Celebrate the Reformation and the end of the Dark Ages with a fun Reformation Day party! We had a great time with friends, fun activities, and yummy food!
Every year we celebrate Reformation Day on October 31st. Usually we simply celebrate with our church, but this year we had the opportunity to host a Reformation Day party with a LOT of our Wild and Free friends. I didn’t count, but I think our turnout was about 30 kids plus 8 or 9 moms. We had so much fun!
I want to share our party with you in part just because I had a difficult time finding many Reformation Day party ideas online, so I want to share what we ended up doing to help inspire others who want to celebrate the Reformation with fun activities and crafts. I did end up using a few ideas that I found, so I will tag original sources below.
To help the activities and crafts be more cohesive and to help the kids understand (in small part) the significance of the Reformation, I made “passports” that the kids could carry around from activity to activity and check off what they completed. The passports were “tickets” out of the Dark Ages, and had a key saying of the Reformation on the front: Post Tenebras Lux, or After Darkness Light.
For the food, I volunteered to make the Reformation themed treats and drinks. Everyone else brought a dish to share. We ended up having quite the spread! It was amazing and delicious.
Keep scrolling to see pictures from the party, read about the activities we did, and get the free printables to have your own Reformation Day party…not necessarily with 30 kids ;-). Be sure to pin it if you want to save it for next year!
Reformation Day Party
The Activities
There were six activities for the kids to complete. We decided to have the kids go through the activities first (in no particular order), then to eat lunch, and then to have free play in the yard and inside.
- Gutenberg’s Printing Press
- Martinmas Lanterns
- Five Solas coloring page
- A Mighty Fortress building
- Nail the 95 Theses to the door
- Burn the Papal Bull
Gutenberg’s Printing Press
I set out cardboard pieces, craft foam, scissors, paint, foam brushes, and paper. The kids cut out shapes from the craft foam, and glued them to the cardboard (a low-temp hot glue gun works well for this). Then they brushed paint on the foam and pressed the cardboard/foam onto a piece of paper to transfer the shape. We hung each picture on a piece of string to dry.
I also made a cutout of Luther’s Rose and a cross beforehand for kids who did not want to cut out their own shape. I had a two-minute video pulled up on Gutenberg’s printing press, but we did not get to it.
See the inspiration idea here.
Martinmas Lanterns
The kids made lanterns in honor of Martinmas (St. Martins Day) on November 11th. The lanterns represent the spreading of light that came from the Reformation. The craft was very simple. The kids drew scenes on strips of vellum, glued them to strips of black paper, and then glued them to make a cylinder. We used battery operated tea lights to illuminate the lanterns.
Five Solas Coloring Page
This was super easy, but I love having a low-key option at parties for kids who just want something simple and relaxing. I printed off these Five Solas coloring pages and set out a big box of crayons.
A Mighty Fortress Building
Another key, low-key activity. I set out bins of duplos, wooden blocks, and magna-tiles. I also set out copies of the hymn, A Mighty Fortress, written by Martin Luther, in case anyone wanted to take home a copy. The kids were just tasked with building “fortresses”
Nail the 95 Theses to the Door
When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenburg, he wasn’t looking for a revolution. Just a debate. But his ideas quickly spread and sparked the Reformation.
I set out a door (that we don’t need) against a tree outside, and printed pictures of scrolls of paper with the number 95 on them. A friend provided hammers and a box of nails. Super easy and super fun for the kids. I also set out a printed copy of Luther’s theses in case anyone wanted to skim them.
Burning the Papal Bull
The Pope sent Luther a “papal bull” excommunicating him from the church a while after Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door. Luther simply burned the papal bull because he had no intention of recanting.
We made a fire in our fire pit in the backyard and provided the kids with rolled up papers with “Papal Bull” printed on them. Of course, the kids loved throwing these in the fire. And of course, there was adult supervision around the fire too.
The Food
I found some really cute ideas for Reformation themed treats from the Thinking Kids blog. We made marshmallow and pretzel hammers, chocolate Bibles, and set out a bowl of gummy worms. Each treat was labeled referencing its significance to the Reformation.
I also made lemonade, and warm spiced cider in my Instant Pot. Another friend brought honey mead.
Besides the drinks, we had a ton of delicious food! Everyone came through with really great trays and platters of food to share.
The Printables
You can print off everything I used for the party for free! Just click on each printable below to download and print.
- Passport Cover
- Passport Inside
- 95 Theses
- Sola Scriptura Chocolate Labels
- Treat Labels
- Papal Bulls
- Five Solas Coloring Page
That’s it! It was a really great time, and hopefully the kids all took something away from the activities. I hope to make this an annual celebration with our friends from now on!
If you’re interested in learning more about the Reformation with your kids, check out this post on great resources for Reformation learning as a family.
Teresa says
I love these ideas! Thanks for sharing! I definitely want to do this with my kids and their friends this year.
Raven says
Thank you so much for sharing about your party! I am going to use many or your activities for our church’s reformation day party this year . I have just a couple of questions. What did the kids use to draw on the vellum paper with? And did you use black construction paper, or was it a sturdier paper like a black cardstock? Also, would you happen to remember what kind of nails were used?
Lisa says
We used grease pencils and black cardstock. I don’t remember about the nails because they were whatever we had on hand. Enjoy your party!
Rachel Coyle says
These ideas are fantastic. The thought of planning and hosting my first group of families for Reformation Day made me want to breathe in a bag with anxiety. I felt like I had a lot of research and background knowledge, but was missing the fun, practical, creative planning part.
These activities sound so fun. I’m thankful for the links, recipes… really just everything ! Thank you for taking time to share with us !!!
Lisa says
I am so glad you found them helpful! I remember feeling like there weren’t enough ideas when I was planning my party too. Hope your party is a success!
Kirsten says
Thank you! These ideas are so fun and helpful in teaching our kids about the reformation
Cindy Aguilar says
Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity in sharing this wonderful idea!
JoAnna says
How did you make the bottom of the lanterns to put the light?
Katalina says
This is so wonderful, creative. We are celebrating at our church today and needed the ninety-five theses craft. Thank you so much!
Kathy Stayer says
What a wonderful teacher you are!!! I loved doing things like this with my kindergarteners back in the day…Kids learn so much from doing!!! Well Done.