Sharla Kostelyk

Christ Focused Christmas Activities for Kids

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it can become easy to be swept up in the commercialism or the competitiveness and forget the true meaning of why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. In recent years, I have looked for Christ focused Christmas activities for my kids and in doing so, I have found that it has helped me as much as them to feel more peace during the holidays. It helps us all to look to God and to be thankful for the gift of Jesus, the most precious Christmas gift of all.

Image Copyright: ginosphotos / 123RF Stock Photo

Christ Focused Crafts and Activities:

We make sensory bottles in all kinds of themes and this year, I decided to create a Nativity Sensory Bottle.

I also re-used some of the same supplies and created a Nativity Slime and a Nativity Sensory Bag.

Manger Craft from here on The Chaos and The Clutter

25 Hands-On Nativity Lessons from Mama’s Happy Hive

Christ-Centered Advent Craft for Children from Housewife Eclectic

Christmas Story Bracelet and Poem from Adventures in Mommydom

One of our cherished holiday traditions are our Homemade Christmas Crackers with Scripture Verses. This Christ focused Christmas tradition is one that I adore.

Baby Jesus Envelope Craft from Mrs. Jones Creation Station

Names of Christ Tree from Mad in Crafts

Nativity Tree from Sun Hats and Wellie Boots or Make Your Own Nativity Tree

Nativity Christmas Worksheets from Learning 2 Walk

Nativity Sensory Bin from Growing Hands-On Kids

Nativity Chalk Silhouette from here on The Chaos and The Clutter

Matchbox Manger from The Craft Train

Nativity Song and Puppet Show from Let’s Play Music

Three Wise Men Playdough Invitation to Play from Growing Hands-on Kids

Lego Nativity Puzzles from I Can Teach My Child

Preschool Activity Pack including Do-a-Dot Sheet, Nativity Puzzle and Memory Game, Baby Jesus Maze and more from Teaching Mama

Lighted Shadowbox Nativity from I Can Teach My Child

Hands-On Nativity Story from Blessed Beyond a Doubt

Edible Baby Jesus Craft from Not Consumed

Bake a Birthday Cake and Sing Happy Birthday to Jesus

Acts of Christmas Kindness:

Kindness Countdown to Christmas from Coffee Cups and Crayons

Random Acts of Christmas Kindness from Not Consumed

Random Acts of Kindness Christmas Advent Calendar from Life Your Way

Alternate Advent Calendar – Acts of Kindness from Mum in the Madhouse

25 Days of Service from I Heart Naptime

22 Random Acts of Christmas Kindness from Pichea Place

Christmas Kindness Countdown Chain from Coffee Cups and Crayons

Operation Christmas Child (Samaritan’s Purse) – Putting together a shoebox of school supplies, hygiene products and toys for a child in an impoverished area is a beautiful way to not only give back, but also to help kids focus on how fortunate they are. They can also include a letter and picture with the gift which makes it even more personal. It is a special thing to do that impacts not only the child on the receiving end, but the family or child on the giving end as well.

The Kindness Elves from The Imagination Tree – these are a great alternative to the Elf on the Shelf.

Family Resources:

The Little People Nativity Set allows even young children to practice the story of Christmas in a hands-on way.

The Christ-Centered Christmas Family Traditions Systems includes some fabulous ideas to get your family focused on the true meaning of the season. Some of my favourites include the Christmas gifts for Jesus, the 30 Day Christmas Acts of Kindness and the printable banners and posters for your home.

Truth in the Tinsel, an Advent Experience for Little Hands is 24 days of Scripture reading, ornament crafts, talking points and extension activities for the whole family.

Melk, the Christmas Monkey is a tool for teaching God’s character to children through 30 fun Bible lessons and activities that the family can all enjoy during the Advent season.

Christmas Colouring:

The Best Christmas Gift Colouring Book (free printable)

I Love Baby Jesus Printable Nativity Scene for Colouring and Pasting

For Unto Us a Child is Born Colouring Sheet

Manger Scene Colouring Sheet

J is for Jesus Colouring Page

Nativity Colouring Pages

Christmas Children’s Books:

Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale Christmas in the Manger Who is Coming to Our House?Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story God Gave Us Christmas The Christmas Baby (Classic Board Books)‘Twas the Evening of Christmas The Little Drummer Boy Christmas Time: It’s All About Jesus!Stable Where Jesus Was Born The Christmas Baby (Classic Board Books)The First Christmas Night

Other:

Blessings Printable Gift Tags from Not Consumed

Family Nativity Scavenger Hunt from Joy in the Home

If you’re a parent or Sunday School teacher, you may also want to read these Bible object lessons that can be used with kids year-round.

Washi Tape Gift Bags for Christmas

By Sharla Kostelyk

My girls, like most other girls their age, are into crafting with washi tape. I picked up some rolls of holiday washi tape and we made some adorable mitten ornaments with it and to make these gift bags for Christmas.

