2

Christmas Party Outline

2

This event outline provides activity ideas for kids based on the theme Christ the Savior Is Born.

While the ideas are presented as components of a single hour-long program, those weeks leading up to Christmas are a busy time! If you have only fifteen minutes with the children in your ministry (in between concerts and special services and Nativity play practices), you can use one of these crafts or games to help them prepare for and celebrate Christ’s birth. Also use this outline for . . .

•Happy birthday party for Jesus•Children’s Sunday school the weekend between Christmas and New Year’s•Parents’ Day Out before Christmas•Children’s corner or stations at an Advent fair•Adapting for a day or two of VBS (“Christmas in July”)

No matter how you use it, you can make your event even more memorable by using CTA’s resources in the Christ the Savior Is Born theme, many of which can be customized to suit your purposes. These accompanying downloadable extras are available at www.CTAinc.com/Resources. May God work through you as you share the love of his Son with the children in your care!

3

Preparation

First things first: decide which crafts, activities, and snacks you will offer at your event, and assemble your supplies. Your choices will depend on the size, ages, and interests of your group, as well as the space and time available to you. If your ministry is large, consider setting up the craft, game, and snack at different stations and breaking the children into smaller groups. These small groups can rotate through the activity centers, and you can avoid chaos and congestion.

Think about creative ways to decorate your space, carrying out the Christ the Savior Is Born theme in your setting. Hang colorful streamers and strew confetti. If possible, let the children help you decorate.

Make your event as elaborate—or as simple—as you like. The ideas below and the Christ the Savior Is Born items available from CTA are designed to intrigue the children who attend, introduce the Savior to those who don’t know him, and encourage faith in the hearts of those who already believe.

As children arrive, give everyone a Christ the Savior Is Born Goodie Bag (Item #CSB18SCTS [book with free goodie bag] or #CSB18TS12 [12 goodie bags]) to collect treats and prizes and keep them safe along the way. Don’t forget to use a permanent marker to write each child’s name on his or her bag.

Craft Options

King of Kings Crown

What You’ll Need• Strips of blank cardstock, wide enough to cut a crown long enough to encircle a child’s head, one

for each child• Scissors• Craft items for decorating the crowns, such as markers, glitter glue, stick-on gems, cross stickers,

bits of foil or shiny wrapping paper, etc.

What You’ll Do1. Give each child a piece of cardstock and decorating supplies. Help children measure crowns around

their heads and trim them, leaving enough of an overlap to cut notches in the ends for fastening the crowns once they are colored. Write each child’s name on what will be the inside of his or her crown.

2. Allow the children to decorate their crowns as they please. While they work, use the following talking points to let the children participate in connecting the activity with the birth of their Savior:

• Who wears a crown? (A king, a queen, a ruler)• Why does a king wear a crown? (To set him apart, to show that he is special)• When prophets talked about Jesus, they called him the King of kings. Did Jesus wear a crown

when he was born? Why not? (God’s Son was born as a regular baby, like the regular people he was sent to save.)

• So who’s going to wear these crowns? Why? (We are! Jesus was born to die for us. When he did that, we were made special, set apart by God’s love. We are children of God!)

3. Help each child use stickers or markers to make a cross on his or her crown as a reminder of the Savior, born at Christmas, who loves us all. Let the children put their crowns in their goodie bags and move to the next center.

4

Tips• Older children can copy 1 Timothy 6:15 on the inside of their crowns.

• If your event takes place before your Christmas service, consider using these crafted crowns for your Wise Men.

Good News Megaphones

What You’ll Need• Disposable plastic or paper cups, one for each child• Popsicle sticks• Strips of paper (that will fit around the cups)• Tape or glue• Craft items for decorating the cups, including stickers, markers, glitter glue, crepe paper, etc.

What You’ll Do• Prior to the event, use a sharp knife or scissors to remove the bottom of each paper cup. Use the

same instrument to cut a slot for the popsicle stick handle, about halfway up one side of the cup.

• Give each child a cup, a popsicle stick, and a strip of paper. Remind them that when Jesus was born, angels told the shepherds the very good news: “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour” (Luke 2:11). Have older children write this Good News onto the paper; copy the words down for younger children. Then help the children wrap the paper with the Bible verse around their cups.

• Encourage the kids to decorate their cups and popsicle sticks with the supplies available. Consider using the following talking points to encourage their faith while they create:

• When the angels told the shepherds that Christ the Savior had been born in Bethlehem, they didn’t just whisper it or send it in an email; they praised God for sending his Son to save us!

• If you have some really great, happy news, do you just keep it to yourself? No! You want to tell everyone so everyone can be happy with you!

• The news that Jesus was born at Christmas to be our Savior is the happiest news ever. God doesn’t want us to keep it to ourselves. We can shout it, sing it, tell everyone we know!

