Tag Archives: Christmas Ideas

Christmas Carol Sing-a-long

December 6, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A list of Christmas Carols written in groups of two or more on slips of paper.
(see Christmas Carol Pictionary for a list of some common Christmas Carols and songs.

Activity
1. Write the names of the Christmas songs on individual slips of paper (There should be at least 2 slips for each song or more–More is good for larger groups and more difficult).
2. Then put as many slips of songs as you have people in a bag and mix them up really good.
3. Let each person draw a slip of paper out. They are not allowed to show it to anyone.
4. They must begin humming the song on their slip of paper when you say “go”.

The objective of the game is to locate the other person(s) humming the same song that you are humming. When the partners find everyone in their group they hold hands and begin to sing the words to their song!

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

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Icebreakers

Christmas Card Puzzler

December 6, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Christmas Cards (2 copies of each card)

Activity
Use this as an icebreaker / crowdbreaker to divide your youth into teams at a Christmas Party:
1. Select the front panels of several Christmas with different pictures and cut them into pieces. Use 2 identical Christmas cards for each group. Each group will have a different card.
2. Cut one of the 2 identical cards into pieces. The number of pieces is determined by the number of people you want to have on each team.
3. Write a question on the back of each piece. Questions should be along the lines of: “What is your favorite part of the Christmas Story?”, “What is the most meaningful Christmas Gift you ever received?”, etc.
4. The other uncut card is placed on the wall or at each table so that youth will be able to find their group later by comparing their pieces with the visible cards.
5. One good idea is the keep the peices of each individual card separate until needed. Once everyone has arrived, place the necessary number of cards based on the number of people in a bag and mix them up.
6. When each person enters the room they are given a piece of the cards that have been cut into jigsaw puzzles, with the question at the back of each. The objective of the game is to ask people the question found on the puzzle piece and find the rest of the people whose pieces combine to form 1 card.
7. Youth may only reveal their puzzle peice after they have answered the questions. They then test to see if the peices fit together. If they do then they stay together and find other people to ask questions and check. Once the puzzle is completely solved, only then are participants allowed to find out their respective table or location to group together by matching the picture of the puzzle with the uncut version.

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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Game Ideas

Christmas Chocolate Bar Scramble

December 6, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Chocolate bar (wrapped in multiple layers of Christmas paper with lots of tape), dice, a knife and fork, and various items for youth to wear including heavy winter gloves, a santa hat, a broad black belt, a red santa coat and a pillow.

Activity
Place the well wrapped chocolate bar in the center of the table. Each person sitting around the table takes a turn at rolling the dice. The 1st person who rolls a six gets to start eating the candy bar — but only after he puts on a pair of heavy winter gloves, the santa cap, the santa coat stuffed with the pillow and held in place with the black belt, and finally runs once around the table singing “Jingle Bells” can Santa start on the chocolate; Then with only with a knife and fork he must remove the wrapper and cut and eat the chocolate one square at a time. Add or remove whatever steps you want to make the game easier or more difficult.

While Santa is getting ready (according to the instructions above) to eat the candy bar, the group keeps taking turns rolling the dice. If someone rolls a six, then the person who rolled the six before him relinquishes his right to the candy bar, and the 2nd person becomes the new Santa and must try to eat the candy before someone else rolls six. The game is over when the candy bar is finished.

Application
While this game is very difficult, it is not impossible. Yet for us to go to heaven based on our works IS impossible. That is why Jesus was sent to us as the greatest gift, as the Savior of the world.

Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.Get more than 200 creative ideas for planning a Youth Christmas celebration or Christmas Party party. You can immediately download my best Christmas Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Christmas activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!
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Music

Fractured Christmas Carols

December 6, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

No one can fracture a Christmas carol better than a kid. Unfortunately they sometimes get the words a little confused. Sing along with these new takes on old favorites:

Deck the Halls with Buddy Holly [Bows of Holly]
We three kings of porridge and tar [Orient are]
On the first day of Christmas my tulip gave to me [true love]
He’s makin’ a list, chicken and rice. Santa Clause is Coming to Town [Checking it twice]
Noel. Noel, Barney’s the king of Israel. [Born is]
With the jelly toast proclaim [Heavenly Host]
Olive, the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names… [all of]
Frosty the Snowman is a ferret elf, I say [fairy tale they say]
Sleep in heavenly peas [Peace]
In the meadow we can build a snowman, Then pretend that he is sparse and brown [Parson Brown]
You’ll go down in listerine [History]
Oh, what fun it is to ride with one horse, soap and hay [open sleigh]
Come, froggy faithful [all ye]
You’ll tell Carol, “Be a skunk, I require”[Yuletide carol, fa la la la la lala la la]
Good tidings we bring to you and your kid [kin]

Game Ideas

Christmas Carol Pictionary

December 6, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A list of Christmas Carols and large sheet of paper paper, flip chart, or a whiteboard for each team.

Activity
Each team selects a person to draw. The person leading the game shows all those who are drawing the first Christmas Carol on his list. Each returns to his/her group and tries to get the group to guess the name of the carol by DRAWING ONLY. No Speaking, No sound effects, especially no humming, and no gestures are allowed. As soon as the group knows the song, they must sing it as loud as they can. After singing, they send a new person for another song. They get a point for each song guessed correctly by a team.

Here are some of the common Christmas Songs and Carols:
Adeste Fideles, All I want For Christmas, Angels We Have Heard On High, Away in a Manger, Calypso Carol, Carol of the Bells, Chestnuts Roasting Over an Open Fire, Deck the Halls, Do You Hear What I Hear?, Feliz Navidad, The First Noel, Frosty The Snowman, Go Tell it on The Mountain, God Rest You Merry Gentlemen, Hallelujah Chorus, Handel’s Messiah, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Here We Come A-Wassailing, Holly Jolly Christmas, I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, I’ll be Home for Christmas, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bell Rock, Joy to the World, Let It Snow, Little Drummer Boy, Little Town of Bethlehem, Mary’s Boy Child, Nutcracker Suite, Mr. Grinch, O Christmas Tree, O Come, All Ye Faithful, O come O come Emmanuel, O Holy Night, Once in Royal David’s City, Rocking Around the Christmas Tree, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Silent Night, Silver and Gold, Silver Bells, The Twelve Days of Christmas, We Three Kings, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, What Child Is This?, White Christmas, While Shepherds Watched, Winter Wonderland

Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.

Get more than 200 creative ideas for planning a Youth Christmas celebration or Christmas Party party. You can immediately download my best Christmas Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Christmas activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!

=> Tell me more about the Christmas Collection

Game Ideas

Christmas Back to Back

December 6, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A variety of simple Christmas images. (e.g. Christmas Tree, a manger, a baby, etc) You can also use simple greeting cards for the design.

Activity
Form teams of six people. Instruct each team to sit in a line, one person behind another, and take a vow of silence for the duration of the game. Give the first person in each line a pencil and a piece of paper. Then show the last person in each line a simple image of a Christmas object. That person must use his or her finger to draw the object on the back of the person in front of him or her. This continues until the drawing reaches the first person in line. He or she must draw it on the piece of paper. Have judges determine which team’s picture closest resembles the original picture. If time permits, play more rounds, letting team members change positions if they wish.

Application
Things get distorted the farther we get from the source, especially when we have our backs turned on God.

Debrief
1. What Christmas traditions have become distorted over time?
2. How can we get back to the true meaning of Christmas? What is the true meaning?

Teaching Illustrations

A letter from Jesus

December 6, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Dear Father,

As you know, I am celebrating my Birthday with the host who invited me this year. I rejoiced at the opportunity and looked forward to spending the Holidays with them. However, these people are really quite strange. They really have not paid much attention to me at all since my arrival.

