Float Your Boat

Gather a tub or container filled with water and items around your house to make a boat, such as Tupperware lids, straws, Play-Doh®, etc. You can make this as simple or elaborate as you would like. If you want to make a sail, you will also need construction paper, scissors, and crayons.

If you choose to make a sail, cut a triangle out of your piece 

of construction paper and decorate it. You will need to put two holes on either side, 

either with scissors or a hole punch if you have one.

Then thread the straw through the holes of your sail.

Now make your boat with the items you found around your house. I used a lid, a straw with a sail, and Play-Doh®. Easy peasy!

Place the boat in the tub of water, letting it float.

Talk about how Jesus calmed the storm when he was on the boat with the Disciples.

Ten Men

Gather a piece of paper or construction paper and crayons or markers.

Trace both of your child’s hands on the piece of paper.

Draw faces on each of the fingers using the crayons or markers.

Now count to ten while pointing to each face. Jesus healed TEN men who were sick!

Telephone

Gather two small paper cups, crayons or markers, string, scissors, and tape.

Decorate the outside of the two paper cups using the crayons or markers.

 Cut a piece of string, about a foot long, and tape it to the bottom of each cup.

Now you have a telephone that can connect from your ear to your child’s ear!

Sit with your child and play telephone with them, making sure to listen to each other. Talk to them about how they did a great job listening. We listen and hear with our ears!

The Four Friends

Gather a paper plate, tape, string or ribbon, scissors, and a Little People® figure. You will also need a chair or couch from anywhere in your home.

Cut the paper plate into a rectangular shape to look like a mat.

Cut 4 pieces of string (about a foot long) and tape them to the bottom of each corner of the “mat.”

Pull up each piece of string and tie them together in a knot at the top.

Place the Little People® figure on the mat and lower it over the side of a chair or couch, just like the Four Friends did with their friend.

The four friends knew their friend needed Jesus, and Jesus helped him.

Blind Walk

Grab a bandana.

Blindfold your child so that they cannot see.

Guide them around the house by holding their hand. Talk to them about what they hear, smell, and feel. This way they are using all of their senses except for sight.

Tell them how great they were with using their senses. 

God gave us five senses – sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell!

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!