Washi Tape Gift Bags for Christmas These couldn’t be simpler to make but it is such a nice touch to add a bit a personal touch to your gift wrap.

Materials needed:

paper favour bags (we used green and red)
washi tape
scissors
paper
permanent marker
glue
tissue paper (optional)

To create the gift bags with the Christmas tree decal on them, simply cut strips of holiday themed washi tape into varying lengths and stick them on the bag in the shape of a tree. You can add a small strip at the bottom to create the tree trunk.

Washi Tape Gift Bags To create the gift bags with the ornaments, you will first need to make your own paper by placing strips of washi tape on a page. You can do this randomly or in a pattern. We used the same type of technique when making our washi tape mitten ornaments.

Once you have made your patterned paper using the washi tape, cut a circle out. We find the easiest way to do this is to trace around a cup to make the circle and then cut along that line. Glue the circle to a gift bag and draw a ribbon on top of it with a permanent marker.

Washi Tape Bags for Christmas If you want to, you can also add names and embellishments to the bags with the permanent marker.

You can also add some tissue paper into the bags to complete the look. As easy as that you can create your own personalized gift bags!

For other easy Christmas activities, be sure to follow us on Pinterest and subscribe for our email newsletter updates.

Manger Craft for Kids

By Sharla Kostelyk

This manger craft for kids can be used for Christmas or as a Sunday School activity. Depending on the age of the kids, you may want to do some of the prep work ahead of time.

This manger craft for kids is perfect for Christmas or a Sunday School activity. Materials needed:

paper plate
scissors
brown paint
paintbrush
yellow tissue paper
glue
fabric scraps
mini popsicle sticks
permanent marker
yellow paper or card stock

The first step is to cut out half of the top of the paper plate, leaving the top ring intact (see picture below). This is the step that younger children may need help with. If doing this craft with preschoolers, you can prepare the paper plates ahead of time.

Manger Craft

Paint the paper plate with brown paint and allow the paint to dry. This is another step that may need to be done ahead of time depending on the amount of time you have to complete the activity with your class or group.

Cut a star out of yellow paper and glue it to the top of the plate. Create the manger by gluing strips of yellow tissue paper. The strips can be created either by cutting or tearing the tissue paper.

Wrap a short popsicle stick in a fabric scrap to create a baby Jesus and glue it to the manger area. Using a permanent marker, draw a face on the craft stick.

This simple baby Jesus in a manger craft is perfect for making after reading the Christmas story to your kids.

If you are looking for more Nativity crafts to do with your classroom or kids, check out these ideas:

When You Can’t Make Your Child’s Christmas Wish Come True

By Sharla Kostelyk

I wasn’t expecting to be writing this tonight. I thought I would be posting another kids’ Christmas craft or a holiday recipe. I have pictures of our recent projects edited and ready to share, but something happened today that stopped me in my tracks.

It was just another busy Tuesday. I dropped Snuggle Puppy off at school and three of the kids went to piano lessons so that left a small window of time that I had only Dancing Queen with me. She has grown a ton in recent months and outgrown her pants so I headed to the mall with her to buy some replacements. Right by the store we needed to go into was Santa and there was no line-up to see him.

She begged me to let her go tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas. I hesitated because we needed to hurry and because I knew I wouldn’t be buying the photo package. Then I gave my head a shake and said “of course” because I knew that at 9 years old, this might well be the last year she asks me to sit on Santa’s knee. I know better than most how quickly the time goes.

She ran up and sat with Santa. I turned to ask the attendant if I was allowed to take a picture with my cell phone and that’s when I heard it.

“What I want for Christmas is to hear.”

I wasn’t prepared for it. I wasn’t expecting it. It caught me off guard and I burst into tears. You see, our daughter has progressive hearing loss. There is nothing we can do to stop it.

As parents, we want to make life easier for our kids. We want to take away the things that stack the odds against them. We want to protect them from hurts. When something is hurting our child, we want to swoop in and fix it. But some things can’t be fixed.

Our daughter is losing her hearing. This same sweet girl has already lost her first father, her first mom, her oldest brother, her first language, her country of birth, and much of her culture. I want to scream “hasn’t she lost enough?!” I still can’t believe that she is losing her hearing too.

I can’t fix it. There is nothing within my power that can grant her Christmas wish. Even if I had more money and more connections, it is a gift that cannot be purchased at any store. And it’s the only thing she wants.

What can I tell her, this girl who still believes that wishes come true? What do I tell her brother who has been praying every night for months for his sister’s hearing to be restored?

I don’t want them to stop believing in miracles because miracles do happen. I have seen miracles. With God, nothing is impossible. Nothing. And yet, I am afraid that if I continue to let them pray for this particular miracle, their faith will be shattered. It’s complicated and I don’t know if I’m walking the tightrope between reality and hope properly.

