Make a gingerbread house paper craft scene

Make a gingerbread house inspired scene with bits and pieces of paper and wrapping. Making a real gingerbread house is lovely but sometimes it’s good to just have a rummage through odds and ends of paper and card and create something festive.

I always keep wrapping paper scraps and christmas card pictures as they make great almost free craft materials.

Here’s some inspiration for your pictures..

Here’s my finished gingerbread house street scene

Gingerbread house street scene made with paper and craft materials

This would be a great activity to make at home in those days between Christmas and New Year or on Christmas Eve!

All you need to make a gingerbread house inspired scene

  • Paper for the background – I put two A4 pieces together with tape. (Have the tape on the back of your picture)
  • Paper to cut into house shapes and trees. I went with simple shapes.
  • Wrapping paper and Christmas cards cut into shapes
  • Small hearts, snow flakes, circles
  • Optional – glitter, sequins, tinsel
  • Glue

Use whatever you like – and whatever you have.

If you want to do this with very young children prepare the shapes of paper beforehand and make them slightly bigger so they are easier to hold and stick. Children’s interests vary so if children love making they will spend a bit longer creating a paper picture. If you are doing this at home make your own version alongside your child or create a street scene together.

Older children can be encouraged to make the shapes for the trees and houses themselves and create their own gingerbread paper art from scratch. Give them lots of choice of materials.

There’s an idea in this post for making a mini ‘gingerbread’ house using biscuits. It’s very easy to do and lots of fun!

If you would like to make an edible gingerbread house here’s a link to a Mary Berry recipe.

The Saviour is here! – Christmas 3

The Saviour is here is our third Christmas Story in a series of three. We began with Isaiah foretelling the birth of Jesus, The Saviour is Promised and then we told the story of Angel Gabriel visiting Mary, The Saviour is on his way.

The story is based on Luke 2:1-20

The Saviour is here! Bible Story

Bible Truth for Toddlers – Jesus is the Saviour

In the story bag you need – Mary, Joseph, a donkey, the baby, a manger,shepherds, sheep and angels. Take them out as you need them.

‘Say hello to Mary and Joseph! They had to go on a long, long journey. All the way back to Joseph’s home town of Bethlehem. It wasn’t a good time to travel, Mary was soon to have her baby that the Angel Gabriel had told her about. But they had to go. Maybe they had a donkey.. Off they went..

Down the road, over the hills.. Are we nearly there yet? No! On and on they went. Are we nearly there yet? Almost!

But oh no, Bethlehem was so busy. So many people. Where could Mary and Joseph stay. They asked at the hotel. ‘No room here’, the man said. But you can stay in the stable with the animals.

And that’s where the special baby, sent from God, was born. Mary wrapped him up and put him in the manger – all safe and snuggled up.

That same night, out on the hills outside the town there were shepherds looking after their sheep. It was dark! When all of a sudden there was a bright light, the brightest light they had ever seen and there was an angel! The shepherds were scared. ‘Don’t be afraid’, the angel said, ‘I bring you good news! Today a Saviour has been born for you. You will find him in a manger and all wrapped up.’ And then there were loads of angels filling the sky and singing. Then they were gone and it was dark again.

The shepherds looked at one another. ‘Let’s go and find this baby, the Saviour who has been born,’ they said. So off they went..down the hill, through the town, are they nearly there? Not yet! Looking here, looking there, are they nearly there? Almost! – until they found Jesus. They found the Saviour.

Jesus is the Saviour, he is the Saviour God sent for everyone everywhere.

Christmas craft idea

To make the stained glass nativity you need

  • Paper plates – I used a brown plate
  • Yellow tissue paper – this can be shredded like straw. This is quite messy so if you prefer less mess use torn tissue paper.
  • Crayons
  • Christmas wrapping paper odds and ends
  • Nativity picture printed on card – see download. This needs to be cut out beforehand. Older children could do this themselves – just cut the page in half for them.

To make – decorate the nativity first then fold and glue to plate. Cover the plate with tissue paper straw and add any other decorations to the rim of the plate.

The Saviour is on his way – Christmas 2

The Saviour is on his way is our second Christmas story in a series of three. We began with, The Saviour is Promised – a Story all about Isaiah and now we meet Mary and the Angel Gabriel. The Bible Story is from Luke 1:26-38 and includes the Angel Gabriel visiting Mary.

