Heartwarming surprise ideas that will excite kids at daycare and kindergarten
Surprises can really move your emotions—your heart races with the unusual, out-of-the-ordinary experience, and you feel warmth as someone’s feelings come through directly.
One of the charms of a surprise is that not only the person receiving it enjoys it, but the person planning it can have fun too, wondering, “How will they react?”
You might be thinking, “What should we do?” if you want to plan a surprise—something loved by both adults and children—for a nursery school or kindergarten event.
So this time, we’re introducing touching surprise ideas that will excite everyone at kindergartens and nursery schools.
Find the perfect idea to match the recipient and situation—whether it’s the children, parents, or teachers.
Let’s create impactful moments that stay in the heart!
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Emotional surprise ideas that will thrill nursery and kindergarten (21–30)
Handmade wedding
What is introduced here is a handmade wedding created entirely from scratch by the kindergarten children.
A childcare worker who had registered their marriage was forced to give up holding a wedding due to the impact of COVID-19, but upon hearing this, the children planned a wedding at the kindergarten instead.
They even made a wedding dress and negotiated with the prefectural governor to receive a letter! It’s the perfect surprise to give back to the childcare worker and kindergarten teachers who have always taken care of them.
special school lunch
Even now as an adult, memories of special school lunches come back as if they were yesterday—like chirashi-zushi and dumplings for Girls’ Day, and inari-zushi and kashiwa-mochi around Children’s Day.
In Japan, we have seasonal ingredients and traditional events like the five seasonal festivals.
Special lunches tied to those occasions are already a staple.
It also seems great to have special lunches that make use of events that have recently become much more familiar, like Easter and Halloween.
They can be simple—that’s perfectly fine, because kids will absolutely remember them!
Character bento / message bento
Kids who love to eat always look forward to lunchtime.
They can’t wait for that moment when they open the lunch their mom or dad made.
With a little excitement and anticipation—“I wonder what’s inside today?”—they lift the lid.
If they find cute animals, their favorite characters, or a sweet message inside, they’re sure to be thrilled.
They might even say, “Look!” and proudly show their friends.
That could be the start of a new friendship or even make them popular in class.
That’s how special character bentos are to kids.
If you’re worried it seems hard to make, don’t be—if you follow this video step by step, you’ll end up with an adorable lunch.
Give it a try!
Magic Theater
@mammybear_ The cute little ghost’s magic theater is complete! I tried it out before showing it to the kids.Magic Theater#HandmadeToysNursery school teacher#IWantToBeOnTheRecommendations
♬ Cute heartwarming BGM(1490583) – sanusagi
We’d like to introduce a magic theater where, whenever the little ghost eats some food, its body color mysteriously changes.
Before starting the magic theater, do some fingerplay or a simple hand game to create a relaxed atmosphere with the children.
After that, it’s a great time to begin the magic theater.
Playing a bright, slower-tempo song during the performance can help liven things up.
We recommend creating a simple magic theater with a cheerful, seasonal feel so the children can look forward to their days at the preschool.
4 Balloon Art Ideas
Celebrate the kids with an impactful performance! Here are four balloon art ideas.
Balloon art is the craft of creating various shapes and designs using balloons.
After inflating the balloons, twist and tie them to make animals or flowers.
It’s great to interact and communicate with the children during the making process so everyone has fun together.
From simple to complex pieces, it can be enjoyed at various levels, making it a highly recommended idea.
Tulip Sketchbook Theater
Let me introduce a tulip-themed sketchbook theater that’s perfect for a spring entrance ceremony.
Many children may feel nervous or anxious in a new place, especially at an entrance ceremony.
Use a sketchbook theater with illustrations to introduce the kindergarten and convey that it’s a fun place to be.
Once you decide which places and items in the school you want to introduce, create them inside the sketchbook.
It’s recommended to use brightly colored construction paper or origami.
Keep the explanations clear and simple so the children can easily relate and feel at ease.
Anpanman Puppet Show
The puppet show featuring Anpanman, everyone’s favorite, is perfect as a performance for the entrance ceremony! Entrance ceremonies can be nerve-wracking events for children, right? They may also feel anxious about the new environment.
So let’s bring out their beloved Anpanman! They’ll surely be captivated, and their nervousness will ease.
If you make the play’s story a fun tale set in a kindergarten or daycare, it might feel much more relatable.
Since there will likely be infants as young as 0 years old, it’s better to keep the story short.