There is much talk about “Chris”, a fellow they call Kris Kringle or Santa Claus. Interestingly enough in their party in honor of me, guess who they featured as the Guest of Honor? This “Chris” fellow! Can you believe it? And for most of the past few weeks all I have heard is “Have you seen Chris yet?” and “What is Chris bringing you for Christmas?” Besides, I’ve seen so many pictures and figures of Chris on housetops, doors, lawns, sweatshirts, cards and etc. It makes me wonder who they really love. All things considered, it seems more of a party about Chris that about Christ.

And there is the big emphasis on presents! Not my “presence” mind you, but presents for their family and friends. Considering how much some of them are spending, it looks like we don’t rank very high in comparison. Some of them will spend more just for Christmas than they give to us all year.

What really saddens me is that so many will “celebrate” Christmas and never even know I’m here – they might mention me, but not know me- Bow their heads, but not worship as the wise men did, give but not love; pray but not believe; relax in their homes, but not rest in your hands; gather around their live trees, but never gather around the tree of life. IN fact, this supposed party for me reminds me of some of their Christmas trees, bright, fancy and artificial.

Thankfully, there are some who truly celebrate. It seems oddly refreshing when someone at my party gets more excited about me than the games, gifts and guests. I can’t wait to get back home and bring these folks home with me. We’ll have a real Christmas party then!

Much love, Jesus

Source: Unknown

Teaching Illustrations

A Seussian Christmas

December 6, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

If you saddled your six-legged droozle and rode
Toward the north, at a gallop, until you hit snow,
(And we all know a six-legged droozle can scoot
At one hundred and twenty when you give it the boot)
Anyway, on your droozle, you’d finally arrive
At a hamlet called Nazareth–this town has survived
Since the time that the Romans ruled everyone’s lives.
In those days Joe was bummed, marriage prospects seemed dim,
’Cause his Mary was PG, though–he knew–not by him.
But a dream and an angel cured him of his fears
So that even in distant Faloop, in Algiers,
Glad tidings were heard there–the best news in years.

REFRAIN
From Yreka, Poughkeepsie, and Kalamazoo,
To Nome, East McKeesport, and far Katmandu–
Bring in Noel and yuletide and cheer
And see how the Light of the world draws near!
So let’s greet the Christ child–no humbug, no bah,
But lift up your glasses with an al-le-lu-ia!

So things were patched up between Mary and Joe
(Though the way neighbors talked still made them feel low)
But it just didn’t matter to either of them,
’Cause the tax man had called them to Beth-eh-le-hem.
Joe hoisted up Mary on his donkey named Snout
(Who took a whole fortnight to travel the route
That a droozle could make in an hour or two)
Which explains Joe and Mary’s slight rooming snafu.
Yet even in distant Shabingo-Laneer,
Glad tidings were heard there–the best news in years!

REFRAIN

Meanwhile, in an overplushed palace of marble,
All quarried by slaves in Fandango-Goobarble
(Who chip on the white stone with hammers ball peen
While their bosses talk only in Powerpoint screens)
In that grand marble palace sat Herod the Great,
Sipping decaf espresso la mocha latté.
He hoodwinked the magi to spy unawares,
Who returned to the trail toward the babe in Pampers.
So even in downtown Chicago, at Sears,
Glad tidings were heard there–the best news in years!

REFRAIN

The rest of the story you’ve known for a while,
How the tyke in his Pampers soon left for the Nile.
He then came back home, with his folks and a tan,
And grew up to redeem every woman and man.
So that even in Thessalonica’s frontier,
Glad tidings were heard there–the best news in years!

REFRAIN

Source: Unknown
copyright 1999 Tim McLaughlin

Drama Ideas

Christmas Freeze Frames

December 6, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Costumes and props related to the story (optional)

Activity
Tell the group they are going to act out and photograph “freeze frames” of the important parts of the Christmas story. Ask them to “Try to imagine how the Christmas story happened 2000 years ago when Christ was born.” (You can provide Bible costumes and props for greater realism, but they are not required.)

Choose a number of Bible scenes as freeze frames. Assign one scene to each group. The participants must come up with appropriate poses, facial expressions and hand gestures for each freeze frame.

