48 Christmas Award Ideas for the Classroom (with Wording)

A Christmas award is a lovely way to end the autumn term. Every child goes home with something to be proud of, parents see what their child did well, and the last week of term gets a warm, special moment. Here are 48 award ideas with wording you can copy straight onto a certificate. None of them rank children, so every child can win one and nobody feels left out.

24 awards for learning and character

• Shining Star: For lighting up our classroom every single day.
• Kindness Champion: For always being kind, caring and thoughtful to others.
• Brilliant Effort: For trying your very best, even when things were tricky.
• Never Give Up: For keeping going and never, ever giving up.
• Super Reader: For your love of books and brilliant reading this term.
• Marvellous Mathematician: For super number skills and clever thinking.
• Wonderful Writer: For imaginative ideas and fantastic writing.
• Super Scientist: For curious questions and careful investigating.
• Amazing Artist: For creative, colourful and careful artwork.
• Helping Hand: For always being ready to help, without being asked.
• Good Friend: For being a loyal, caring friend to everyone.
• Great Listener: For listening carefully and joining in brilliantly.
• Fantastic Progress: For the amazing progress you have made this term.
• Confidence Star: For growing braver and more confident every week.
• Super Speller: For working so hard on your spellings.
• Handwriting Hero: For neat, careful and beautiful handwriting.
• Team Player: For working brilliantly with others and sharing ideas.
• Sports Star: For energy, effort and great sportsmanship in PE.
• Music Maker: For singing, playing and sharing your love of music.
• Ray of Sunshine: For a smile that brightens everyone's day.
• Marvellous Manners: For excellent manners, every single day.
• Curious Explorer: For asking great questions and wanting to learn more.
• Tidy Up Champion: For helping to keep our classroom neat and tidy.
• Brilliant Behaviour: For making good choices and setting a great example.

24 Christmas-themed awards

• Christmas Star of the Class: For being a true star this Christmas.
• Head Elf Award: For being the most helpful elf in our classroom workshop.
• Christmas Show Star: For a brilliant performance in our Christmas show.
• Christmas Crafter: For the most fabulous festive crafts.
• Sparkling Singer: For singing your heart out at Christmas.
• Jolly Joker: For keeping us all laughing with your jokes and fun.
• Snowflake of Kindness: For being one of a kind and kind to everyone.
• Reindeer Racer: For dashing through your work with energy and care.
• Golden Bauble: For being a real treasure in our class.
• Twinkle Award: For a twinkle in your eye and a love of learning.
• Super Snowman: For staying cool, calm and collected.
• Festive Friend: For spreading friendship and festive cheer.
• Christmas Cracker: For being an absolute cracker all term!
• Gingerbread Genius: For clever ideas that were simply the best.
• Candy Cane Champion: For sweet manners and kind words.
• Polar Bear Hug: For being warm, caring and always there for others.
• Robin Award: For being cheerful and bright, even on the coldest days.
• Holly Jolly Award: For being jolly and positive all term long.
• Tree Topper Award: For reaching new heights this term.
• Gift to the Class: For being a gift to our class, every single day.
• Sleigh Bell Award: For ringing in good news and great work.
• Storyteller of the Season: For magical stories and wonderful imagination.
• Festive Jumper Champion: For the most festive jumper in the class.
• Calm and Bright Award: For staying calm, focused and ready to learn.

A simple 2-week plan

1. 2 weeks before: look through the list and jot down an award for each child. Work from your class list so nobody is missed.
2. 1 week before: write the awards and a short, specific reason for each one ("for helping Sam every morning"). Children treasure the reason more than the title.
3. A few days before: print on thin card (160 to 250 gsm), cut and sign.
4. Last week of term: present them in class or in a Christmas assembly.

Making it fair

• Give every child an award. Tick them off on the class list as you go.
• Mix effort and character awards with subject ones, so every child can shine.
• Some children find the spotlight hard. Offer to give their award quietly, or let them bring a friend up with them.
• If two children suit the same award, give it to both. There's no limit.

Fun ways to present them

• Red carpet ceremony: a strip of red sugar paper, a drum roll on the tables and a round of applause for each child.
• Award envelopes: seal each certificate in an envelope and let the whole class open theirs together.
• Take-home surprise: slip the certificate into book bags with a short note home.
• Christmas assembly: one class at a time, or a few awards from every class.