Christmas Archives - Let their light shine!

Is Jesus the forever king?

Is Jesus the forever king? This lesson is the final part of our toddler group Bible story series, “Who is the Forever King?” If you are looking for a simple toddler group Bible story for Christmas, this interactive lesson shows young children how Jesus fulfills God’s promises in the Bible. We began with King David and God’s promise to David,

Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ 2 Samuel 7:16.

We have told simple stories about David, Solomon, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah and Josiah. These kings are all mentioned in Matthew 1 in the genealogy of Jesus, the son of David.

Why did we put the Christmas Toddler Group story in a series about kings?

We tell a toddler friendly Bible story every week at toddler group and we wanted to place the Christmas story in the context of the whole Bible. If you need a Christmas toddler Bible lesson that connects the Old and New Testaments, this approach helps children see the bigger picture.

You can also explore our Journey to Bethlehem series of toddler Bible stories in this post for more inspiration.

This time we shifted our focus to the promise given to David that there would be a forever King on his throne.

Links to the stories in this ‘Who is the forever King?’ toddler Bible story series

To tell each Bible story you need six weeks (this includes the Toddler Christmas Bible story)

Week One – Is David the forever King? read the post here
Week Two – Is Solomon the forever King? Bible story idea here
Week Three – Is Jehoshaphat the forever King? Bible story and craft here
Week Four – Is Hezekiah the forever King? read the post here
Week Five – Is Josiah the forever King? the story is here
Week six – Is Jesus the forever King?

Props and pictures to use in the series

We made use of free printables from Free Bible Images for the kings. They are available here. The chosen images were printed onto card, cut out and a lollipop stick was added to make a puppet.

We also made an A3 poster with the series title, ‘Who is the Forever King?’ a name card for each King and added velcro to the back of the King puppets so we could build up our picture board each week. The ‘yes’ or ‘no’ was added at the end of each Bible story.

Although toddlers won’t be reading these names the adults will and it helps them to be involved and listening to the Bible story.

King puppet for the Toddler Bible Story series, 'Who is the Forever King?' — The King puppets for the Toddler Bible story series, ‘Who is the forever King?’

Toddler Group Christmas Bible Story Script – Is Jesus the forever King?

This short, 10-minute toddler group Bible story script is designed for preschool children, toddlers, and their parents. It uses simple repetition and props to keep young minds engaged. Read through the narrative below or use it as an outline for your toddler group nativity story session.

Is Jesus the forever king? visual aid for telling a toddler group Bible story

To tell the story – you need puppets or dolls representing the following plus a manger. If you don’t have puppets or dolls there is a paper plate alternative below.

Mary
Angel Gabriel
Joseph
Donkey – optional as it isn’t mentioned in the bible
Baby
Shepherds

Here’s the links to how to make a paper plate nativity – angels, manger with baby, shepherds

Preschool nativity made from paper plates

OR you could use dolls –

Is Jesus the forever king? storytelling dolls

Is Jesus the forever king? Toddler Group Bible story

Luke 1:26-38, 2:1-16

We are still looking for the forever King! The king that will be on the throne of David forever. Lets see if we find him today.

A long time ago there was a woman called Mary. One day she had a very surprising visitor with a very surprising message!

It was an angel, a big strong messenger sent from God who said to Mary, ‘ You are going to have a very special baby. You must give him the name Jesus. He will be God the son and God will give him the throne of David. His kingdom will never, ever end.’

The forever king was going to be born! He was going to be the very best king and the most powerful king in the whole world.

Mary listened to the angel and she was willing to be the bay’s mum.

But then just before the baby was going to be born Mary and Joseph had to go on a long journey to Bethlehem. Bethlehem was their home town (and it had also been King Davids home town). They might have taken a donkey to carry their bags. It took quite a while.

‘Are we nearly there yet?’ No not quite. They carried on. Are we nearly there yet? Almost. They carried on. Are we nearly there yet? Yes we’re here! But oh no there’s no where to stay.

Mary and Joseph ended up staying where the animals were. And that night the Lord Jesus was born. He was an ordinary baby – with fingers and toes and a nose and mouth and eyes. But he was God’s forever king too.

Outside Bethlehem there were shepherds looking after their sheep. It was really dark with stars shining in the sky. Suddenly an angel was there with them. They were terrified.

‘Don’t be afraid’, the angel said, ‘today in the city of David, a Saviour has been born. You will find him all wrapped up and lying in a manger.’ Then lots of angels filled the sky singing. And then they were gone and it was dark again.

‘Let’s go and find him’ the shepherds said to one another. So the rushed down the hill, through the town and they looked for the forever king who is the Saviour – and they found him.