Shepherds
* Scene 1: The shepherds hear the angels tell of Christ’s birth (example: Participants should show fear, awe, excitement, etc).
* Scene 2: The shepherds believe the angels’ proclamation
* Scene 3: The shepherds discover the Christ child
* Scene 4: The shepherds return to their homes and fields, glorifying and praising God

Wisemen
* Scene 1: Following the star
* Scene 2: Before Herod
* Scene 3: Finding Jesus
* Scene 4: Returning Home

You can also use events involving Mary, Joseph, In the temple with Simeon, Elizabeth, etc.

During the skits take a picture of each scene (Digital camera’s work great). Put the pictures in a slide show or powerpoint file on your computer and you have a Christmas keepsake, as well as, a gift for all the participants.

Variation
Create a video news report of the story. Have one person be the reporter in the newsroom (at a table), then go to a reporter in the field who interviews the various participants in each scene (animals included).]

Discussion
Use follow up questions for the different scenes to facilitate some lively discussion:
• What did it feel like to be a shepherd? Angel? A character in the manger scene?
• Why did the angels appear to the shepherds and not someone else?
• Why did the shepherds drop everything to go find out about some baby?
• What does this “baby” mean to them?
• What does this “baby” mean to us?

Object Lessons

Advent Alphabet

December 6, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

What do sand, trees, money, pearls, wheat, and mustard seeds have in common? Jesus used them all as tangible symbols or object lessons to help his disciples to understand and remember intangible truths. The Master Communicator often attached deeper meanings to common things and objects.

Alphabetically listed are 25 items commonly associated with Advent and Christmas, one object lesson per day starting December 1, to help your family attach deeper spiritual insight to traditional customs and apply what they have learned to everyday life.

Aromas (December 1)
Identify Christmas scents by smelling small bags containing apple slice, bayberry candle, clove, ginger, peppermint, or pine cone. Place fresh evergreens around. Add spices, (rosemary, laurel, bay, sage) to wreaths and greens. Make a pomander ball by pressing whole cloves into an unpeeled orange and hanging it as a symbol for Christmas fragrances.

Bells (Dec. 2)
Sing “Jingle Bells” while each family member shakes the rhythm with a bell. Make a set of bell chimes by filling water glasses unequally and see who can tap out a recognizable melody with a spoon. Hang bells as the symbol.

Candles (Dec. 3)
To reinforce the symbolism of light use Christmas candles. Line a driveway or walk with luminaries (candles set in open paper lunch bags half filled with sand) Set votive or electrical candles in windows. Make a candle carving by tracing a design onto a thick candle and shaving away the wax with a knife. Eat dinner by candlelight. Take a few quiet moments of meditation by candlelight.

Decorations (Dec. 4)
Go out to view decorations and vote on the one which best communicates the true meaning of Christmas. Sing carols about decorations between stops (“Deck the Halls” “Jingle Bells”). Begin to hang your Christmas decorations. Create personalized paper placemats with drawings, stickers, dry transfers, markers, and paints and cover them with plastic wrap or clear shelf adhesive to preserve them.

Eating (Dec. 5)
Use a cookie as today’s symbol. Make some wassail. Wassail means “be well” so drink each cup as a toast to each other’s health. Make plates of cookies as gifts and watch your children enjoy the true meaning of Christmas – giving to others.

Friends (Dec 6)
Prepare a conversational activity and snacks for friends who drop in. You might set up a table with a jigsaw puzzle (500-1000 pieces) to try to complete by Christmas with the help of friends. It’s appropriate that Jesus’ first friendly visitors were shepherds for he became the good shepherd. Hang candy canes, shaped like a shepherd’s crook.

Greetings (Dec 7)
Place Christmas cards received in a basket on the dinner table and take turns reading one at each meal. Share happy memories of the senders and include them in prayers. Make a “Good News paper” about Jesus’ birth, including a birthday announcement, copy of Caesar’s census decree, interview with King Herod, a notice about the free concert by the Herald angels in pastures near Bethlehem, etc. The good news of Christmas is that a Savior has been born.