If you have told the first story in the series include the four things Isaiah said about the special baby to be born and have an action for each sentence

  • A child will be born – rock a pretend baby in your arms
  • A Son will be given – point up to heaven and then bring hands down
  • He will be King forever – put a pretend crown on your head
  • He will bring peace – clasp your hands together

The Saviour is on his way – Bible story idea

Bible Truth for Toddlers – God keeps his promises

Do you remember Isaiah? He told people what God wanted them to know. He had written down a promise that God had made – God was going to send someone – Isaiah told everyone that…

  • A child will be born – rock a pretend baby in your arms
  • A Son will be given – point up to heaven and then bring hands down
  • He will be King forever – put a pretend crown on your head
  • He will bring peace – clasp your hands together

But a long, long time had passed. Days, weeks, months and years and years and years went by. Had God forgotten his promise? No! God never forgets anything!

One day a young woman called Mary was at home. (Say hello to Mary!)It was just an ordinary day. Mary was cleaning the house (some actions here – maybe dusting or sweeping).

But then something extraordinary happened! An angel came to see her! Now angels are not like fairies. Angels are big and strong! (actions here too – make a big shape with your arms and then flex muscles). The angel that came to see Mary was called Gabriel (ask everyone to repeat the name). He had a message from God.

You are going to have a very special baby,’ he said to Mary. ‘This baby will be God’s Son and he will be King forever.’

The Baby was going to be born! rock a pretend baby in your arms

The Son was going to be given! point up to heaven and then bring hands down

He was going to be King forever! put a pretend crown on your head

The Saviour God promised was on his way. God always keeps his promises.

Craft Ideas – make Angel Gabriel

Joseph and the Angel

Joseph and the Angel is from Matthew 1:18-25. In Luke’s Gospel we hear about the Angel visiting Mary and in Matthew’s Gospel we find out how Joseph knew that the baby was from God. In this story we have the special name – Immanuel, a name that only appears a couple of times in the Bible, here in Matthew and Isaiah 7:14. Matthew is telling us that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise.

We also read that Joseph is to name the baby Jesus.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

Matthew 1: 21

In Luke’s account we read that Mary has also been told to name the child Jesus.

..you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

Luke 1: 31b-33

To tell the story – if you are tellling a series of Christmas stories you will probably want to focus on the message the angel gave to Joseph.

In the story bag – Joseph doll or puppet, some carpenters tools, Mary puppet, an angel,

Actions to include – sleeping!

Joseph and the Angel story

Mary (take her from the story bag) knew that she was going to have a very special baby. An angel had been sent from God to tell her!

But someone was very sad that she was having a baby. He didn’t really understand. He didn’t really know what to do. His name is Joseph. Are you ready to say hello to Joseph – ‘Hello Joseph’ (take him out of the story bag)

Joseph was all ready to marry Mary but then he found out she was having a baby. He wasn’t the father. He didn’t know what had happened but he decided that he couldn’t marry Mary. He was sad. Oh dear!

Joseph was a carpenter – he spent the day making things with wood, hammering, sawing.. and then he went home and went to bed. Soon he was fast asleep. (Pretend to be sleeping)

Now that was when something extraordinary happened. An angel appeared in his dream (this isn’t something that happens when you or I go to sleep). But it happened to Joseph. The angel had a really important message from God.

‘Joseph, you can marry Mary. Her baby is sent from God. He will be Immanuel, which means God with us. He is the one that God promised to send. When he is born you must name him Jesus because he is the Saviour’.

The next morning Joseph woke up. He got up. What was he going to do? He did what God had told him to do. He believed that this baby was God with us, the one who is the only Saviour. He married Mary and he cared for her.

You could finish with a question for the adults – ‘who do you believe Jesus is?’

angel craft

Make a rocking angel.

All you need

  • Paper plate folded in half
  • Circles for faces
  • Wool for hair
  • Shiny paper to decorate
  • Paper doilies cut into 1/8’s (depending on size). They just need to be a right fit for wings.
  • Glue
  • Crayons to decorate faces of angels

Here’s a link to the Bible story – The Angel visits Mary

The Saviour is Promised – Christmas 1

The Saviour is promised is the first of three Christmas stories. We begin seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus with Isaiah and the prophecy of Jesus’ coming into the world.

Why tell this part of the Christmas Story? It helps to put Christmas into context. It reminds us and helps us to see that this was God’s plan and that Jesus’ coming as a baby was a fulfillment of God’s promise.

Tell the story simply – there is a story idea below.

The Saviour is Promised – Bible Story

Bible reference – Isaiah 9:6-7

Bible Truth for Toddlers – God promised to send The Saviour

In the story bag we have Isaiah and a scroll with some key sentences (these remind the storyteller of key sentences!)

‘Today someone who lived a long, long time ago has come to see us. His name is Isaiah. Are you ready to say hello? Hello Isaiah! (Take him out of the story bag).

Isaiah was God’s prophet – he told people the things that God wanted them to know.