• Show children how to make a megaphone by inserting the popsicle stick into the precut slot. Secure the sticks with tape or glue. Let them shout through their megaphones that Christ the Savior is born!

Bible Truth Time

Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

Before the event, prepare a large opaque bag full of confetti. Close this bag so the contents are not visible to the children, and place it near your chair. Welcome the children and invite them to sit. When the children are seated, begin your message:

Who here is looking forward to something? (Let children raise their hands. Select a few volunteers to share what treat or event they are anticipating.)

Then say, Wow, those are all really cool things. I bet you’re excited. You know what? I have a surprise right here in this bag, and I’m going to share it with you at the end of this message. It’s exciting to look forward to things, isn’t it? Sometimes it’s fun just to think about something wonderful that we know is going to happen.

5

And sometimes it’s not so much fun. Like when we have to wait a long, loooooooong time before it happens. Imagine if you had a huge pile of presents to open on Christmas—but you had to wait until you were twenty years old before you could open them! Then it wouldn’t really feel like “looking forward to something,” would it? It would just feel like waiting.

God’s people must have felt like they were just waiting. See, because people are sinful and can’t follow his Law perfectly, God promised he would send a Savior. (Read Isaiah 9:6.) The people were really looking forward to the arrival of this Savior, who would set us free from our sin and make us perfect in God’s eyes. They were excited, like you might be excited at the thought of having ice cream for dessert tonight—only a zillion times more!

But the Savior that God promised didn’t arrive right after dinner . . . it took years and years and years of looking forward to it. That doesn’t sound very exciting. The people probably felt like they were just waiting.

Then what happened? (Let volunteers say that Jesus was born.) Jesus came! After all those years of looking forward to the Savior, God’s people actually met the Savior! Listen. (Read Luke 2:1–20 from your children’s Bible or from Christ the Savior Is Born book [Item #CSB18SCTS, comes with a free goodie bag]. Then continue with the following:)

After all those years of looking forward to the Savior—or just waiting—how do you think the shepherds felt when the angels said Christ the Savior was actually born? (Take answers from volunteers: surprised, happy, etc.)

Not everything we look forward to makes us happy, though, does it? I mean, how many of you have really looked forward to that ice cream for dessert—and then felt sick after you ate too much of it? (Let children respond.) How many of you have been really, really excited about a present—and then it turned out not to be as cool as you hoped? (Let children respond.)

It’s true that treats and things we buy with money sometimes disappoint us. We look forward to something, and it ends up letting us down or not being what we expected. But God never lets us down. He never disappoints us. He promised to love us forever, and he does! He promised to send his Son to save us from sin, and Christ the Savior was born!

Jesus is better than any treat because he never gets tired of loving us or changes his mind about staying with us—and he never gives us stomachaches. What God’s people looked forward to all those years and years and years was really the perfect Gift: the Savior, who loves us and frees us from sin!

So today, and every day, we really do have something wonderful to look forward to (and it’s not in the bag next to me): we can tell other people about our God and the Son he sent at Christ-mas. (Pick up your bag of confetti and slowly open it, letting all the children watch you, then throw it in the air over the children as you say the last words of your message.) We can let the people around us know the love and freedom we know because Christ the Savior is born!

Give each child two copies of Christ the Savior Is Born Softcover Book (Item #CSB18SCTS, comes with a free goodie bag) or the Christ the Savior Is Born Activity Book (Item #CSB18AB) to take home. For preschoolers, consider handing out copies of CTA’s age-appropriate Baa Baa, Who’s in the Stable Board Book (Item #CSB18HC). Explain that one of these is for them to keep for themselves and one is to share with a friend, especially a friend who might not know that Jesus, our Savior, was born on the first Christmas to rescue us from sin.

Before you dismiss the group, pray for the children, asking Jesus to help them see many other ways to share his love this Christmas.

6

Games

Road to Bethlehem

What You’ll Need• Several large foam blocks, beanbag chairs, or cushions• Printed signs reading “Hillside” and “Manger”• Blindfolds

What You’ll Do1. Ahead of time, set up the foam blocks or cushions in your space, making a sort of maze. There should

be enough space between obstacles for a child to walk easily, but the path should not be straight. Place a sign reading “Hillside” at the beginning of the maze. Label the block at the end of the maze with a sign that says “Manger.”

2. Welcome children to the center and explain that they will be working in teams of 4 or 5. One person from each team will be the “shepherd”—children can choose their own shepherd, or you can select which children will play this role. State that the purpose of the game is to get the shepherd from the “Hillside” to the “Manger.”

3. Place a blindfold snugly over each shepherd’s eyes. For older children, spin the shepherds around a few times. The other children on each team must then use only verbal instructions (no physical contact) to guide their shepherd to the manger.