Jesus is the Saviour sent for you and me. Is he the forever King? Yes! The shepherds found him and we can find him too.

Easy Toddler Christmas Craft: Stained glass Paper Plate Nativity

This paper plate nativity craft is a fun, easy toddler group Christmas craft that doubles as a keepsake decoration for parents. It works brilliantly alongside any preschool nativity Bible story. It doesn’t matter if the picture isn’t coloured neatly! Allow the toddlers to make it their own.

Materials needed for the Toddler Craft

Paper plates – I used brown plates
Yellow tissue paper – this can be shredded like straw. This is quite messy so if you prefer less mess use torn tissue paper.
Crayons (avoid very dark blue and black)
Christmas wrapping paper odds and ends cut into shapes toddlers can easily pick up.
Glue
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.

Christmas Toddler craft free download

Nativitiy-Scene-paper-plate Download

To make the paper plate Christmas Toddler craft

decorate the nativity first
then fold along the line marked (adult help needed)
add glue to the plain are of the nativity picture and stick in the centre of the plate.
Cover the plate with tissue paper straw and add any other decorations to the rim of the plate.
Make sure to add the toddlers name too

If you tried this interactive toddler Bible lesson or paper plate nativity craft, I’d love to hear how it went! Leave a comment below or share your group’s finished creations with us.

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.

Nativitiy Scene (paper plate)Download

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.

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.’

Puppet representing Isaiah to use in storytelling

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

The Cast of Christmas are ready!

The cast of Christmas are ready! I’m really looking forward to telling the Christmas Story with these guys .. made by my super talented mum. The Wise Men are my favourites 🙂 Here’s a link to the Alan Dart pattern my mum used. (Affiliate link – if you click and buy the item I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you)

You can use the characters over several weeks and build up a nativity tableau. They are a great size and fit well in a story bag or basket. I add some toy sheep for the shepherds and we have some soft toy camels for the Wise Men.

If you are planning on making them give yourself plenty of time or ask for help! My mum used Stylecraft Special DK from Wool Warehouse. It is reasonably priced yarn that comes on lots of colours. Of course you could also ask for donations of yarn from friends and family.

If you don’t have time to do some knitting you can make a nativity set from paper plates – have a look at this post.

The cast of Christmas is ready

Knitted doll nativity for story telling at Christmas

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

Birth of Jesus Story Video

The Birth of Jesus story video for young children to enjoy. Jesus’ birth is the heart of Christmas. This story video begins with the journey to Bethlehem and ends with the Shepherds visit.

Feel free to use and share.

A lovely craft idea to do – make a Christmas collage using wrapping paper and Christmas cards. If making with young children cut the shapes beforehand. If making with your own child at home you could have a go at teaching some cutting skills using child friendly scissors. Always take care!

Birth of Jesus Story video craft idea to do.

Here’s a link to a pinterest board with lots of Christmas craft ideas

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

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

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)

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!

Happy Christmas!

‘Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, love divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and angels gave the sign.’

Christina Rossetti

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10

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.

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.

A free download of the baby baby-jesus-x-8-1 Download

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!

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.

Celebrate Epiphany stained glass effect paper plate craft

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

Happy Christmas to you!

Thank you for visiting this blog! I just want to wish you a very Happy Christmas and a blessed New Year.

This is my last post of 2018. To finish, here are some photos from the Toddler Group parties that I’ve been involved with over the past week. One was a birthday party for Jesus – with a cake! Father Christmas came to see us last Thursday (real shame there were no elves to wrap gifts! – wrapping 60 books was not all that much fun). I put the gingerbread house and train together the night before one party. Some ideas seem so great till you are several hours into decorating and it still isn’t finished. But no doubt I will forget this and do another one next year. (Only with better decoration!)

Each Christmas I really enjoy telling the Christmas Bible stories. What a truly wonderful thing it is that Jesus came as a baby. It always fills me with a sense of wonder.

‘And while they were there (Bethlehem), the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.’ Luke 2:6-7

Journey to Bethlehem – week 6 – The Shepherds

So far we have had stories about Creation, the Fall, Abraham, the angel visiting Mary and the birth of Jesus. Our last story in our journey to Bethlehem series is all about the shepherds. Luke 2:8-20

Bible Story from Luke 2:8-20

Bible truth for toddlers – Jesus is the Saviour

‘The baby sent from God was tucked up in the manger. Mary and Joseph were there to look after him. Do you remember his name? He was called Jesus. There they were that night – just the three of them.

Meanwhile, out of the town, in the hills, there were shepherds. Shepherds look after sheep. What sound does a sheep make?