Now God’s people were in trouble. Everything was getting worse and worse. People were sad and frightened. God knew all about the trouble they were in. God sent Isaiah to talk to them and give them a message

I wonder what that message was? Isaiah wrote it down so we can read it too!

Take your scroll from the story bag and read it out. God says..a baby will be born, a Son will be given, he will be King forever, he will bring peace.

Wow – what an amazing promise from God. A real baby will be born who will be just like you and me and yet also different from you and me because this baby will be God’s Son given to us. He will be the king and he will bring peace between people and God and people and each other!

The people heard what Isaiah said but not everyone believed the promise. But God always keeps his promises. Next time we find out more about this promised baby.’

If you’d like to do some background reading about Isaiah 9 have a look at this article from Desiring God

The Saviour is Promised craft ideas

You could make scrolls but as this story is part of a Christmas series you could make a Christmas Collage using pictures cut from wrapping paper and Christmas cards. Add sequins, shiny stars – anything you fancy that is seasonal.

Here’s a link to a similar idea Christmas Star to make

Use what you have Christmas Collage

Use what you have to make a Christmas collage. There is so much for us to spend money on at Christmas that it’s a nice change to use what we already have have to make crafts.

I always keep Christmas cards as they have great pictures. And those bits of wrapping paper that aren’t quite big enough to wrap any of the gifts I’ve bought come in handy too.

If you have any paper punchers you can cut out shapes but if not just use scissors. Older children can doing the cutting out themselves.

Just use what you have – sweet wrappers, greeting cards, wrapping paper, pictures from magazines. Whatever you fancy!

Sometimes we do a ‘cover the paper’ challenge. The idea is to fill an A4 piece of paper with collage materials. It’s a lot of fun!

This year we have quite a lot of sequins left from other crafts so we’ll be adding those to the selection of materials that the children can choose from. I think that is part of the pleasure of making – choosing what to use.

Here’s a couple of my attempts – the children will no doubt do a better job than me!

A use what you have snow themed collage

These crafts would be great to make at home between Christmas and New Year. Keep your wrapping paper and cards and enjoy giving them a second life!

Here’s a link to some family ideas on the blog

Let’s meet Anna and Simeon!

Let’s meet Anna and Simeon who saw Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem. We read about them in Luke 2:22-38. This story isn’t always told at Christmas time but it fits in between the visit of the Shepherds and the arrival of the Wise men. (When Herod starts to anxiously look for Jesus in Matthew 2 – the new King, Jesus has already been in Jerusalem.) Most people didn’t see anything special about this visit but Simeon and Anna recognised who Jesus is. Simeon knew that Jesus was God’s salvation and Anna saw that Jesus was the one bringing redemption.

Let’s meet Anna and Simeon Bible Story Idea

In the story bag have the main characters to show at the right time in the story – Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, Simeon and Anna.

Jesus had been born! Mary and Joseph gave him his special name – Jesus – which means ‘The Lord saves’. Then some days later they needed to go to the big city of Jerusalem to the Temple. The temple was a very special place. People went there to worship God. Mary and Joseph needed to go there to say thank you to God for the new baby.

It wasn’t too far to travel. Let’s walk with them. (make the sound of walking by tapping hands on knees)

They arrived at the temple and went inside. It was a very special place. Lots of people were there. One of them was an old man called Simeon. (Say hello to Simeon) Simeon had been looking forward to seeing someone. He was looking forward to seeing the Saviour that God had promised to send. And today was the day! Simeon saw Jesus. And even though he was a baby Simeon knew he was the saviour sent from God. Simeon held Jesus in his arms and said thank you to God for sending the Saviour.

And then a woman saw Jesus. Her name was Anna. (Say hello to Anna) She was very old and came to the temple everyday. And on this day she saw Jesus and she knew that he was the Saviour! She began to tell everyone and she said thank you to God for sending the Saviour.

We can say thank you to God for sending Jesus – the Saviour.

Anna and Simeon to make

This is a variation of the Yarn wrapped candle. You need cardboard tubes – you can purchase these or use a halved kitchen roll. Add a face, hair or beard and wrap yarn around the tube for clothing. Take a look at the Yarn wrapped candle post for instructions about that. You don’t need to glue the yarn! Add a headdress and secure with a pipe cleaner.

Simeon and Anna made from cardboard tubes and wool

Candle decoration to make

Candle crafts are lovely for homemade Christmas decorations. I saw this idea on pinterest. It’s from Kidscraftroom.com which is a great place for craft ideas. This craft combines two of my favourite things – yarn and Christmas! If you are making this at home with your own children you can use what you have – cardboard tubes from toilet rolls and kitchen rolls and paper and yarn you already have. If making in a group then it’s better to avoid toilet rolls or check with your group first. If you don’t have shiny paper or card for the flame just use what you have – silver foil or sweet wrappers would work just as well.

