The Manger

Gather a brown paper bag, a slotted clothespin, a permanent marker, gauze, white or brown shredded paper, scissors, stapler, and a foam star glitter sticker (gold or yellow is ideal).

Draw a window shape onto your paper bag.

Cut the window shape out. I used scissors, but you could also use an X-Acto knife.

Write “Jesus is born!” at the bottom of the bag. 

Sit the bag up and open it. You should see windows on all sides!

Now we’re going to make baby Jesus. Draw a face and hair on the round part of the clothespin.

Cut a small piece of the gauze and wrap it around the baby. 

Place the shredded paper and the baby in the bag. Make sure that you can easily see baby Jesus. (Keep stuffing it with shredded paper until he sits up high.)

Fold the top of the bag down and staple on both sides.

Center your star sticker at the top of the bag.

Ta-da! The perfect craft for talking about how Baby Jesus was born in a stable and placed in a manger!

The Shepherds

Gather 2 white paper cups, 1 brown pipe cleaner cut in half, 2 mini candy canes or candy cane ornaments, 2 cotton balls, scissors, glue or tape, a permanent marker, and a colorful paper napkin.

Using the marker, draw a face on one side of each cup.

 Tape one half of the brown pipe cleaner to the back of each cup and bend the pipe cleaners to down and around to look like arms/hands.

Cut the paper napkin into 2 rectangular pieces. These will be their headpieces. Mine are around 2inches x 6inches.

Put some glue or tape on the top and sides of each cup and lay the napkins down, having even amounts of napkin hanging from each side.

Slip a candy cane into one hand of each of the cups. These are their staffs.

Place a cotton ball in the other hand of each cup. These are sheep.

 Your shepherds are now complete! Talk about how the shepherds were the first people to hear about Baby Jesus being born in the stable!

Angel Ornament

Gather a slotted clothespin, 3-inch coffee filter, silver glitter glue, permanent marker, scissors, and a gold or yellow pipe cleaner. 

Using the permanent marker, draw a face on the top part of the clothespin. Do not draw the face on a side of the clothespin where slits are. 

Fold the coffee filter in half and put it in the slots of the clothespin. Position the coffee filter to look like wings and then secure it with tape on the back.

Cut your pipe cleaner to a 3-4-inch piece. 

Bend the top into a circle to look like a halo.

Tape the halo to the back of the clothespin.

Put glitter on the wings using your glitter glue. You can make patterns or decorate however you would like. Then set aside to dry.

Now you can hang your sparkling angel on your tree! You can use a hook to hang it or slip the clothespin onto a branch. Talk about how an angel told Mary she was going to have a baby and His name would be Jesus!

Happy Birthday Jesus

Gather a small plate, 2 Oreos, white frosting, a knife for spreading, sprinkles, and a candle.

Hold the cookies together and spread some frosting all around the edges.

 Place the “cake” on the plate.

Cover the top with icing. You shouldn’t be able to see any of the Oreos.

Add sprinkles!

Place your candle on the top of your cake.

 Now you have a birthday cake to enjoy! On Christmas, we celebrate a special birthday! It’s Jesus’ birthday!

Making Bread

Gather all-purpose flour, baking powder, olive oil, sea salt, a skillet, measuring cups, food processor or mixer, and Rosemary or other herbs (optional).

 Place 1 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and ½ tsp sea salt in the mixer or food processor.

 Blend the ingredients together for 10 seconds.

While running the mixer or food processor on low, slowly add in 2 tbsp olive oil and 1/3 cup warm water. Blend for 30 seconds or until the dough starts to form/clump up.

Pour a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and swirl it around

Take the dough out of the food processor and shape it into 4 small patties. 

Place the patties on the skillet and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes on each side.

Sprinkle Rosemary or other herbs on the patties while they cook. (Optional.)

And now enjoy! Talk with your child about how you used oil to make this bread just like a woman in the Bible did. God made sure her bottle of oil never ran out so she could always make bread!

Make A Room

Gather a rectangular box (a shoebox or memory box work great!), markers, and a Little People figure.

Using the markers, draw/color on the box to make it look like a room. You can make it as detailed or as simple as you would like.

You can use the Little People figure to pretend like Elisha is living in his room.

In the Bible, there is a story of a woman who made a room for a man named Elisha. This woman was such a great helper. Elisha was so thankful for her help and his room!

Build A Wall

Get different items from around your house that you can use to build a wall, such as blocks, cups, or Tupperware. The bigger, the better!

Using the items of your choice, help your child build a wall. Maybe even get the whole family involved! They will love having you help them.

Build as many walls as you would like, with as many items as you would like.

 Once your wall is built, have fun knocking it down.

Talk to your child about how building a wall is fun, but it’s even more fun when we have help!