Christmas craft Archives - Page 2 of 9

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.

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

Photos showing how to make a candle decoration using a cardboard tube and yarn

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)

joy-to-the-world-ribbon

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

You can print the above by clicking on download…

how-to-make-a-shepherd-1 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!

Category: Christmas craft

Let’s meet Anna and Simeon!