To make the candle decoration you need

  • Cardboard tubes
  • White paper to cover the tube – or any colour you choose
  • Yellow and gold card to make the flame. This needs to be the same width as the tube at it’s base as you are going to slot it into the tube.
  • Yarn.

Before making something with children I always try it our first. It’s the only way to know if it will work! I had a few different attempts at wrapping yarn around the cardboard tube and decided to go with a variegated chunky yarn. I used a pink based colour that is really bright! It’s available from amazon. (affiliate link – if you click on the link and make a purchase the blog recieves a small payment from Amazon at no extra cost to you). You can use any yarn that you have but you need it to hold to the tube without using glue.

Candle decoration To make

  • Cover the tube with paper. Secure with glue and then cut and tuck in extra paper at both ends. The tube should still stand up.
  • Cut two slits opposite each other at one end.
  • Slot the begginning of the yarn in one of the slits and start wrapping
  • Wrap the yarn from top to bottom and then back to the top and secure in the other slit. Push the end of the yarn into the centre of the tube
  • Make the flame
  • Slot the flame into the top of the candle
Cardboard tube wrapped in wool to make a candle decoration

Another Christmas craft from the blog is here – A Christmas Star to make.

The Wise Men find The King

This story is from Matthew 2:1-18

To tell the story you need – some Wise Men, toy camels and a star. You can add some actions too – stars with hands (like in twinkle, twinkle little star), running, looking, kneeling.

The story

Bible Truth for Toddlers – Jesus is King

Far away from where Jesus was born there were some Wise Men. They read books and knew a lot. They loved to look at the stars in the dark night’s sky. One night they saw a new star! They looked at the new star and they looked at each other. ‘Wow! they thought, ‘this new star means that a new king has been born in Israel. Let’s go and worship him’.

So they packed their things and set off for the important city of Jerusalem. They travelled for a long time. It took days and days to get there. When they arrived in Jerusalem they asked everyone they met, ‘Where is the new baby king?’

Now, there was a king in Jerusalem called King Herod but he wasn’t a baby; he was a grown up and he wasn’t at all happy. He didn’t want a new King! He heard that there were men from a far away place who were asking people, ‘Where is the new king?’ This upset him and it upset the people who were living in Jerusalem. He sent for the men from the temple. ‘Where is this new King to be born?’ he asked. The men from the temple knew the answer because it was written in the Bible. ‘In Bethlehem.’ they said.

Herod sent for the Wise Men and he told them to go to Bethlehem and find this new King and then come back and tell him where the new King was so he could go and worship him too.

So off the Wise Men went. It wasn’t too far to go now. As they got nearer something very special happened. The star was there again and this time it went before them and shone right over the house where Jesus was. The Wise men had found Jesus and they knelt down and worshiped him. They took their treasures out of their bags and gave them to Jesus. They gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh. These were special gifts for a King.

The Wise Men never told Herod where Jesus was. God warned them not to in a dream and they travelled home.

Herod didn’t want to worship Jesus. He wanted to get rid of him. An angel told Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and run away to a different country till it was safe to go back home.

Joseph did what the angel said and took Mary and Jesus to somewhere safe far away from Herod. When the danger was past they went to back home to Nazareth.

Some star craft ideas

For a star craft – decorate a star wreath shape and add some tissue paper for a stained glass window effect. Or use Christmas card pictures to decoarate a star.

Make a Wise Men stained glass window. For instructions see this blog post Christmas stained glass – paper plate!

Paint a star shape. This is a wooden star but card would be fine too.

Star Christmas decoration to make – using lollipop sticks

Star Christmas decoration to make to hang on the tree! Lots of sequins are needed for this simple star shaped decoration for the Christmas Tree. It’s a fun craft to make and looks lovely as a special home made decoration. The printable banner, ‘Joy to the World’ is a reminder of the great news of the first Christmas.

Luke 2:10-11 And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.

Everything you need for the star decoration

  • Six lollipop/ popsicle sticks per star. (plus some spare in case of any mishaps!) Try to buy the coloured sticks. (Please consider purchasing through this link as the blog will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!)
  • Sequins (different colours, shapes and sizes)
  • PVA glue and spreaders
  • A button and thread
  • ‘Joy to the World’ mini banner (download available below)

How to make the star

1. Glue the lollipop sticks together – layer the sticks as shown in the photo and wait for the glue to dry.

2. Meanwhile thread the cotton through the button – tie in a knot to make a loop. This will be used to hang the star from the tree.

