If you’re looking for some classroom Christmas decoration ideas this post is for you. It’s packed with tons of fun ideas to get your classroom ready for the holidays including creative, unique, fun and easy ideas that you and your students will love.
This post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase using my link, I make a small commission –at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.
This post is organized by ideas in different sections with headings for each. You’ll find Grinch, Buddy the Elf, DIY, creative, and ideas for all different grade levels including high school. If you’re looking for something fast and easy check out the ideas at the end of this post.
Create a festive atmosphere in your classroom by incorporating student pictures into the decor. You can have students bring in their own holiday-themed photos or take new ones in class. Create a photo wall or adorn a bulletin board with their cheerful faces.
One of my favorite ways to do this is with Canva which is an online graphic design tool. With Canva you can upload pictures, erase backgrounds and then add them to graphics. You could also do it old school and just cut out the pictures and glue them into your displays.
Check out some more ideas to add student pictures to your holiday décor this year below.
Turn students into adorable Christmas elves by adding their faces to elves that they have decorated themselves.
Students can become mini Frosty the snowmen or snowwomen for your class bulletin board. Click the link under the picture to find this kit on Etsy.
Students are the presents on this bulletin board.
Another example of adorable student elves. To pull this off take pictures with students mouths open to look like they are singing!
Encourage students to express their creativity by incorporating student art into your classroom Christmas decorations. Have them create ornaments, drawings, or paintings related to the season. Display their masterpieces throughout the classroom or dedicate a specific area for this purpose.
For some inspiration check out some art Christmas décor ideas below.
Have student create colorful Christmas trees and snowflakes with a variety of materials to make a beautiful holiday display in your classroom.
Handprint Rudolph make the perfect Xmas classroom decorations for pre-school or Kindergarten.
Fingerprint Christmas trees are another fun art activity for younger students that would make a festive holiday classroom display.
Transform your classroom into Santa's Workshop by including decorations such as elves, reindeer, gift-wrapped packages, and signs that point to the North Pole. This will give your students a sense of magic and wonder as they work on holiday-themed activities.
Check out how some creative teachers have transformed their classrooms into Santa’s workshop below.
If you want students to get that North Pole experience start with an entrance that makes them feel like they are taken away to Santa’s village.
Change up your play area for the season by creating a North Pole wrapping station that also includes Santa’s mailbox.
Your students may love a fun entrance to Santa’s workshop like this. In the workshop students can take part in North Pole activities like making plans for toys.
Santa’s workshop is not complete without a Santa’s writing station. Have student write a letter to Santa and create a Christmas wish list.
Add some cheer to mornings and transitions times by featuring a YouTube Christmas video screensaver in your classroom. Search YouTube for holiday screen savers. This can help to give a warm and cozy feel to your classroom this time of year.
If you don’t have access to apps like YouTube, you can also download a holiday picture and set it as the screensaver on your computer or class T.V.
After the weekend have your students return to a magical holiday scene of Christmas in Disneyland by choosing this screensaver video.
A fireplace would be the perfect ambience for the classroom while reading a Christmas favorite like, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
Christmas ornaments make the perfect backdrop to this festive classroom.
Bulletin boards are a great way to showcase holiday themes. Create boards incorporating snowflakes, reindeer, Santa Claus, or Rudolph, using your students' work and educational materials to represent the holidays. Get inspired by some of my favorite Christmas bulletin board ideas below.
For this interactive bulletin board have student document acts of kindness that they witness on the colorful light bulbs.
If you’re teaching about government, elections and presidents during this time of year this would be a fun bulletin board idea to copy.
If you have a large bulletin board here’s a beautiful design idea to copy.
Add your students’ names to the mittens on this display.
Get creative with your classroom door décor. Involve your students in creating unique door decorations. Ideas may include holiday-themed wrapping paper, snowmen, elf, reindeer, or Santa Claus designs. Check out some of my favorite creative Christmas classroom door ideas below.