It was dark – the shepherds were making sure that all the sheep were safe.

Then suddenly something happened that made the shepherds really scared! There was an angel – and the angel was surrounded by bright light.

‘Don’t be afraid’, the angel said, ‘I bring you good news of great joy that is for everyone, everywhere. Today, a Saviour has been born. You will find him lying in a manger.’

Then lots of angels were there singing. And then they were gone and it was dark again.

The shepherds looked at each other, ‘Let’s go and see this thing that’s happened that God has told us about.’

So off they went – down the hill, through the town, looking here, looking there – until they found Jesus. They found the Saviour.

We can find Jesus too. He is still the Saviour sent from God for everyone, everywhere. We won’t find him in a manger – but we can know him as our Saviour.‘

Another paper plate…to add

All the paper plates from our Journey to Bethlehem

Days of creation paper plates — Week One – Creation https://lettheirlightshine.com/2015/11/04/journey-to-bethlehem/

Week Two – The Fall https://lettheirlightshine.com/2018/11/14/journey-to-bethlehem-week-2/

Week Three – Abraham https://lettheirlightshine.com/2018/11/23/journey-to-bethlehem-week-3/

Week Four – The Angel visits Mary https://lettheirlightshine.com/2018/11/28/journey-to-bethlehem-week-4/

Jesus is born paper plate picture — Week Five – Jesus is born https://lettheirlightshine.com/2018/12/05/journey-to-bethlehem-week-5/

The Shepherds and the angels paper plate picture — Week Six – The Shepherds find Jesus

Journey to Bethlehem – week 5 – Jesus is born

This week we arrive in Bethlehem!

The story is from Luke 2:1-7.

I often start story time by introducing the characters – in this story we’ll all say hello to Mary and then to Joseph as I take them out of the story bag. (The knitted characters are from an Alan Dart pattern – available from his website or from Amazon)

The Story

‘Mary and Joseph had to go on a long journey. They needed to go all the way to Bethlehem. Maybe they took one of these with them – take donkey out of the story bag. What noise does a donkey make? Everyone join in with ‘eeyore (hee-haw)’

When they got to the town of Bethlehem they needed to find somewhere to stay. Mary’s baby was soon going to be born.

They looked and they looked. They knocked on the door of the hotel. ‘We must find somewhere soon!’ they said to each other.

The hotel boss answered the door – ‘No room here!’ he said

Oh no! (Everyone repeat this)

‘But maybe you could stay where the animals are?’ he said.

It was better than having nowhere to go. So that was where Mary and Joseph went. And there Jesus was born.

He was a real baby – with 10 fingers and 10 toes and a nose and two eyes and two ears. But he was also very special because he is God’s Son. The Bible gives him a special name – Immanuel – which means ‘God with us’. ‘ (Matthew 1:23)

We’ll add another paper plate to our Journey to Bethlehem display..

So altogether we have …..

We will be making Christmas star wreaths as our craft..

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……

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.

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

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

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 🙂

Happy Christmas!

Thank you for taking the time to visit this blog and for leaving comments here and in a couple of Christmas cards 🙂 I hope that you have a very Happy Christmas.

‘And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.’ Luke 2:6-7

The Cast of Christmas are ready!

If you don’t have time to do some knitting you can make a nativity set from paper plates – have a look at this post.

The cast of Christmas

The 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

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

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

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.

Some more angels to make in this post using paper plates

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.

Simple Christmas Craft – baby in the manger

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.

Nativity at home

We’ve had our Early Leaning Centre Nativity for about 14 years and it is still going strong. Sadly the new sets no longer have a stable 🙁 But with some shredded tissue paper for straw and a big catering size foil dish to keep the tissue paper contained, you have a place to display an play with the nativity figures.

Luke 2:11 colouring – with a PDF that works!

Sorry if you had this post on facebook with a missing link. It’s all sorted now 🙂

Luke 2v11 colouring activityB

Journey to Bethlehem – week 1 – God made everything good

Journey To Bethlehem is a series of Bible Stories that take us from the very beginning of the Bible up to the first Christmas. There are six stories in the series with ideas for visual aids and crafts. We have used these stories several times in the half term leading up to Christmas in our Toddler Group.

The stories are

Creation Genesis 1
The Fall Genesis 3
Noah Genesis 6 & 7
Abraham Genesis 15
Angel Gabriel visiting Mary Luke 1:26-38
The birth of Jesus Luke 2:1-7
Visit of the Shepherds Luke 2:8-20

We start with creation and everything being made good. Next week the fall and things no longer being good and then onwards to Jesus being born. God’s Saviour sent for us.

The Creation story is going to be told using an idea that I found here – It Happens in a Blink.