3. Glue the threaded button to the top of the lollipop stick star.

4. Before you add sequins to the lollipop stick glue the mini ‘Joy to the World’ banner in place and then add sequins to the star.

Diagram showing how to put a lollipop stick star shape together
Star decoration made with lollipop sticks and sequins
Star decoration for the Christmas tree made with lollipop sticks and sequins

Here’s another star idea that’s suitable for under 5’s. A Christmas Star wreath shape decorated with pictures from Christmas cards. If you don’t have Christmas cards use wrapping paper scraps!

A Christmas Carol to enjoy!

How to make a shepherd

How to make a shepherd printable instructions.

You can make a shepherd to add to a Nativity display or use when telling the Christmas Story. Below is a photo of a nativity to give you an idea of how you can use paper plate Christmas characters to build a Christmas scene. In the picture we have Mary and Joseph, angels and shepherds. The manger is a party bag with yellow tissue paper inside – see this post for instructions and a printable baby , the stable is made from a cardboard box lined with yellow tissue paper on the inside and covered with brown tissue paper on the outside.

How to make a shepherd printable

How to make a shepherd printable instructions

You can print the above by clicking on download…

There is a similar printable all about making an angel available in this post

Enjoy making a Christmas scene to use in storytelling or as a decoration.

How to make an angel – craft video

This is my first attempt at a craft video (sorry for the pause in the middle – my phone did that all by itself!). Enjoy!

Make a Paper Plate Christingle for 7-11 year olds

Angel tree topper instructions

Angel tree topper instructions that are easy to print. We made these angels last year in our toddler group. There are some instructions here on the blog in a previous post but this printable instruction leaflet is much easier to print and share. It can be handy to have some instructions for the adults to look at on the craft table. You could also make them available as a take home for parents and children to make during the Christmas holidays.

Printable instructions showing how to make an angel tree topper

Paper Plate Nativity

Angels, Mary, Joseph, shepherds and the manger with the baby. Great for a nativity decoration and for telling the Christmas story.

Links to ‘how to make’ the characters (specifically the angels but the same basic idea is used for Mary, Joseph and the shepherds too) and the manger

The stable is a cardboard box covered in tissue paper. If you cover the inside of the box with yellow paint or tissue paper the characters will show up better. You can add battery powered tea lights too!

You could make this over several weeks in toddler group or Sunday School or make at home.

Shepherd craft

Luke tells us that shepherds were told that the Saviour had been born!

‘For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord’ Luke 2:11

So here are some shepherds to make … using paper plates

All you need to make these shepherds – paper plates,pipe cleaners, wool, tissue paper and circles.

Jesus is born craft

All you need for this craft – paper party bags, shredded tissue paper, stars, baby picture, glue, crayons or material for the swaddling cloths.

There is a lot of cutting out to do beforehand and not loads for children to do – they decorate the baby, add the tissue paper and the star – so you may want to make a paper plate Mary, Joseph or a shepherd as well!

Another angel! or two…

A whole paper plate – cut out a triangle and use as the body. Add ribbon so this angel can be used as a Christmas dec
How lovely is this! Got to love that face.
ice cream pot angel – with a sparkly halo!
half a paper plate folded in three – a tree topper or an angel to sit in the stable
an angel picture with hearts for wings

Angel!

There are lots of Bible stories that include angels so this craft isn’t just for Christmas! But obviously we often make angel crafts at Christmas so here is a paper plate angel that stands up and could be used as a tree topper.

All you need – paper plates (cheap and quite thin as you want to cut them in half and fold them), doilies (not too large and cut or folded in half), wool for hair, stars and shiny paper to decorate, glue and crayons to draw on features and glue.

If you are making these in a toddler group do all the cutting out prep beforehand and have a made angel to give an idea. If you want to do the folding of the plate ahead of time you could.

Enjoy!

Christmas stained glass – paper plate!

I first made a paper plate stained glass window back in 2015! You can take a look at the blog post and instructions here – click this link

There is quite a bit of prep for this craft but it’s so worth the effort. It looks lovely!

This year I thought I would add some extra characters from the Christmas story.

There are templates – you may want to alter the shepherds head – it looks a little lopsided!! (sorry) The link to download – Christmas Stained Glass Window Template

IMG_4631

Journey to Bethlehem – week 4 – The Angel visits Mary

This week we get very near to Bethlehem! The story is the Angel’s visit to Mary from Luke 1:26-38.

Bible story – from Luke 1:26-38.

(Include actions in the story if you can – ask the children and adults to join in)

‘One day Mary was at home. It was just an ordinary day. Mary was cleaning the house (some actions here – maybe dusting or sweeping).