Get your students in the holiday spirit by creating a Gingerbread house classroom door.
Copy this idea of adorable penguins climbing a ladder. The penguin on top can display a holiday message.
Students can pop their head in the door window to create an elf selfie!
Encourage students to spread kindness through the school with this positive classroom door.
If you're looking for more Christmas classroom door ideas, then you should check out this post.. 101 Creative Christmas Classroom Door Decorations
Inspired by the popular holiday movie, Elf; Buddy the Elf decorations can bring laughter and joy to your classroom. Use quotes from the movie and pictures of Buddy to add this student favorite character into your classroom. Check out some of my favorite ideas below to add Buddy to your Xmas classroom decorations this year.
Print off a few Buddy the Elves and places them around the class for students to find. This helpful Buddy reminds students to write their name on their papers. He says, “I love writing my name on my paper! It’s my favorite!”
What makes this door even more amazing is students faces are put on the little elves.
This classroom has an inflatable Buddy that moves around the room every morning. If you want to steal this idea, they sell an inflatable Buddy on Amazon that you can find here.
How excited would your students be to see Buddy peeking through the door at them in the morning?
Create a Buddy bulletin board with some of the movie’s best quotes like, “So good news…I saw a dog today!”
Make your classroom feel warm and inviting with a gingerbread house theme. Decorate using gingerbread cookies, gumdrops, and frosting-like trimmings. Students can participate in making their own gingerbread house or decorations to contribute to your design. Check out all of these ideas and more below.
Welcome students into a Gingerbread House with an elaborate classroom entrance.
Students helped to decorate gingerbread people for a festive entrance to this Kindergarten classroom.
Huge bright colored candies placed around the classroom can help transform it into a Gingerbread house.
Treat your class to a gingerbread day that includes gingerbread themed books, activities and games.
To carry along with your gingerbread themed classroom you can have students create mini gingerbread houses.
Add some magic to your classroom with ceiling hangings that serve as festive overhead decor. Hang snowflakes, ornaments, stars, or even paper chains to create a captivating and festive atmosphere. Get a little inspiration by some festive classroom Christmas decoration ideas below.
Hang peppermint candy paper lanterns to add a festive feel to your classroom. Here’s a 12 pack of paper lanterns that will work!
To add an extra festive touch to your classroom, hang garland and large glitter snowflakes from the ceiling. Here are some extra-large glitter snowflakes from Amazon that should do the trick.
Transform students to a Christmas Candyland with streamers and candy shaped balloons hung around the room.
With a Grinch-themed classroom, you can incorporate the beloved character into your holiday display. Use images, quotes, and decorations inspired by the story to create a fun and unique environment. Check out ideas to add the Grinch to your classroom decor below.
Copy this Grinch door idea if you want to win the door decorating contest this year!
Here’s a fun spin on a jack-in-the-box.
Print off some pictures online to re-create this fun door in your classroom.
Keep it simple by using classic holiday elements such as candy canes, tinsel, and string lights. You could also print classroom posters to decorate a wall in your class for a simple and easy way to add a little holiday spirit. Check out some more simple classroom Christmas decoration ideas below.
Image Source | creat1ve_classroom_1deas
Here’s any easy idea to transform boring classroom walls into the windows facing a winter wonderland.
Find some positive Christmas classroom posters and plaster your wall for a simple idea to decorate for the holidays.
How about hanging clip boards on the bulletin board and displaying festive holiday pictures for an easy display that you can change up after the holidays.
A fake fireplace display adds a cozy touch to your classroom. Using construction paper or cardboard, you can craft a fireplace to serve as a centerpiece for holiday activities or a reading corner. Check out some fireplace inspo below.
Add a fireplace to your classroom library to create a cozy spot for students to curl up with a holiday book.
To take your décor up a notch you can add stockings for each of your students to your mantel display. Before Christmas break, they may even find something special from you.
If you’re not afraid of a little DIY you can create a fireplace out of cardboard and construction paper.