Home (Dec. 8)
People without a home or away from home tend to feel more lonely at Christmas time. God understands because his Son was away from home for the first time on Christmas Eve. Joseph and Mary spent their first Christmas in Bethlehem, about 60 miles from their home in Nazareth (a 3 day trip). Having no friends or relatives with whom to stay, and no advance reservations at an overbooked hotel, they spent Christmas in a stable. The first home of Jesus, our Spiritual Bread of Life, was Bethlehem which means “house of Bread” Sing “O Little
Town of Bethlehem as your family prayer.” Symbol: house.

Individuals (Dec 9)
The ultimate meaning for Christmas is personal, the need for each person to receive God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life. As a symbol use a picture frame with the child’s picture. Read “A Christmas Carol” by Dickens to focus on the needs of others.

Jesus (Dec. 10)
Hang a cross to symbolize Jesus. Have a Birthday celebration for Jesus with a star shaped cake. Wrap a toy and donate to a charity as a gift to Christ.

Kin (Dec. 11)
Christmas is a time to be with family. Hang a family symbol or photo. Talk about Jesus’ family. Do something together as a family.

Love (Dec. 12)
Hang a heart as the symbol. Make a large red heart and write on it the qualities of true love from I Cor. 13

Music (Dec. 13)
Hang a musical note as a symbol. Invite friends to join you in singing carols for shut ins or seniors. Play Christmas music around the house.

Nativity (Dec. 14)
Set out a nativity scene. Add pieces daily explaining their relationship to the manger story. Leave the manger empty with a box of straw. When children do good deeds let them place a piece of straw in the manger with the goal of having it filled for Christmas when you place Jesus in it.

Ornaments (Dec. 15)
Help children make personal ornaments. Make or purchase one cross ornament as a reminder that Jesus’ cradle was the prelude to the cross.

Present (Dec. 16)
To focus on giving gifts or presents: help someone less fortunate through donations. Help each person choose and wrap a symbol of an intangible gift for Jesus (i.e. a
heart for love, a clock for time, etc.)

Questions (Dec. 17)
Hang a question mark on the tree. Have a quiz on Christmas facts, a spelling bee on Christmas words, etc. The wisemen asked a question in Matt 2:2 seeking Jesus to worship him.

Red (Dec. 18)
How many red Christmas items can you name? Hang one as a symbol. Red symbolizes the blood of Christ, as well as, red holly berries and poinsettia leaves which are vivid reminders of life in a lifeless winter.

Stocking (Dec. 19)
Renouncing wealth to serve as a church leader, legend says Saint Nicholas gave his inherited wealth away by putting gold in stockings hung to dry.

Tree (Dec. 20)
Establish some family traditions based around the Christmas Tree. Explain how three trees explain the Christmas story – Adam lost access to the tree of life by eating from the forbidden tree but Jesus reopened the way to the tree of life by his sacrifice on the cross (itself a tree).

Unwrapping (Dec. 21)
Use an open box to symbolize the unwrapping of gifts.

Vacation (Dec. 22)
Create a vacation calendar and on it creatively plan and build anticipation as to how holidays can be spent.

Wreath (Dec. 23)
See who can count the most circular Christmas items around the house. A wreath is like Jesus in that it never ends.

Xmas (Dec. 24)
Christmas literally means “celebration of Christ” The X represents the first letter of Christ in the Greek alphabet. Hang a Chi-Rho cross as a symbol, the first two letters of Christ.

Yule (Dec. 25)
Yule is another name for the Christmas Season. You might use a yule log as a symbol. On Christmas morning ask children to stay in bed until they hear Christmas music playing. No Christmas presents are to be opened until everyone is present. Share a worship time before opening gifts. Do at least one fun activity as a family. Make Christmas dinner special with a centerpiece and lighted candles.. Make Christmas place cards with Scriptures to be read. See which family members can share the significance of the 25 ornamental symbols hung this month.

Condensed and adapted from “An Advent Alphabet” by
Karen and Terry Hall, Moody Magazine, December 1986

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