But then something extraordinary happened! An angel came to see her! Now angels are not like fairies. Angels are big and strong! (actions here too). The angel that came to see Mary was called Gabriel (ask everyone to repeat the name). He had a message from God.

‘You are going to have a very special baby,’ he said to Mary. ‘This baby will be God’s Son and he will be King forever.’

Who was this baby? This baby, that the angel talked about, was Jesus.

Mary listened. (everyone touch their ears). She knew that this promised baby would be very, very special and important.’

All the paper plates so far will be on display…

New plate to add……

IMG_3699

And an angel craft idea…

All you need is paper plates cut into wedges, doilies cut into quarters, circles, wool, shiny paper and wool. You can either draw on the eyes and smile beforehand or let the children do it.

Another Christmas star idea!

Christmas star craft

Yesterday I posted a Christmas Card Star idea. Today another idea using the same star wreath. This time you can paint the star or decorate with stickers and then use tissue paper for a stained glass effect.

IMG_2949

I used paint markers to create the dots. As with all paint check that what you use is washable and have aprons or warn parents/carers that there will be paint! I bought Washable Dab and Dot Markers. They are for 3plus years but if you put the lids out of reach and keep a watchful eye they are ok. If you don’t feel 100% comfortable with using something in your group then don’t use it.

The two ideas…

Star wreaths are from Baker Ross

Christmas Star to make

IMG_2952 (1)

This is so easy and uses up Christmas cards! The star shape is from Baker Ross. I kept my Christmas cards from last year but wasn’t quite sure what to do with them until I was planning for Christmas and a friend told me about star shaped wreaths!

For toddlers I’m cutting out nativity themed pictures plus a few winter robins and I’ve added the choice of tissue paper too. I went with green and red but silver and gold would be lovely!

Older children could cut out their own motifs from a selection of cards.

Christmas story paper plates

These paper plates can be used to tell the Christmas story and/or as craft ideas. They need some prep so I’m posting them now!

The Angel Gabriel visits Mary – Luke 1:26-38

 

Jesus is born – Luke 2:1-7

The shepherds are told about the birth of the Saviour – Luke 2:8-21

You can tell the story a little at a time over three weeks or use the plates altogether

IMG_3703

They are made from sturdy paper plates that have a rim (not the cheapest but they need to stand up to being taken out of a story bag). The picture backgrounds are made from tissue paper and the scenes and people use paper, sugar paper, crepe paper, cardboard rolls (stable) wool, cotton wool and shiny paper. The angel wings are hearts cut out using a paper punch. The bodies of the people are triangles and the head scarfs (I can’t think of a better word!) are material. Lots of different textures and colours! Use what you have 🙂

Christmas craft fun!

Lots of making today at Toddler Group – sequins and shredded tissue paper here,there and everywhere but beautiful baubles were made and a simple nativity. I think I prefer sequins instead of glitter for making baubles and the children loved them.

I love celebrating Christmas at Toddler Group 🙂

Christmas baubles craft

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All you need to make these decorations  – circles cut out of card (I use a paper punch), an oblong with a hole for string, glue and sequins. I’m going to ask parents to put the child’s name and date on the back so that this becomes a keepsake.

To minimise sequin spillage (!) each child will have a paper plate to catch sequins! (I hope this works)

Angel to make

To make this angel all you need is – paper plate (cut out a triangle for the angel’s body), circle for the angel’s face, shredded tissue paper for the hair, black felt tip to draw a face, ribbon to make a hook so the angel can be used as a decoration and yellow tissue paper, shiny paper and glitter to decorate the angel’s wings and body. And glue!

We aren’t using glitter at our toddler group because we made so much mess last year! The shiny paper was a good substitute. Sequins would be fun too.

 

Here’s some that the children made last week

The Angel visits Mary

angel visits Mary

The Angel visits Mary Bible story – from Luke 1:26-38.

(Include actions in the story if you can – ask the children and adults to join in)

‘One day Mary was at home. It was just an ordinary day. Mary was cleaning the house (some actions here – maybe dusting or sweeping).

But then something extraordinary happened! An angel came to see her! Now angels are not like fairies. Angels are big and strong! (actions here too – make a big shape with your arms and then flex muscles). The angel that came to see Mary was called Gabriel (ask everyone to repeat the name). He had a message from God.

‘You are going to have a very special baby,’ he said to Mary. ‘This baby will be God’s Son and he will be King forever.’

Who was this baby? This baby, that the angel talked about, was Jesus.

Mary listened. (everyone touch their ears). She knew that this promised baby would be very, very special and important.

Jesus is very, very special and important. He is God’s Son who came to earth to be the Saviour.’

Craft Ideas – make angels

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Square paper plate angel – cut out the wings and use tissue paper to create a stained glass effect.