• Offer prizes to the team whose shepherd arrives first at the manger. For this blindfolded game,Christ the Savior Is Born Prism Glasses (Item #CSB18GL) would be a perfect fit. Check out CTA’sother gift options for kids in the theme Christ the Savior Is Born online at www.CTAinc.com.

• To make the game more challenging for older children, set a rule that they can use only certainwords to guide their shepherd: right or left, yes or no.

• As an alternative to this version of the game, have each group of four consist of one shepherd andthree followers—but the three followers (not the shepherd) are all blindfolded. Have them holdonto one another’s shoulders in a line as they navigate through the maze, trusting their shepherdto guide them.

Unwrap the Gift

What You’ll Need• A cross ornament, wrapped ahead of time in many, many layers of wrapping paper; you will need

one of these parcels for each group that rotates through your station• A computer or phone with speakers, cued to a favorite lively Christmas carol

What You’ll Do1. Have the children sit in a circle. Explain that they must continually pass the gift directly to their

neighbor while the music is playing (no holding onto the gift!).

2. Press “play” and encourage the children to continue passing the package as the music plays. Then press “pause” and instruct the child currently holding the package to remove one layer of wrapping.

3. Continue this process until a child has removed the final layer of wrapping paper and holds the ornament.

Tips

7

Hints• Make things more unpredictable and exciting by having the package change direction around

the circle after every pause.

• Be sure to pause the music on a different child’s turn each time.

• Allow the winner to keep the gift ornament, but give prizes to everyone. CTA offers a woodenornament to go with the theme Christ the Savior Is Born (Item #CSB18WOR) at a crowd-friendly,affordable price. Check out this and more of CTA’s great ideas online.

Frostbite

What You’ll Need• A table and chairs• Several bags of small, individually wrapped candy canes• A Christ the Savior Is Born Plastic Tumbler (Item #CSB18PT) for each child

What You’ll Do

1. Invite children to sit at the table, and place an empty tumbler in front of each child. Dump a pile of candy canes next to each tumbler. Explain that unfortunately everyone at the table has suffered from frostbite and can no longer use his or her fingers. Children must therefore use their fists (or mouths) to transfer the candy canes to the tumblers. The rule is that they can transfer only one candy cane at a time.

2. Set a timer for one minute (or two, for younger children). When you say “Go!” encourage children to move as many candy canes as they can into their cups.

3. When time is up, congratulate participants on their effort and allow them to keep the cup and the candy canes they accumulated.

HintFor very large groups, this can be done as a relay (without permitting the use of mouths for transferring the candy). Each child in a group can have a short turn, and then the players can share the collected candy canes.

Song Time!Spend a few minutes singing praises to Jesus before you distribute the snacks. Include favorite songs your children suggest and enjoy.

Snack OptionsWhat’s a birthday party without treats? Here are several options the children at your event might enjoy:

• Make your favorite cupcake recipe and add a cross to the top of each one in frosting. As you hand them out, remind each child that Christ, our Savior, loves us!

• As a healthy alternative to cake, serve whole-wheat banana muffins (easy recipes can be found with a quick search in your web browser) and spell out “Happy Birthday, Jesus!” on the tops of the muffins (H on one, A on the next, and so on) with blueberries. Consider placing each cupcake inside a Christ the Savior Is Born Silicone Bracelet (Item #CSB18SBT), so the children will have a wearable take-away gift after their treat.

• Decorate individually wrapped string cheese. Tie a ribbon around each one and write “The Savior Is Born!” with permanent marker on the packaging.

8

• Make a Christmas tree out of cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes. Type “cucumber Christmastree” into your search engine for tips on creating this pretty, healthy snack.

Before you eat your snack together, light the candles if you are serving cake and sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus. Serve water, milk, or fruit juice. Whatever the beverage, CTA’s plastic tumblers make great keepsake party cups!

As the children eat, consider playing or singing more favorite Christmas songs.

Sending It Home

Before children leave your event, pray that God will bless each of them with the love and joy of his Son, born at Christmas. Ask God to grant all participants the courage to share the Good News of the Savior with the people around them, and thank him for his goodness in saving us and making us his own.

Make sure every child has a goodie bag with his or her prizes and crafts inside. If your event takes place at an Advent fair or other time early in December, consider handing out Christ the Savior Is Born Count-Up-to-Christmas Sticker Activity Kits (Item #CSB18KT) as children leave so they can have a consistent reminder of the true Gift of Christmas throughout the season. Encourage them as they leave to use their new toys and treats to share the wonderful love of God with their friends and families!

© 2018 CTA, Inc. www.CTAinc.com Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale.

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

#CSB18DCE