3 Fun Elementary (Tag, Relay, Team) Christmas PE Games
Add some holiday magic to your December lesson plans with these 3 fun and exciting elementary Christmas PE Games: Mystery Grinch Tag, Santa’s Sleigh Relay, and Home Alone Heroes.
3 Christmas PE Games
Your physical education students will absolutely love playing these three Awesome Christmas P.E. games.
They’re not only fast-paced and extremely engaging, they also provide students with opportunities to enjoy the fun of the Christmas holiday season while practicing key Standard-based skills including, running, skipping, strategic thinking, money counting, teamwork, and more.
3 CHRISTMAS PE GAMES – FUN BUNDLE
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Additionally, all three games are easily adaptable and suitable for students in kindergarten all the way up to fifth grade without much need for any special accommodations.
In this post love2teachandlearn (Mrs. T.) will share every awesome detail related to how to play these incredible December-themed Christmas PE Games.
Hi there, it’s so great to meet you! I’m Mrs. T. (or you can call me Jen) – a Michigan mom, wife, new grandma (aka “Jemma”) and K-12 PE teacher who has also taught Kindergarten, 3rd, and 6th grades.
I love teaching PE class because I get to spend time telling silly sports jokes and exercising while laughing with my students.
So, if you’re ready, I’m ready to play some super awesome Christmas PE Games.
READY! SET! LET’S PLAY!
MYSTERY GRINCH TAG
MYSTERY GRINCH TAG is a surefire way to spark joy and enthusiasm with your students and is a must-have resource for any elementary physical education teacher looking to energize their Christmas PE Games and lessons.
Students will have a blast getting assigned a mystery number and then pretending to be GRINCH TAGGERS, scoring points with their partner while dashing around the gym listening to upbeat holiday music.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
For this Awesome Christmas PE Game, you will need the following pieces of equipment:
- 2 GREEN POOL NOODLES
- CLIPBOARD, SCRAP PAPER, PENCIL/PEN
- SMALL STICKERS or MARKER (Dry Erase Markers Work Great)
- KIDS READY TO HAVE A BLAST
GAME SET-UP
FIRST, count up the number of students in your class.
THEN, secretly, one by one, give each student a small sticker with a different number on it and have them stick it on the inside of their hand so nobody can see it.
NEXT, place 2 Green “GRINCH STICKS” or pool noodles in the middle circle of the gym.
FINALLY, have all of the students line up along the end lines of the gym.
GAME DIRECTIONS
The game begins when the teacher yells out two different random numbers. The two students who have those numbers are the Grinch Taggers.
The Grinch Taggers run quickly to the middle of the gym and pick up the two green pool noodles to tag with.
The teacher sets a timer for 45-60 Seconds (you decide). The Grinch Taggers are a partner team and work together to tag as many students as they can during their 45 second to a minute time frame.
If a student gets tagged by a Grinch Tagger, they must sit down on the gym floor right where he/she got tagged.
At the end of the round, count up how many students the Grinch Taggers were able to tag (they get one point for each) and the teacher records their score on the clipboard.
The teacher begins a new round by calling two more mystery numbers to become the Grinch Taggers.
The game continues until all students have had a chance to be a Grinch Tagger and the partner team with the most points WINS.
BONUS GAME TIPS
Here are a few bonus tips to make this Awesome game even more AMAZING!
- TIP 1: The little colored circle stickers that you can buy in packs at big stores like Walmart work really well for writing the numbers on. Then, just have the kids put the sticker on the inside of their hand so they don’t forget their number.
- TIP 2: If you don’t have stickers you can use sticky notes or a Dry Erase Marker (works great) and write their number on the inside of their hand so they don’t forget. It will easily wash or wipe right off after the game.
- TIP 3: It’s very helpful if the teacher has a clipboard and a scrap piece of paper to write all of the mystery numbers on before the game.
- TIP 4: Be sure to keep track of the numbers you’ve called so everybody gets a turn. You can also play in Grinch groups of 3 or 4 too.
- TIP 5: I like to play a fun, upbeat Christmas song when playing this game. Just make sure you time it so that every round is the exact same amount of time.
SANTA’S SLEIGH RELAY
Get ready for smiles, giggles, and tons of movement as you bring the excitement of SANTA’S SLEIGH RIDE RELAY to your elementary PE classes!
Students will have a blast pretending to fly Santa’s Sleigh and grabbing presents filled with Monopoly money.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
For this Awesome Santa’s Sleigh Relay Christmas PE Game, you will need the following pieces of equipment:
- 3-4 JUMP ROPES (or bent hula hoops work great for pulling kids on scooters)
- 3-4 LONG SCOOTERS (or you can use small ones that connect together)
- 3-4 HULA HOOPS
- SEVERAL BOXED CHRISTMAS PRESENTS
- MONOPOLY MONEY or FAKE MONEY (all different denominations)
SIMPLE GAME SET-UP
FIRST, divide the class into 3-4 teams.
NEXT, have them line up with their teams at one end of the gym.
THEN, give each relay team a hula hoop for collecting presents, a jump rope (or bent hula hoop) for pulling the sleigh, and a long scooter (or 2-3 small scooters connected together).
FINALLY, stuff each boxed present with a different denomination of Monopoly money and scatter gifts along the floor on the opposite end of the gym from where your relay teams are lined up.
GAME DIRECTIONS
Explain to the students that they will be using Santa’s Sleigh to gather all of the Christmas presents as quickly as they can.
