End-of-Year Class Party Ideas for Kids
Fun Ways to Celebrate a Successful School Year (for Room Parents & Teachers)
Always looking for a reason to celebrate? We are too – and wrapping up another successful year definitely calls for a triumph party! We’ve got creatively fun ideas for throwing the best school shindig yet! Pro Tip: Create a Class Party SignUp to get room parents to help with decorating, setup, snacks and beverages, crafts, games, cleanup, and more!
Class Party Themes
Does your class have a mascot or class pet you all cherish? A field trip or school day memory that could play into a party theme? Get creative and choose a party theme that means something special to teacher and students alike, or pick from our list of fun themes!
Book party – students dress like their favorite character from the year’s reading, or pick a common classic story the class liked (such as Alice in Wonderland).
Beach or pool theme – incorporate water games if you host an in-person event outdoors.
Pajama party – everyone can just roll out of bed and head to school!
Escape room party – teams each decipher clues and, when they reach the end, they are free to head to the playground or join a virtual dance party.
Era party – think 50’s sock hop, 60s hippie fashion, 70s disco, or 80s neon & big hair.
Color-themed party – have the class vote on a color and stick to it when deciding on decorations, food, outfit, etc.
Favorite animals – turn the classroom or Zoom room into a student zoo the last day of school!
Heroes – this could be anything from superheroes to historic figures, to real-life heroes (like nurses, fire fighters, etc.).
Camping – at home or in the classroom, welcome tents, blanket forts, sleeping bags, flashlights and butterfly nets.
Class Party Activities
You’ve picked your theme – now you just have to figure out what activities you’ll host to pull off a day of celebratory fun! Pro Tip: Use Zoom or another video conferencing platform to include students that are learning from home.
Talent show or a show-and-tell: Extra points for incorporating the party theme!
Minute-to-Win-It game day: Students partake in contests and have one minute to...
stack up the most Solo cups in a pyramid
transfer 30 Smarties or Goldfish crackers from one plate to another using a straw
bounce ping pong balls into 8 cups
wrap a peer or teacher up in toilet paper or streamers
blow a feather across the room into a bucket
move a potato to the other side of the room using just their nose
keep 3 balloons from touching the ground
put a cookie on their forehead and get it to their mouth using only their face muscles
move as many pieces of cereal from one bowl to another using just chopsticks
stack up as many dice as possible using only one hand
Dance party: Free dance to the music or teach the students an easy choreographed dance that they can be proud to participate in at the end of the day.
Memory book: Ask students to collect photos and other memorabilia, and have them draw pictures and write down their favorite memories of the school year on scraps of paper – glue these things into a scrapbook and have everyone sign their name in the book for an everlasting keepsake. Or go paperless by using a digital scrapbook platform to create a scrapbook together online!
Welcome notes for next year’s students: Ask current students to draw a picture and write down what they think future students will like best about the class, the teacher, or the grade. Hang them in the classroom or collect them to distribute at the beginning of the next school year.
Autograph keepsake: Tell students and teacher to wear a plain t-shirt on the last day of school so that others can add messages and signatures, or create an e-card with WishYoo for each student to gather handwritten dedications, voices, and pictures in an electronic keepsake.
Field trip to the next grade: If an in-person visit of students’ future classrooms isn’t possible, use your phone or video camera to record a virtual field trip to share online or view in your classroom.
Printable Activities: Print a memory book with writing prompts for the students to document the school year and keep as a memento, or print these end-of-school thank you notes and allow students to fill them out for staff members.
Paper airplane race: Grab a measuring tape for this one! Have each student make their own paper airplane in any style they want – mark a spot (for standing while throwing) and give prizes to the students whose airplanes flew the farthest. Students at home can do the same and have a parent measure their distance.
Photo booth: Hang a background for pictures, provide photo booth props, and ask a room parent to volunteer as a photographer. Zoom backgrounds are a great alternative, if you’re celebrating virtually – be sure to tell at-home students to grab a screenshot and share with the class!
