have you considered any games? How about poor man skiing? This is with two by fours covered with felt (so they dont scratch the floor) with rope loops attach. They hold like three or four people, the kids race to a point and back.
You could also do snowman bowling, make snowman pins out of either wooden dowels, or old bowling pins, use small tires for the "ball".
You could also do some team activites like have a "iceberg" out in the middle of the floor, kids are in teams of like 4 or 5 and they need to use two pieces of cardboard to get there and rescue the person who "fell in". The cardboard are small pieces and they must always be standing on at least one piece.It is funny to watch, not as easy as it sounds.
You could also do something like curling, which is a winter sport in Canada. We actually foudn someone who had the stuff. How about "ice fishing" have a kiddie pool filled with fish(no water needed) but have it cover with plexi glass with holes cut, they need to catch one through the hole
one last thing is to have a whole mess of winter clothes (scrafs, boots, mittens, jackets, hats, etc) and fill bags with each item. The kids race to see who can get all of it on the fastest.
I dont know where you are from, but is there (or will there be) enough snow for you to have a family snow sculpture contest? Was your santa shop going to be a fundraiser? Maybe instead of having them buy for themselves, they can give to the community. You could have people there to teach quilt tying (to donate to a local childrens hospital or shelter) maybe someone to teach knitting hats, mittens, scarves or make anything else that is warm. It sounds like you have some fun ideas already, dont let not having the shop stop you! Having fun crafts and activities might be all you need. Good luck!
We too are planning a winter fest! This is our first one. Problems already arising, but I won't go into that.
One thing I wanted to do was a Narnia Room, I just didn't know what to put in it. After what I've been through, I am not even bringing that up! But I bet you could do a search on The Chronicles of Narnia and come up with something that includes letter writing, etc. I assume this is an opportunity to encourage students to use their writing skills.
The above ideas are great ones too. Along with the snow flakes you could do stained glass. These are pretty easy to do and you can use simple shape for the kids.
You could have a winter wonderland shop. Perhaps make some small baskets with donated items to sell that are winter geared (books, mittens, hand warmers, etc.) and you can sell school supplies with snowflakes and such on them.
First off--way to go regrouping and coming up with a fun event for the children. That flexibility is a huge strength. I think the snowflakes and v-day crafts are a terrific idea. Also you have President's day in there so perhaps everyone could write the president. Kids love that type of stuff. When all else fails, how about a happy New Year banner for the troops overseas. I have names and addresses for you if you'd like to do something like that. We did at the start of the school year and the kids just loved it and the morale of the troops went up as well. Dianna
Kids love to make snow flakes!
WE had our kids make snowflakes and then gave them to the PTO to hang up during their winter meetings. It was fun and some parents actually came to the meetings to see their kids snowflakes.
Maybe you would pay $1.00 for a piece of paper and make the snowflake the the money raised could go to a childrens charity or local nursing home or something for the school. Make sure the parents know ahead of time what you are trying to accomplish with the money. Just a few ideas!
