Winter is a season where many of us are still in school, and the cold weather can be difficult to deal with. So as teachers, we are always thinking of new ways to brighten up the day for our students.
During winter, there are many fun events which we can draw inspiration from. Winter is a very festive season, with most of the students looking forward to events such as Christmas or New Year’s Eve.
Not only do the children look forward to specific events, but they also look forward to some of the weather changes that happen during winter.
Many students are eagerly waiting for the first drop of snow so they can play in it. This is why it is important that our classroom doors match this energy.
Classrooms are something teachers tend to spend a lot of time organizing. We want to make sure that the students are happy in the classroom and that the classroom decor actively makes them happy.
Something that we tend to forget about decorating is the classroom door.
The classroom door should not only serve as an entranceway but also as a way to keep your class engaged and happy to be in your classroom.
The best classrooms have well-designed doors that allow students the opportunity to engage in conversations because they are unique and entertaining.
By decorating your classroom door, it makes the students more eager to go to that class. It also says a lot about that teacher who has taken the time to decorate the classroom door.
So, when winter hits, your classroom door should be winter-themed. If you are struggling to come up with an idea to decorate your classroom door, don’t worry.
We’ve got your needs covered as we have created a list of 15 wonderful winter classroom door ideas.
National Winter Holidays And Events
Before we have a look at some awesome winter classroom door ideas, we should become familiar with the main holidays and events that take place during winter.
This way you can be inspired by these events and decorate your classroom door accordingly.
Christmas
This is one of the biggest holiday seasons in the United States. In the United States, December 25th is known as Christmas Day. On this day, families get together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
New Year
January 1st is the official start of the year in the United States. People usually welcome the new year with parties and celebrations. During the new years celebration, people often wear new clothes and eat delicious food.
These are some of the most popular events celebrated during the winter months.
We Are Having Snow Much Fun
There is nothing like kicking off winter with a snow-themed door. This door is perfect for those who are teaching younger children. The funny pun brightens up the faces of all children.
The great thing about this classroom door idea is that you can decorate it however you want.
Of course, having snow on the classroom door is a must. However, you could choose to have the door decorated with a picture of children playing in a snowy field.
There is always the classic option of decorating your classroom door with a Christmas tree. However, there are ways to make this more personal for your students.
If you want to make the Christmas tree more personal for your students then you should use their handprints to make the Christmas tree.
There are a few ways to do this, you can have your students take part in making the tree during an art lesson.
For this method, the students would need thick green paper. They would trace their hands on the paper and cut the shape out. They would do this quite a few times until you have enough handprints for the tree.
The other option is to surprise them. You could ask them to trace their handprints on a thick piece of paper and cut it out. Then you would have templates so you can cut handprints from green paper for the tree.
Decorate the tree with baubles. Each bauble should have a picture of one of the students in your class.
Narnia
Narnia is a fictional land in which Aslan lives. It is also home to many magical creatures such as dragons, unicorns, and talking animals.
Narnia is a popular movie that many families watch during winter. This is why it is perfect for decorating your classroom door as such.
For this classroom door, you could choose from many different scenes, but we think when they open the wardrobe to Narnia for the first time would be a great scene to decorate your door.
Instead of decorating your door with a picture of the wardrobe, you could paint the door to have the famous lamppost and snowy scenery.
Walking In A Winter Wonderland
This is another fun way to celebrate the beginning of winter. As we said before, children get very excited when it starts to snow. So, decorating your classroom door with a magical, snowy scene is sure to excite your students.
Although you could keep the design as just a snowy picture, we like to take things a step further.
We really want the students to be walking into a winter wonderland. So, to achieve this, we like to see snowy footprints all over the classroom door.
Depending on the children’s ages you could even get them to put their footprints on the classroom door.
Snow Globes
If you want to get your students involved with decorating the classroom door then this is the design for you. This classroom door design is simple but sweet.
The door in this classroom will have a simple background with snowflakes on it.
Then the door will be covered in drawings or paintings of snow globes. To get your students in on the fun, they can be the ones to paint the snow globes!
You could even make this door more personalized by having the children draw pictures of themselves in their snow globe design.
Elves At Work
Another fun idea for decorating your classroom doors is to have elves at work. The joy of winter is getting all the students involved in taking part in arts and crafts. This is a door that has a bit of humor to it.