If you want to easily create a fireplace in your classroom for a little extra ambience Amazon has a fireplace décor kit with cutouts that you can add to a wall or to a bulletin board. You can find the full kit here
Build anticipation with a Christmas break countdown display. Use a calendar, advent-style, or festive chalkboard display to help students keep track of the days left until their holiday break. Some of my favorite Christmas break countdown ideas are below.
A bow tree could be the perfect countdown to Christmas break. Remove the bows to reveal the number of days left.
Students can flip over each present in the countdown to reveal a way to spread holiday cheer. A couple of examples are, sit with someone new at lunch or share supplies with your classmate.
Celebrate the spiritual aspects of Christmas by incorporating Christian decorations into your classroom. Ideas include nativity scenes, angels, and Bible verses related to the birth of Jesus Christ. For a Christian school or church check out some classroom Christmas decoration ideas below.
This pretty bulletin board pairs nicely with a wooden nativity scene.
This nativity scene bulletin board kit can be found on Etsy.
Brighten up your whiteboard with holiday-themed décor such as borders, festive magnets, or doodles. Students can engage in drawing their own festive designs on the board during free periods. My favorite Christmas whiteboard ideas are below.
Here’s a whiteboard idea for those artistic teachers out there. If that’s not you, try just drawing a Grinch hand to go with this quote.
Add a little holiday cheer to your classroom whiteboard by hanging Christmas ornaments and banners.
Including a Christmas tree in your classroom can serve as a focal point for your decorations. Students can create hand-made ornaments and personalize the tree, fostering a sense of unity and holiday spirit. If you’re thinking of adding a tree to your class this year then get inspired by what other teachers are doing below.
Would your students be obsessed with this rainbow Christmas tree? If you want to copy this idea Amazon has some rainbow trees that you can find here.
Add a fun touch to your holiday décor by adding giant googly eyes to your Christmas tree. Here you can find some giant googly eyes to steal this idea.
A small white tree and a merry pillow adds just the right amount of Christmas charm to this classroom. Here you can find a similar pillow and a cute white pre-lit Christmas tree.
If you don’t want to buy a Christmas year, get creative and stack books and add lights to create a mini classroom tree.
Take advantage of your wall space by adding wall decorations like banners, posters, or artwork displaying quotes, winter scenes, or holiday icons. This is an easy way to add a festive atmosphere in your classroom. To see how to pull it off check out some ideas below.
Print off holiday posters to easily add a festive vibe to your classroom. You could create your own or buy a poster pack on Amazon, like this one that I’m loving.
Have students participate in your wall décor by answering the question, If Santa was stuck in the chimney what would I do? Use their answers to decorate your display.
This is a fun interactive wall decoration that students would love. Students can help to decorate this felt Christmas tree with the removable felt decorations. You can check this out on Amazon here.
Let your imagination run wild and come up with unique and creative Christmas classroom decoration ideas. Think outside the box to make your classroom stand out during the holiday season. Some of my favorite inspiration is below.
Who needs a Christmas tree when you can create a Christmas cactus instead?
Copy this display idea in your classroom or in the hall. Students can take turns being the I in kind and you can take photos to send home!
Create a display that challenges student to decide if the quote is from a Christmas song or a poem. An Example is “gone away is the bluebird here to stay is the new bird.” Spoiler.. It’s the song Winter Wonderland.
Bring the holiday spirit to your school library with decorations such as book displays, festive banners, and comfortable reading nooks complete with Christmas pillows and cozy blankets. Check out some inspiration to get your library ready for the season below.
Add lights to your holiday book display for an extra festive touch.
A tree, ornaments and Christmas books add holiday spirit to this classroom library.
Santa has all the kids’ favorite books spilling from his sack. You can caption this bulletin board with Dear Santa bring me new books this year.
Students can get cozy by the tree and fireplace to read some of their holiday favorite books.
