We’ve eaten our turkey, raked those leaves, and now it’s time to think of holiday bulletin board ideas. There are so many directions you can choose for your December decorations, and the Teach Starter team is here to help!
We had so much fun browsing winter bulletin board ideas and choosing some of our favorites from willing teachers around the country. In crafting our list of favorites, some of the criteria we looked for were:
- Is it inclusive?
- Is it easy to assemble, or will this bulletin board take teachers too much time?
- Will this bulletin board work in January as well as it did in December?
Not every board meets all three criteria, but we tried our best to hit at least two of the three each time to make one list that’s truly helpful for teachers this time of year. Keep scrolling to check out these clever winter bulletin board ideas from teachers like you!
Holiday Bulletin Board Ideas
Happy Holidays
Photo courtesy of Connecticut K-8 art teacher Sarah Webb
It’s no surprise that art teacher Sarah Webb included all colors of the rainbow in this beautiful holiday bulletin board. Her black background allows each color and snow effect to pop! Combine multiple Christmas crafts from the classroom with this inclusive holiday bulletin board idea.
Love Sarah’s board? Use this printable Lights Decoration to create your colorful border. Instead of trees, you can also use Zentangle Snowmen!
Fa La La
Photo courtesy of Kansas art teacher Kaitlyn Trollman
We la la love this adorable scene of caroling reindeer from art teacher Kaitlyn Trollman. Her simple technique of folding paper for each leg and book gives this bulletin board a 3D effect. It’s so clever and cute, and if you quickly remove the musical notes, this bulletin board has the benefit of being appropriate for the holidays but also working into the early part of January as you ready your Black History Month bulletin boards!
Teach Starter tip: Want to make your own copy? Use these Reindeer Decorations templates to create your own singing reindeer and holiday lettering for the Fa La Las.
Warm Up With a Good Book
Winter is one of the best seasons for reading, especially snuggled up by the fire with some hot cocoa! This student-led Warm Up With A Good Book bulletin board set has all the makings for cozy classroom decor. This design is perfect for December and/or January, so you can set it up in 2022 and not have to take it down for months to come.
Have your students fill out a cocoa mug with their own book review ( including the title, author, and why you should read it) to encourage their classmates to pick up a new book. Your fast finishers can help you cut out the marshmallows or even the letters before hanging each element.
Snowy Winter Scene
Photo courtesy of Canadian-based Strive Dance Academy
A winter theme is perfect for creating an inclusive classroom during the holidays, and the team at Strive Dance Academy did a great job on their wintery bulletin board display! We love their use of berries, pine cones, and branches to make the evergreen tree seem real. If your school is bordered by trees, take the class outside and see what you can find to accentuate your board!
Teach Starter Teacher Tip: This Whole-Class Reindeer Coloring Sheet can be used for your winter bulletin board to get everyone in the class involved in creating your decor.
Look Who’s Coming
Photo courtesy of music teacher Maris Castillo
You may live in a place where snow is rare, but that doesn’t mean you can’t display a festive scene. Music teacher Maris Castillo combined the Christmas spirit with a city scene and palm trees! Go a step further as she did with pom poms to create 3D snowflakes. It’s snow cute!
Festive Tree and Wreaths
Photo courtesy of Texas preschool teacher Martha Graham
Sometimes simple is best! Texas-based preschool teacher Martha Graham used classic red and green as the focal colors for this Christmasy display. Have students trace and cut out their hands with green paper and assemble them into wreaths and a tree. Decorate with red circles for berries or festive bows. Students can take home their own little hand wreaths for winter break to present to their parents or guardians.
Teach Starter Teacher Tip: Don’t have time to trace your students’ hands? You can also use these wreath templates with your students to create a similar theme in half the time!
12 Days of Kindness
Help your students focus on kindness and giving back this holiday season with our 12 Days of Kindness bulletin board set. After stringing each ornament cutout, lift one ornament a day to reveal a random act of kindness for students to complete that day. You can also use our editable version if students want to come up with their own acts of kindness!
Reading’s My Favorite
Photo courtesy of elementary school librarian @librarylyfe
Calling all librarians and book lovers! Elementary school librarian @librarylyfe embraced their inner elf with this enthusiastic book display. Cut out some classic winter titles such as The Snowy Day by Ezra Keats, The Hat by Jan Brett, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss.