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Paper cup/ice cream pot angel. Use a circle for the face and add a pipe cleaner halo.

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Story bag ideas – a doll to represent Mary or Early Learning Centre Nativity Set. You could add a duster and a dustpan and brush and your angel craft to represent Gabriel.

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Some more angels to make in this post using paper plates

Jesus is born – craft

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We made these last year and in a couple of weeks time will make them again at our Holiday Bible Club Christmas Special. The paper plate is cut to form a simple manger shape and then the plate is decorated using coloured tissue paper, a star and some shredded tissue paper. Once this is all done you fold the plate in half so it stands up! This is very simple to make and looks great.

This would be a lovely craft to make at home.

Here’s the one I made last year….SAM_1371

Christmas – paper plate stained glass nativity

‘And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.’

Luke 1:30,31

 

Make a stained glass ‘window’

You will need – black square paper plates, black paper for the stars (my paper punch wouldn’t go through the paper plate), star paper punch, assorted bright coloured tissue paper (torn or cut into smallish pieces), glue, cover film (Tacky back)

The paper plate is the window. Cut out the centre and fill the gap with the tacky back – sticky side on the same side as the black rim of the plate. Don’t discard the tacky back backing yet but use it to cover the sticky side till you are ready to make the window.

Cut the simple shapes to represent Mary, Joseph and the manger from the part of the paper plate that was cut out to make the window frame.

To make – stick lots of flat pieces of tissue paper over the tacky back covering it.

Glue on Mary, Joseph, the manger and star making sure that the black side of the shapes is at the front.

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Simple Christmas Craft – baby in the manger

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This craft has a bit of preparation – there is some cutting out for an adult or older child to do. I made a template to speed the process up!

All you need to make the ‘baby in the manger’ scene is :-

Good quality paper plates – preferably with a definite rim. You will be using the back of the plate.

Tissue paper cut into squares – dark blue and yellow

Shredded tissue paper – yellow

Brown paper cut into small squares

Grey/dark crayons to shade the silhouette of the baby’s head

Stars

Glue sticks

To make –

Have an example to show the children and explain what it is that they are making.

Stick the tissue paper and brown paper followed by shredded tissue to make the straw. Add the star and shade the silhouette of the babies head.

For this stage give children an additional paper plate to act as a support under the craft plate. It will make sticking much easier.

When everything has dried the final stage is to fold the plate.

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Christmas Paper Plate Ideas

These paper plates were made as an aid to telling the Christmas story but they could easily be adapted to be crafts. I had a lot of fun making them 🙂 They would make a lovely family craft activity to make during advent and then display at Christmas. And if you want a family craft at a church group then there is lots for a child and adult to enjoy.

All you need  – good quality paper plates (these were from waitrose!), wool, tissue paper, material, triangles for the body shapes, heart shapes for the angel wings, shredded tissue paper, cotton wool, cardboard tubes/rolls. And any art/collage supplies you fancy! For glue I used double sided tape for the cardboard tubes and glue sticks.

angel visits Mary

the baby in the manger

angels visit the shepherds

 

 

Advent calendar day 6

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Isaiah 25:9 ‘It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’ ‘

A song to listen to.

A craft to make

Stained glass nativity

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See the original post for this here. There is a PDF file of the template for you to print. Nativity Stained Glass Window

 

Advent calendar day 5

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Micah 5:2 ‘But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.’

Something to listen to – Nat King Cole 

A Christmas picture

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A craft to make

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collage

see the original post for Bethlehem craft here

Snowflake craft/DIY

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All you need for this snowflake craft – beads and 3 pipe cleaners. Couldn’t be easier! Just criss cross the pipe cleaners to make a star shape and add the beads. Turn the pipe cleaner ends over slightly so the beads stay on. That’s it!

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Advent calendar day 3

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Isaiah 9:6 ‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting father, Prince of Peace.’

Craft idea for today – paper plate wreath with a crepe paper ribbon.

 

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Something to listen to and enjoy taken from today’s verse from the Bible

A Christmas picture

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The angels were made from Ellen Giggenbach’s book ‘Papercraft Christmas’.

 

 

 

Advent calendar day 4

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Isaiah 7:14 ‘Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.’

Craft to make – mini circular snowflakes to decorate your home

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Something to listen to- Christmas is a-comin Bing Crosby.

 

Advent calendar day 2

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Isaiah 9:6 ‘ For to us a child has been born, to us a son is given..’

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Craft idea – make a sheep for the shepherds –  print the sheep outline from the PDF and cover the sheep with wool or cotton wool.

Sheep PDF file for you to print

 

Mary and the angel Gabriel

The visit of the angel Gabriel to mary is recorded in Luke 1:26 -36.

