🎊 Invent a New Holiday
Teams invent a brand-new holiday with a name, a date, a reason to celebrate, special food, a tradition and a song, then present it to everyone. It is pure creativity and always gets a laugh.
What you need
Equipment: Optional: paper and pens. Split into groups of 3 or 4. Each group gets paper and a pen. Write on the board the 6 things every holiday needs: name, date, why we celebrate, food, one tradition and a song.
How to play Invent a New Holiday
- The host announces a word that must appear in the holiday's name, like 'ice cream', 'dinosaur' or 'stairs'.
- Each group gets 5 minutes to invent its holiday and fill in all 6 parts.
- The song can use a well-known tune with new words. That is allowed and encouraged.
- When time is up, each group presents its holiday in 90 seconds.
- Every presentation must announce the holiday's name, explain why we celebrate and demonstrate the tradition.
- At the end of each presentation, the whole group sings the holiday song. Ten seconds is enough.
- The audience asks one question: 'Do we get the day off school?'
Scoring and wrapping up
Scoring: Vote in three categories: funniest holiday, the one I would most like to celebrate, and the strangest tradition. Each category win = 2 points.
To finish: Announce the winning holiday and put it on the class calendar. You can really celebrate it.
By age
- Ages 7-8: fill in just 4 parts (name, date, food and tradition) and draw them instead of writing.
- Ages 10+: add a holiday greeting, a decoration and a holiday rule.
Variations
- Big group: groups swap holidays and must present another group's holiday as if it were their own.
- Capy twist: Capy picks the word that must be in the holiday's name. Use the cards below.
Tips for the adult in charge
- The presentations are the star of the show, so give each group a minute or two in the spotlight.
- Walk around during planning and nudge stuck groups with a question, like 'What do people eat on this day?'
🖨️ Printable holiday name words
Draw one card per group: that word must appear in the holiday's name.
- Ice cream
- Dinosaur
- Stairs
- Socks
- Pancake
- Rainbow
- Robot
- Grandma
- Puddle
- Banana
- Backwards
- Moon
- Bubble
- Pajamas
- Penguin
- Thunder
- Spaghetti
- Tickle
- Upside down
- Homework
Questions and answers
How do kids invent their own holiday?
Give them a simple template: name, date, reason to celebrate, food, tradition and song. A random word for the name, like 'dinosaur', helps them get started.
Is Invent a Holiday a good classroom activity?
Yes. It practices creative writing, teamwork and presenting, and it fits nicely around real holidays and calendar topics.