Teach Starter Teacher Tip: Save time with your bulletin board title with these holiday lettering templates.
Perhaps Means a Little Bit More
Photo courtesy of Kim White
Speaking of books, Kim White decorated her bulletin board with a meaningful quote from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. You can easily lightly roll green paper to create a unique tree effect, or you can have students design their own trees to fill in the space. A Dollar Tree garland will tie it all together!
Save time with your bulletin board title with our holiday lettering templates, or consider these Christmas tree templates for students to complete independently.
Have a Ball
Photo courtesy of Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Bell
We love this punny holiday board Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Bell completed with her class! Each ball ornament is a perfect craft for students to use up some scrap paper or even gift wrap. Students will have a ball cutting paper into strips and gluing them into their ornaments in unique patterns.
Create a 3D ornament effect with our Christmas ornament templates. Students can take them home before the holiday break as gifts for their families!
No Cookies For Santa
Save these gingerbread children from being eaten by Santa! Students can get as creative as they like creating a disguise for their gingerbread person. You can provide scrap paper, pom poms, pipe cleaners, and other small items for inspiration. This bulletin board kit also includes a letter for parents if you’d like this to be a parent-involved activity and/or fun homework.
We’re Smart Cookies
Photo courtesy of Arizona Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Wienke
Arizona Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Wienke also liked the cookie bulletin board theme! Each student decorated their own gingerbread person, creating an adorable, sweet scene. Smart cookies, indeed!
Teach Starter Teacher Tip: Save time, and use these printable Funky Gingerbread templates for students to decorate, color, and paste on your own bulletin board.
Festive Elves
Photo courtesy of first-grade Tennessee teacher Jennifer Moyer
You could create lots of toys with this workshop of elves by Jennifer’s first-grade class! Students designed their own elf face, hat, and collar to display a winter-themed book on the bulletin board. You can use this idea for books, favorite winter activities, or even a random act of kindness.
Teach Starter Teacher Tip: Cut time by printing a Funky Elf craft template to create a similar bulletin board display!
Oh Deer! Winter Is Here
Celebrate winter with this a-deer-able snowy scene. The reindeer and penguin friends are sure to put a smile on your students’ and colleagues’ faces. This ready-made printable bulletin board kit has the advantage of being holiday appropriate but also fitting into the winter theme, so you can set it up in December and forget it until spring to save you some serious time.
Spread Joy and Cheer
Photo courtesy of PreK-8 Director of Curriculum Maria
We think this cheerful board by Maria is such a happy scene for the holiday season. Including a more secular version of the popular quote from the holiday movie Elf, the board works well in the hallways outside the music room of your school or as a way to welcome parents to the holiday program. Each caroler is created with paper, and students can decorate their own snowy backgrounds with white crayons or paint.
Save time with your lettering by using our holiday lettering templates.
Snow Cool
Photo courtesy of California inclusion consultant Kayla
We think it’s snow cute what inclusion consultant Kayla designed for her wintery bulletin board! Combine paper snowmen and snowflakes as a craft activity with your class and assemble them on the wall. Students can use their snowmen as family gifts before they head home for winter break.
Teach Starter Teacher Tip: Save time by downloading this Funky Snowman template for students to decorate and cut out.
Snowmen
Photo courtesy of Canadian-based music teacher Danielle
Music teacher Danielle also found joy with the snowman theme! You’ll notice she used actual photos for each face to display every student in the class — a nice way to make students feel seen and a part of their classroom community. Use white paint on a black background to make each snowman stand out, and add pom poms or cotton balls to the center snowman for a 3D look.
Naughty or Nice?
Photo courtesy of Kindergarten teacher Mrs. L
Kindergarten teacher Mrs. L combined her students’ Christmas wishes with the popular David character from David Shannon’s children’s books for this bulletin board display. If yours is a classroom where Christmas is celebrated, a reading of It’s Christmas, David would fit right into the theme. Not focused on Christmas itself? You can still use this idea for items on students’ wishlists or focus it on random acts of kindness students can do at school and at home.
Teacher Starter Teacher Tip: Grab a printable letter to Santa template to help students practice writing their wish lists.
We hope you and your students have fun decorating for the holiday season!
Explore our entire Winter Holidays collection for bulletin board ideas, word scramble worksheets, color-by-number pages, STEM projects, and much more!
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