Your high school or middle school students are not too old to celebrate the holidays. Incorporate some of your student’s favorite musicians, actors or actresses to make a class display that they will love and relate to. Check out some of my favorite classroom Christmas decoration ideas for high school and middle school below.
If your students love Snoop Dogg then here’s the Christmas door for you.
Here’s a décor idea for all of the history teachers out there. Learning and décor meet with a Christmas tree decorated with historical figures from History. To copy this idea have students choose figures, print the pictures and then you can place them in photo frame ornaments that you can find here.
If your students are a fan of the Rock, they might get a kick out of this Christmas décor idea.
Get your students involved in DIY projects for Christmas decorations. This not only allows you to save money but also helps students develop valuable skills and take pride in their work. If you want to create something with your class, then check out these DIY classroom Christmas decoration ideas below.
Roll up green paper to create this 3-D Christmas tree in your class.
Have student make deer for a fun activity that becomes your classroom décor.
If you’re feeling crafty you can DIY this winter wonderland scene decorated with houses created by students.
Keep things simple with easy decorations such as string lights, paper snowflakes, or small tabletop displays. If you’re short on time but still want to add a festive feel to your classroom, you’ll love these easy classroom Christmas decoration ideas below.
Take a cue from this first-grade teacher and have parents decorate their student’s desk with wrapping paper. Not only is the idea easy and fun, it’s also a hit with parents and students.
Adding Christmas lights is an easy way to make any space look festive.
When you’re not yet ready for the Christmas bulletin board but still want to give that festive feel print off holiday theme student work place holders.
Pin up a Christmas tapestry for an easy idea to instantly add cozy holiday vibes to your classroom. Here are some that you can check out on Amazon
You can create simple DIY Christmas decorations for your classroom with readily available materials. Some ideas include paper snowflakes, homemade ornaments, and even a handmade calendar counting down to Christmas. Don't be afraid to get creative and encourage students to participate in making the decorations.
Decorating your classroom for Christmas can be done in various ways. Consider using festive colors like red, green, and gold or incorporating twinkling lights, tinsel, and garland. Displaying student-made artwork and incorporating traditional Christmas symbols, such as reindeer, snowmen, and gingerbread houses, can also add a festive touch.
Budget-friendly Xmas classroom decorations include repurposing classroom materials, like construction paper and markers, to create festive artwork. Creating garland from cut-out shapes, such as stars or snowflakes, can be an inexpensive way to add a festive touch. Also, consider borrowing decorations from other teachers, asking for donations from parents or shopping your local Goodwill or thrift store.
To make your class festive for Christmas, focus on creating a cheerful and cozy atmosphere. Incorporate holiday-themed lessons and activities, play seasonal music in the background, and organize group projects that encourage collaboration and creativity. Encouraging students to help create a classroom Christmas decoration and embrace the holiday spirit will help make the space feel more festive.
Incorporating a Christmas theme into educational activities can be done through lesson plans, games, and creative projects. For example, use Christmas-themed word problems in math lessons, assign holiday-themed writing prompts, or incorporate Christmas symbols and themes into science lessons.
Creative Christmas bulletin board ideas can include displaying student-made artwork, showcasing holiday-themed writing prompts and responses, or creating a large advent calendar with daily tasks or trivia questions. You can also dedicate a space for students to share their holiday traditions or favorite memories.
Involving students in decorating the classroom can be a fun and engaging way to foster a sense of community. Organize small groups or pairs of students to work on specific decorating tasks, such as creating ornaments or hanging up garland. Encourage students to share their ideas and use their creativity to contribute to the overall aesthetic of the classroom.
I hope you enjoyed this post and found some new classroom Christmas decoration ideas that you can use this year. Feel free to save your favorite ideas to your Pinterest boards. To do that just click on the picture, the P and then choose your board.
If you enjoyed this post, you should also check out...
8 Fun Christmas Classroom Ideas To Try This Year
83 Winter Bulletin Board Ideas: Fun Ideas to Try in Your Classroom