For this door design, you could have the children draw themselves as elves or get a picture of themselves.
If you choose to use pictures then you would stick their heads on the bodies of elves. You can make the background of the door look like one of Santa’s workshops.
We like to have a caution sign at the top, cautioning those who enter the classroom that there are elves working.
Snowman
Nothing quite screams winter than making a snowman! Well, don’t wait for the snow to fall, make one on your classroom door.
There is always the option of making a snowman with paper, however, we want to make one that is 3D.
Instead of drawing a regular snowman, make one with plastic cups. This way the snowman is 3D and will make the children feel as though a real snowman is on their classroom door.
A Gingerbread House
Instead of making gingerbread houses, have your students walk through the door of one! Making gingerbread houses is a fun activity to do during the winter. However, it is not always possible to make one at school.
Let your students in on the fun and let them decorate the gingerbread house door.
You can cut out all the things to decorate it with, such as sweets or drops of icing. Then you can have fun with your students by having them stick the decorations on the door.
A Chemis-Tree
This classroom door decoration is one of our chemistry teachers. What we love about this classroom door is that it involves learning as well as the Christmas spirit.
For this classroom door, you can decorate it by making a Christmas tree out of the periodic table. This is a simple classroom door design but one that is guaranteed to make students smile when they pass by it.
Chilling With My Snowmies
This classroom door design uses another play on words. Not only does chilling have another meaning in this phrase but this phrase also has a play on words with the use of ‘snowmies’.
For this door, you can decorate it however you like as long as there is snow on the door and snowmen hanging out together.
To make this personal for your students, have them draw themselves as snowmen and use those drawings on the door.
Make The Door And Igloo
Igloos are great fun to make! However, the weather doesn’t always allow us to make them during the winter. Fear not, as you can make your classroom door an igloo.
This is a classroom door design that makes younger students very happy and excited to enter the classroom. To make the experience special for them, have the inside of the classroom igloo-themed where possible.
The actual design of the igloo door is completely your choice, but we found that those that add extra detail such as snowflakes look the best.
This Class Is Snow Cool
Doors that have a play on word titles are awesome for engaging the students. We love this door idea as it makes the students feel special during the winter months.
To decorate this door make sure it is filled with all things snowy. We like having snowflakes with the students’ faces in the middle, so they feel extra cool when they see the door for the first time.
Making The Nice List
Another classroom door design that is perfect for younger students. If you happen to teach students who still believe in Santa, then this is the classroom door idea you should pick.
Whilst you can just decorate the door as a nice list with all of your students’ names on it, we think the door should be much more fun.
Instead, design the door as a sweet little fireplace. Then on top of the fireplace put the list with your students’ names on it.
Taking A S-Elfie
If you have a classroom door that has a window in it, this is the perfect idea for you.
For this door, all you need is to have the body of an elf underneath the classroom window, so that when your students look through the window, they look like an elf.
This is a great door to get the students engaged with the work you’ve put in and for them to have a good laugh.
Worth Melting For
There is nothing like seeing Olaf from Frozen everywhere in winter. This is a door that younger children will absolutely love.
You can make these children’s faces light up every day they see a big drawing of Olaf on their classroom door. Of course, adding the idea that this class is worth melting for will bring a smile to their faces.
Final Thoughts
Decorating your classroom door is an easy way to get your students involved in the winter holiday season.
There are so many ways to do this. With these designs, you can start off with something simple and add to it as you go along.
Classroom doors can be inviting and exciting for children. There are endless possibilities on how you can decorate your classroom door this winter.
We hope that you found this article helpful. Please share this article with other teachers if you found it useful. Thank you for reading our list of wonderful winter classroom door ideas!
Hi, my name is Helena Waters and I was a teacher for 40 years before retiring last year.
During my time as a teacher I dedicated the majority of it to making classrooms as fun as possible, with educational parties, fun activities, and low cost entertainment that made the children excited about learning.
I taught children of all ages, from preschoolers to high school students. Now, with the pandemic having uprooted everything that children once knew about school and learning, I think that the need for my ideas is bigger than ever.
That is why I created School Sparks, a place in which I can write down and share all of my ideas on how to get students excited about going to school again. I hope that you’ll find some useful within a school setting, even at home too!
