Read below for our top activities to help the whole classroom have fun this festive season.
What’s this year's theme?
Some students struggle for ideas, while others find it easy to channel their inner creativity. So, help to create a level playing field by giving them a choice of several broad-based festive themes that will enable everyone to explore their creativity during different Christmas activities and crafts. For example, ‘Silent Night’ could lend itself to an array of ideas, from drawing pictures of Santa filling Christmas stockings at the end of a bed whilst children sleep, or a beautiful snowy-scene Christmas card. Whatever the theme, create easy Christmas cards and pictures by using black card with metallic gel pens, to create the perfect Christmas scene. In the example below, we've used black card and Pentel's Hybrid Dual Metallic gel pens to create different present tags.

Create a Christmas collage
We don’t all feel we have a natural ability when it comes to drawing and designing, but with a Christmas collage everyone can have the opportunity to create a paper wall tile that can form part of a colourful festive pattern to decorate a classroom wall and bring a smile to pupils' faces. Oil pastels are easy to use on a wide range of papers and blend smoothly to create beautiful seasonal tones, perfect for the festive season. For example, children could draw different festive scenes, such as a snowman, a Christmas tree, or a snowflake. To make your classroom decorating as easy and as mess-free as possible, try Pentel's Roll ‘n’ Glue to stick the finished shapes and designs to light card and mount on to a wall with non-permanent adhesive hangers.
Story for Santa
We’re all familiar with the popular Letter to Santa theme, but how about setting the class a different challenge this year with a more compassionate and thoughtful intent - why not encourage them to write a letter to Father Christmas telling him about someone real or imaginary who deserves a special treat this Christmas. This will allow them to express their imagination by creating a scenario in which their thoughts are for the feelings and needs of others. They can then inject some fun colour into their narrative to get creative, by decorating the letter and envelope. To prevent mess and smudging, try using Pentel’s quick-drying EnerGel pens, ideal for both right and left-handed writers.
Made by me
Looking for something a bit different this year? How about a personalised gift that also has a practical application, such as a hand-drawn or decorated coaster for a family member? Try using plain card coasters, creating the design lightly in pencil first and then copying the design using colourful markers. A range of products can be used to create colourful designs and patterns including Pentel’s paint markers, which add permanent sparkle to festive designs and drawings.

Or, how about giving them a project to create their own festive wrapping paper and gift tags using plain or craft paper and contrasting ink colours: white on black looks stunning, while red and green give a natural look on brown paper. For gift tags with added sparkle try metallic gel pens to reveal a different shade on dark or light paper and provide iridescent effects when viewed from different angles.
Whether your students are creating for others or for themselves, getting crafty is something that everyone of all ages and abilities can enjoy.
We hope you enjoyed our creative ways to get the class involved this festive season. To explore Pentel's full range of products, click here. To find more YPO festive resources, click here.