Is Christmas Over Group
Group Activities

Sermon Title: "Is Christmas Really Over?"

Scripture Reading: John 1:10-18

"IS CHRISTMAS REALLY OVER" CLEANUP: Tell the children that when the teacher says, "IS CHRISTMAS REALLY OVER", each child will find ONE item in the room that was for Christmas and will take it down and put into a box and then sit down. Repeat this activity until everything relating to Christmas has been taken down and put away. Tell the children to listen carefully to today's lesson to find out if Christmas is really over?

FIND JESUS GAME: Divide the children into two groups. Have two trash bags filled with used wrapping paper with a small "baby Jesus" hidden among the wrapping paper in the bag. Tell the teams that their task is to try to FIND JESUS in the wrappings. Time each group to see which group finds Jesus first. After each group has found Jesus, remind the children that we must be careful that Jesus is not lost in all the wrappings of Christmas.

CHRISTMAS BELL FILL IN THE BLANKS: Draw a large bell for children to cut out and decorate around the edges with Ric Rac or glitter. Give each child a piece of paper with these words from our lesson written on it with a few key words missing that the children will fill in after gluing it on to the bell. THE W_____ became flesh and came to live among us. The "W_______" that the B_______ is talking about is J_____. He came, full of L_____, and we have seen His glory. We have seen the glory of God's only begotten S____."

CHRISTMAS GIFT: Give each child a small box and some wrapping paper which is a plain color (NOT Christmas wrapping). Have the children wrap the box and write on a label "CHRISTMAS GOES ON ALL YEAR LONG" and attach it to the wrapped gift. Tell the children to take the box home and keep it to remind them that Christmas is NOT over.

ALL YEAR CHART: Give the children a sheet of construction paper and provide them with magazine pictures and words that the teacher has cut out before class of things that we have all year long. (For example: JESUS, friends, family, school, work, God's love, home, clothes, and church.) Have the children write ALL YEAR WE HAVE..... and then glue the words and pictures of things that we'll have all year on the poster.

CALENDAR MAKING: Give each child a calender for the new year. (Many businesses give them away as advertising.) Give the children colored markers and encourage them to write JESUS, or GOD'S WORD, or GOD"S LOVE, across each month of the calendar for all 12 months. A different word can be drawn across each month if the child prefers. Let the children take their calendar gift home for the year.

CROSS GIFT: Provide the children with a sheet of construction paper. Have them draw a cross on the paper and cut it out and write on it, "Thank you FATHER for the gift of your SON". They will then fold the cross into a rectangular shape and wrap it in red tissue paper. Encourage the children to give this gift to a friend and tell them about Jesus!

SING A SONG: EVERY DAY WITH JESUS

SNACK TIME: Give each child a bag of used wrapping paper with several pieces of wrapped candy hidden in the paper.

Song:  "Every Day with Jesus" by Wendell P. Loveless

Words and Music (pdf)

MP3 Accompaniment Track (right click to save to your computer)