Isaiah 9:6-7
A child is born to us!
A son is given to us!
And he will be our ruler.
He will be called, “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Eternal Father,” “Prince of Peace.”
His royal power will continue to grow;
his kingdom will always be at peace.
He will rule as King David’s successor, basing his power on right and justice,
from now until the end of time.
The Lord Almighty is determined to do all this.
Christmas is a time that is filled with celebrations with family and friends. Getting caught up in the fun that Christmas and the holiday season brings can also mean that we can forget what it is all about: Christ. Check out these faith-based activities that will help ensure that your family prioritizes Jesus as the center of the most wonderful time of the year!
- CHARACTER CARDS: Create birthday cards for Jesus as a “gift” to Him. Brainstorm situations and actions that strengthen patience, love, self-control, forgiveness etc, and write these ideas on the cards. On Christmas Eve, place the cards in a stocking to be opened and shared by the family on Christmas morning. Each child can then celebrate the birth of Jesus in a personal way, becoming “doers” of the Word and growing in strength of character.
- NAMES OF JESUS STARS: Cut out stars from cardstock paper and write “Jesus” on each one. Then, write words that describe Jesus such as “Savior,” “Emmanuel,” and “Prince of Peace.” Use the stars to decorate the house to engage kids in remembering the character of Jesus.
- FINDING THE BABY JESUS: Set up a nativity scene. Hide the baby Jesus in various locations in the household and ask your kids to locate Jesus. As Christmas approaches, move the figure closer to the nativity scene. On Christmas morning, place the baby Jesus in the manger.
- THE CHRISTMAS CANDY CANE STORY: You will need: two red-and-white candy canes for each child.
The Christmas Candy Cane Story: Say, “According to legend, a long time ago, a candymaker made the Christmas candy cane to tell the real Christmas story. He chose pure white candy for the virgin birth and to remind us that Jesus is sinless. He made the candy hard so it would remind us that Jesus is the solid rock and that all God’s promises are solid. The candymaker made the candy in the shape of a “J” to remind us of Jesus who came to Earth as a baby and became our Saviour. He added stripes. Real candy canes have stripes for the blood Jesus shed for us on the cross to give us eternal life.”
Give out the two candy canes. Say: “Jesus came at Christmas to make a way for us to go to heaven to be with him forever. Keep one candy cane, and give the other one to someone else and share the story of the candy cane.”