• Turn the entire door into a giant Christmas present.gift box. christmas gift. image by L. Shat from Fotolia.com
  
  Christmas door decorating contests in a school add a festive touch to all of the classrooms. A creative decorating idea sets your classroom door apart from the others. Find ways to incorporate the kids into the display for a more personal touch. Even if the school doesn't have an organized contest, consider decorating your classroom door to get in the holiday spirit.
  
  

Handprint Tree

• A handprint tree allows all of the students to participate in the door decoration. Each student traces her handprint on a piece of green construction paper and cuts it out. Attach the individual handprints into a giant tree shape on the door with the fingers pointing down. The fingers create an evergreen look to the paper tree. You many need the kids to each contribute two or three handprints to make a full tree on the door. Let the kids make ornaments and other Christmas tree decorations out of construction paper. Tape the ornaments to the tree to complete the display.
  
  

Present

• For a simple door decorating idea, turn the door into a giant gift. Choose a roll of Christmas wrapping paper that is wide enough to cover the whole door with one piece. This makes it look nicer because you won't have a connection between two pieces of paper. Tape the wrapping paper securely to the top, sides and bottom of the door to make it look like a gift. Add a length of wide ribbon vertically and horizontally on the door. Add a large bow in the middle where the two ribbons meet.
  
  

Santa's Elves

• This door decorating idea allows all of the kids to appear on the display. Each child needs an elf body cutout. Let the kids decorate their elf bodies with markers, crayons, glitter and other decorations. This allows them to customize their own displays. Take a picture of each child. Cut out the faces of the kids, and have them glue them on top of the elf bodies to turn themselves into elves. Hang the elves on the door. You can also decorate the background of the door to look like Santa's workshop. Include lots of toys and work areas to resemble the area where the elves work.
  
  

Gingerbread Village

• This is another door decorating option that allows the students to supply the images. Each child decorates a gingerbread house cutout for the door. You can have them glue real candy to the cutouts or have them cut out the decorations from construction paper. Let each child decorate a gingerbread person of himself as well. Make the background of the door look like a gingerbread town. Include roads, gingerbread trees and other accents. Tape the decorated gingerbread houses along the road to create the village. Hang each child's gingerbread character next to her house.