Ice-Breaker Tuesday: Share Your Holiday Favorites!

Nothing says holiday cheer like gathering around the television to watch a classic movie, listening to classic holiday tunes or making a gingerbread house with family and friends. In today's ice-breaker, I'll share a fun and easy "holiday spirit" activity you can quickly do with your students.

As we prepare for the holidays, I find myself getting into the holiday spirit by going shopping for Christmas tree decorations, watching Harry Potter marathons and playing games with my family. These are traditions that we have around the holiday season, and while some of them don't have anything to do with the actual holidays, these are activities I do that put me in a holiday mood.

Why not do a class ice-breaker where students share what their favorite holiday is and some of their holiday favorites? These can be things like your favorite holiday...

• Movie
• Song
• Activity
• Food
• Family Tradition

For instance, they might share:

• My favorite holiday is Christmas. My favorite holiday movie is The Polar Express. I love the way it captures the magic of the season and the spirit of believing in something special. My favorite holiday song is “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey because it brings back so many memories from my childhood and always reminds of the time...

Once students have shared their favorite holiday items, you can use that as the basis of a class discussion. Encourage them to explain why those things are meaningful to them and what they like best about them. Ask questions such as: How does this item fit into your family traditions during the holidays? What do you think makes it special?

Also, try not to focus in on any specific holiday such as Christmas or New Year's as this is not celebrated by all. Try instead to focus on a "holiday spirit" or "the season of giving". For students who may not consider this a particular holiday season, ask them to share what their favorite holiday is and what makes it special. Have them share their favorite things to do at that time as well.

I'd love to hear your ideas on this ice-breaker. Share them in The Online Educator Facebook Group!

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Happy Ice-Breaking!