When the relay begins, the first person in line becomes the reindeer that pulls Santa, using the jump rope, down to the opposite end of the gym to where the presents are.
Depending on how big your scooters are, you can have the reindeer pull one student (Santa) or two students (Santa and his helper or Mrs. Claus-whatever you want to say).
The student on the sleigh/scooter grabs one present from the pile, the sleigh then goes back and delivers it to the team’s hula hoop.
Then, rotate positions and head down to grab another boxed present.
- The Reindeer (Scooter Puller) goes to the end of the relay line, the person who was holding onto the jump rope (sitting in the front of the scooter) now becomes the reindeer puller, the rider now becomes Santa holding onto the jump rope and the next person in line jumps on the scooter and becomes the helper or the rider.
When all of the presents are collected, have the students open up their gifts, count up the dollar amount and the team that collected the most money wins the relay.
BONUS GAME TIPS
Here are a few fun tips to make this holiday game even more awesome.
- TIP 1: You definitely are going to want to play upbeat, Christmas music when you play this game with your students. ‘Run, Run, Rudolph’ is Awesome!
- TIP 2: If you have old, bent, hula hoops, they work AWESOME for pulling the sleigh – even better than the jump ropes.
- TIP 3: You can find the boxed presents at the Dollar Store.
- TIP 4: Adjust the dollar amount depending on age/grade level (smaller amounts for 2nd and 3rd grade and higher amounts up to $500 for 4th and 5th graders).
- TIP 5: I usually don’t bother with the money for the younger grades (K-1). I just have them collect the presents. Depending on the class, I also skip the scooters for the younger kids and just have them run or skip down and grab the presents.
HOME ALONE HEROES – Kevins vs Grinches
This team PE game offers a great opportunity for your students to work on critical thinking and key physical education skills including strategy, tactics, space, speed, direction, and teamwork.
Students will have a blast pretending to be both KEVINS (home alone protecting the presents) and the GRINCHES (using tactics to try and steal the presents from the homes).
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
For this Awesome Home Alone Heroes Christmas PE Game, you will need the following pieces of equipment:
- 4-8 HULA HOOPS (all different colors if you have them)
- BEAN BAGS (these will be the presents so different colors is best)
- 4-8 BOXED CHRISTMAS PRESENTS
- 4-8 POOL NOODLES for tagging
GAME SET-UP
FIRST, divide your students into 2 teams.
THEN, spread out the hula hoops on the gym floor and send one team to the hula hoops (houses) – They will be the KEVINS first.
NEXT, have one team member stand inside each hoop with a pool noodle (used for tagging), 4 bean bags and one boxed SPECIAL PRESENT.
FINALLY, tell the other team that they will be the GRINCHES (present stealers) first.
Have them spread out around the gym and wait for the game to begin.
GAME DIRECTIONS: Home Alone Heroes
The OBJECT OF THE GAME: KEVINS (Protect the Presents) and the GRINCHES (Steal Presents without Getting Tagged).
When the game begins, explain that the KEVINS have been left HOME ALONE (like in the 1990 Christmas movie) and they must protect their Christmas presents from the GRINCHES.
The GRINCHES move from house to house attempting to steal one present at a time from the houses without getting tagged by the KEVINS.
If a GRINCH gets tagged with a pool noodle by a KEVIN, they must put the present back in the hoop and move on to another house.
If a GRINCH grabs a present without getting tagged, they add it to their team’s present pile.
Play for a few minutes and then count up points for each team.
- GRINCHES get 1 point for each bean bag present collected and 5 points for each boxed “special present” stolen.
- KEVINS get 1 point for each bean bag present and 5 for each “Special Present” that they were able to protect and keep safe inside their houses.
*Switch Roles, Play Again, Add up total team points and declare a Home Alone Heroes Winner!
BONUS GAME TIPS
Here are a few fun tips to make this holiday game even more awesome.
- TIP 1: I buy the boxed “Special Presents” that are worth 5 points from the Dollar Store. Then, I like to print off a small picture of Kevin (McCaulay Culkin) and tape it on the front of the special presents. The kids love this!
- TIP 2: I always play a fun, upbeat, Christmas song during this game. A few of my favorites include: JINGLE BELL ROCK, GO CHRISTMAS (Kidz Bop) and RUN, RUN RUDOLPH (JoJo Siwa). Just pick one and play it for both rounds so that each team has equal time being the GRINCHES and KEVINS.
Spark joy and enthusiasm in the gym this holiday season with these 3 Super Fun Christmas PE Games.
And hey – guess what? You can grab your very own Christmas PE Games Bundle RIGHT HERE!
So, what do you say? Why not blast some “clean” and upbeat PE music , maybe tell a few silly Christmas Jokes or funny sports jokes and bring the excitement of these super fun Christmas PE Games to your gymnasium today!
Mrs. T’s K-5 PE GAMES GROWING BUNDLE
And if you really want the absolute BIGGEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK, these 3 Christmas PE Games are also included in my “ALWAYS GROWING” K-5 PE Game GROWING BUNDLE too!
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Thanks so much for stopping by to learn all about my Christmas PE Games. I really appreciate it.
Have a FABULOUS Day filled with plenty of FUN and FITNESS! See you soon!
Be sure to check out my other unique and fun PE Resources and Games in my Love 2 Teach and Learn TPT store RIGHT HERE!