Creation paper plates

Here’s some of the paper plates in close up. I had a lot of fun making them. You need sturdy paper plates! I decided not to have a blank plate for day seven. I did see an idea that included lots of zzzz for resting but God didn’t go to sleep, he just stopped making because everything was complete and perfect. He doesn’t need to rest in the way that we do. He never slumbers or sleeps 🙂

Week 1 story

We are going on a journey – all the way to Bethlehem!

Let’s begin. Everything was very quiet and then God began to make things form nothing! He just spoke and things began to happen..

As I tell the story we will count the days together and name what we can see on the plates. After each day we will say ‘it was all very good’ and do a thumbs up. This will be our action for this weeks story.

We have started our journey to Bethlehem!

How to tell the series over 6 weeks

You can find all the stories in this series here on the blog with a different paper plate for each story. (You will see that the snake is not a paper plate – but if you don’t have a pre-cut spiral a paper plate would be fine. Just decorate and then cut into a spiral shape) The links to each story are with each picture.

As you go through the weeks display the paper plates until in week 6 they are all displayed 🙂

Creation paper plates — Week One – Creation

Abraham and stars picure — Week Three – Abraham

Journey to Bethlehem the angel visits Mary picture — Week Four – The Angel visits Mary

Journey to Bethlehem birth of Jesus — Week Five – Jesus is born

Angels visit the shepherds picture — Week Six – The Shepherds find Jesus

Everything you need to make the paper plates in the story series

Sturdy paper plates
Glue
Tissue paper
Pipe cleaners
Beads
Crepe paper
Cardboard tubes
Face shapes
Yarn
Cotton wool
Googly eyes

Note – this post includes affiliate links – if you click and purchase we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps fund the blog. Thank you!

Advent calendar day 6

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

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 4

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

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

The angels and shepherds – Christmas

Christmas is almost here!

The story of the first Christmas is a lovely story to tell. Children can also act out what happened and dress up as the different characters.

There are different ways to tell the story-

– use a nativity set and a story bag. Place all the figures inside and take them out when you need them.

– use objects to represent the different people in the story – a toy sheep, a shepherd’s crook, the cloths to wrap the baby in. Add other items- straw for the stable, stars,

– adults could dress up for the different parts and either one person narrate the story or people have speaking parts.

When you tell the story it’s good to remind the audience that it comes from the Bible – so have a Bible to show. The events of the first Christmas are recorded in Luke 2:1-21.

The magi (wise men, kings) don’t visit the stable but arrive some time later. Their visit is recorded in Matthew 2:1-12.

Advent calendar day 2

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

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

Advent Calendar Day 1

Each day of advent I plan to post a photo of our advent candle/s, a verse from the Bible relating to the Christmas season and a Christmassy picture. Some days I hope to include a craft idea too. Keep visiting each day to discover the next Bible verse and picture.

Isaiah 9:2 ‘The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined’

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!

Christmas heart wreath

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Christmas_Tree_(Buttons)

Button craft Christmas tree

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.

Christmas stocking decorations

This is a very easy craft to prepare. Cut out a stocking shape using sugar/construction paper. Leave a space at the top for the child’s name. Make a hole with a hole punch so the stocking can be hung up as a decoration. (This is optional)

The children can decorate the stocking with crayons/felt tips/ sequins/ stickers/ glitter. Apart from the stocking shape this is quite an open ended craft activity. Give the children lots of different materials to choose from but let them decorate the stocking as they wish.

Why did we put the Christmas Toddler Group story in a series about kings?

Links to the stories in this ‘Who is the forever King?’ toddler Bible story series

Props and pictures to use in the series

Toddler Group Christmas Bible Story Script – Is Jesus the forever King?

Is Jesus the forever king? Toddler Group Bible story

Easy Toddler Christmas Craft: Stained glass Paper Plate Nativity

Materials needed for the Toddler Craft

Christmas Toddler craft free download

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All you need to make a gingerbread house inspired scene

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The Saviour is here! Bible Story

Bible Truth for Toddlers – Jesus is the Saviour

Christmas craft idea

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Joseph and the Angel story

angel craft

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The Saviour is Promised – Bible Story

The Saviour is Promised craft ideas

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The cast of Christmas is ready

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Let’s meet Anna and Simeon Bible Story Idea

Anna and Simeon to make

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Candle decoration To make

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Everything you need for the star decoration

How to make the star

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Bible Story from Luke 2:8-20

Another paper plate…to add

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The cast of Christmas

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Creation paper plates

Week 1 story

How to tell the series over 6 weeks

Everything you need to make the paper plates in the story series

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Button craft Christmas tree

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