
Day 4: Candy Grams
"You go, Glen Coco!" On day four, we put a blank candy gram in every staff member's mailbox and ask them to write a short note to another staff member. Some people choose to write a thank you note to someone who has been very supportive lately, others write a holiday wish to someone they really care about. Everyone returns their notes to our committee, and we attach them to candy canes and deliver them to their recipients a few days later. To avoid a "None for you, Gretchen Weiners," kind of situation, our committee members will write extra candy grams to make sure every staff member recieves one.
Day 5: Winter Party
Does your school have a winter/holiday party every year? We do! We rent out space at a local restaurant on a Friday evening and invite staff members and their families to come and celebrate together. I'm not much of a dancer myself but our staff loves to tear up the dance floor!
Day 6: Gelt Hunt
This activity is so fun and easy! We hide golden chocolate coins around the school (at adult heights, of course), and when a staff member finds one they get an instant tasty snack!
Day 7: Ornament Exchange
The ornament exchange is my favorite of all the Days of Winter Cheer. Any staff member who wants to participate makes or buys an ornament, which they bring wrapped. After school, we gather and put together all of the packages. Each person draws a number, which determines what order in which they will choose an ornament. On their turn, participants can choose to take an ornament from the pile or "steal" an ornament from someone who has already opened one. An ornament can only be stolen twice. I love to hear the stories behind everyone's ornaments, and I always make my ornament myself which is so fun!
Day 8: Cookie Exchange
Who doesn't love cookies?! At the cookie exchange, each person who participates collects a cookie from each of the other participants. I love getting to sample so many different family recipes! Each participant also brings in an extra dozen of their cookies, which our committee brings over to our district's central office to spread the winter joy to our district administration and support staff.
Day 9: Festive Attire Competition
For the festive attire competition, staff members bust out their ugly sweaters and show up in their craziest holiday attire. The person with the most festive outfit wins a prize (and bragging rights, of course).
Day 10: PLC Lip Sync Battle
This event is a fan favorite, and the students get to be involved, too! We always do this event on the last day before winter break, when energy and excitement for break is high, at "Cub Rally," our weekly Friday morning assembly. Any PLC (e.g., third grade team, specials teachers) can choose to enter into the lip sync battle, which they will perform in front of the whole school. Some teams record a video in advance, others choreograph a dance routine to a popular song or mashup, and there have been many other types of performances. Our staff is so creative! Two years ago my team made giant cut-outs of our faces and danced to a mashup of Top 40 and GoNoodle songs. The students LOVE to cheer for their teachers at the lip sync battle, and it is a super fun way to let loose!
Does your school do anything fun leading up to winter break? I would LOVE to hear about it in the comments below! If you haven't yet, maybe it's time you did -- hint, hint!
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