This is an important part of the christmas story but can be difficult to tell to young children. I opt for sticking to the main points of the story. There is a craft at the end opf this post.

To tell the story

A story bag with Mary and the angel inside. Or you could have them in a box wrapped like a present.

A long time ago there was a woman called Mary (Take mary from the bag/present). She was looking forward to getting married. One day she was busy at home when someone came to see her.

Was it her mum? No

Was it Joseph who she was going to marry? No

lets find out – (take the angel from the bag/present). An angel had been sent from God to tell mary some news. The angels name was Gabriel. He was a big, strong messenger from God.

‘God is pleased with you.’ The angel said. ‘Don’t be afraid. God has chosen you to have a special baby. He will be God’s son. He will rule over a Kingdom’

How is this possible? Mary asked

God will make this happen. God can do anyhing he wants’. The angel said.

What an amazing message! Mary agreed to be the mum of this special baby.

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Angel craft – you need – white paper for the body, circle head and pens to draw on features, sparkly pip cleaner, wool, silver heart shapes (at least two per angel but you can use more to make the wigs larger), glue, A4 paper or card.

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Button Christmas card to make

This is a lovely idea and very easy to make. You need to be patient though – let the glue dry completely or the buttons will fall off!

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Christmas heart wreath

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To make this wreath you will need a paper plate with the centre cut out. Paint this red or green. Leave to dry. Cut out lots of hearts in christmasy paper – a paper punch like the one in the photo will save a lot of time. Older children could use one but I would prepare the hearts ahead of time. Glue these to the paper plate wreath. Add ribbon.

You could use coloured paper plates but make sure the glue you have sticks to them, especially if they look shiny. Wired ribbon will hold a bow shapes fairly well. I bought the one in the photo from Costco.

Super-easy icicle Christmas tree decoration

I found this decoration idea on Pinterest. Take a look at the original by Happy Hooligans here. It is so simple and easy to make but also looks great. There is no need for glue or paint either!

All you need are some glittery pipe cleaners, beads – I used circular and star shaped and a pencil to wrap the pipe cleaner around to make the spiral shape.

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Make a ‘knot’ at the bottom of the spiral by twisting the pipe cleaner around a few times so that the beads don’t fall off.

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Thread the beads on. I chose to leave spaces between groups of three. At the end of the pipe cleaner make a hook shape so it will hang from the Christmas tree.

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I loved making this craft. It is so simple but looks fabulous! It is only suitable for children over 5 years old as the beads are a chocking hazard.

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Button Craft Christmas tree

Button craft Christmas tree. This is a lovely simple craft to make at home or with a group. It’s fairly flexible – you don’t need to use buttons, tissue paper, wrapping paper, stickers will all work well. Children don’t have to fill in all the circles but if you want to make this a little more educational they can do some shape matching.

The buttons in this craft make the tree a little bit extra special. Older children can match the correct sized button to the circles. Use PVA glue as buttons are heavier than paper/card and will need a strong glue to stick firmly. Make sure there is plenty of time for the glue to dry before these are taken home or the buttons will fall off!  

If under fives are going to be doing the craft use stickers instead as buttons are a chocking hazard. 

If you like you can also add glitter glue/ glitter and a star on the top. For the star a star shaped sticker would be great.

Use the PDF file to print the trees onto card – it will work better than paper, although if paper is all you have that’s OK. Coloured card works really well, take a look at the example below.

Finally, the tree can be cut out, some ribbon attached to the top, and you have a lovely, home made Christmas decoration. Don’t forget to add the child’s name and the date to the back.

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Button craft Christmas tree

Button craft Christmas tree.
Button craft Christmas tree detail

For another Christmas tree craft have a look at this post – Stained glass Christmas tree

To buy some Buttons suitable for crafts from Amazon follow this link. This post contains affiliate links, if you click and purchase the item I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Your support in this way is really appreciated.

Super easy Christmas tree picture

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This is a super easy Christmas Tree picture. Use the PDF christmas tree to print either a template or straight on to green paper/card. Cut out and stick onto a dark background. Decorate the tree with sequins, buttons and ribbon and a star.

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‘Gingerbread house’ ideas…

Christmas is coming! Here are some gingerbread/cookie ideas. Click on the links to go direct to the websites. I like these ideas because they are simple but very effective and fun.

non cook, cardboard Gingerbread house from inner child fun

Lovely, simple cookie house from foodgizmo

Kid Friendly christmas cookies

Simple gingerbread house – found on Betty Crocker website. This is far easier than making a traditional gingerbread house as there is no need to try and stick walls to each other. Much easier if there is a group of children.

1-2-3 Gingerbread Houses

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