So how do you cope when you can’t make your child’s Christmas wish come true? I’m not talking about a wish for a high priced toy. I’m the kind of mom who has no problem saying no to wants like the newest or coolest gadget or gizmo, but what happens when what your child wants is something you wish you could give them but can’t?

I have a friend whose husband works out of town. Their youngest daughter’s Christmas wish this year is for a new job for her daddy so that he can be home.

What about the child who prays that their parents’ marriage will be restored? The child whose wish is for grandpa to be with them for one more Christmas? The child who ask Santa for mommy’s cancer to go away?

What about the parents who can’t afford to give their children even the most basic of necessities at Christmas or any other time of year?

I don’t have an answer for any of those wishes. I don’t even know how to respond to my daughter. The Santa today said it best. I didn’t hear his response to my daughter, but I asked her later what he had said and she said, “that would be hard to do and I’m not sure if I can but I will try my best.”

When my daughter hopped off Santa’s lap and turned to say “thank you” to him, he SIGNED “thank you” in response. The kindness of that Santa gives me hope. It reminds me that even though I don’t have all the answers, kindness matters and so does truth.

So I tell my daughter that I hope for a miracle for her hearing and we won’t give up believing that God could heal her, but that there is also a chance that this wish may not come true. But that with or without her hearing, she is immensely loved.

Easy Snowflake Craft for Kids to Make

By Sharla Kostelyk

Many of our Christmas crafts have been ones that I have given the kids a clear set of instructions on. Although there is always leeway and ways for them to express their creativity, this time, I wanted to give them a project that was more open-ended. I set out a variety of supplies and gave no instructions other than to create snowflakes. The results of this easy snowflake craft were amazing!

I created a little craft station on the kitchen table for the kids. I set out white and blue paint, both regular and jumbo popsicle sticks, craft glue, glitter, glitter glue, white feathers, gems, large snowflake confetti, permanent markers, and sequins.

It’s always interesting to sit back and watch my kids create. The girls went right away for the larger popsicle sticks while the boys chose the skinnier ones. I suspect it’s because the large ones allowed the girls to add a lot more STUFF, but I’m not sure!

None of my kids chose to paint their sticks blue, which is also interesting. Once their white paint was dry, they glued their sticks into a snowflake shape and began to add embellishments. The boys went for simple (i.e.: permanent markers and/or glitter glue) while the girls really planned theirs out.

The girls placed items down on their sticks without adhering them at first to see what they would look like. They experimented with different patterns and a variety of looks before deciding which they liked best. They were very proud of their finished ornaments!

How to Make a Snowflake Craft:

This snowflake craft is simple to set up and easy for kids of all ages to create. From toddlers to preschoolers to Kindergarten and beyond, this seasonal activity can be adapted for anyone.

Materials needed:

regular or jumbo popsicle sticks (3 per snowflake)
blue and white paint
gems
sequins
craft glue
large snowflake confetti
feathers
glitter glue
permanent pens
ribbon to hang (we used a sparkly blue wrapping ribbon, but any ribbon or string will do)

Set out the craft supplies, glue and paint.
Allow the kids to be creative in planning out their snowflake craft.
If they want to paint the popsicle sticks, you will need to allow the paint to dry before continuing on to the decorating. For younger kids, you may want to start them off with the popsicle sticks already painted and glued together.
Give your students time to create snowflakes however they want to.
Once the glue has dried, you can attach a ribbon to the back of the snowflakes with tape or hot glue to hang it on the Christmas tree.

I love the uniqueness of each of the finished snowflakes. The sparkles of the gems and glitter catch the lights of the Christmas tree well. The ones with the feathers look lovely as well.

Adapting this snowflake craft for preschoolers and toddlers:

Paint the craft sticks ahead and allow them to dry. Glue them together into a snowflake. Use paper plates or small squares of tin foil to pour a bit of white glue for each child. Set out the supplies to decorate the snowflakes.

Let the kids use their creativity to create their own snowflake ornaments.

Edited to note: Thank you to everyone who has sent me pictures of this snowflake craft that you have made with your own kids, students or kids in your Sunday School or art class after seeing ours on Pinterest. It has been so neat to see how this simple craft idea has spread!

Here are some other simple Christmas crafts you may enjoy:

Snowflake Crafts and Activities for Kids

Ornaments made from Christmas Cards Nativity Chalk Silhouette

Washi Tape Mitten Ornaments

By Sharla Kostelyk

Of all the Christmas ornaments we’ve made this year, these washi tape mitten ornaments have got to be my favourite! They are so cute!

My girls are really into washi tape this year so I picked up four rolls of holiday washi tape when I saw it at the dollar store, knowing that we would find lots of things to create with it. We used it to decorate Christmas gift bags, embellish cards and to make these adorable mitten ornaments.

Materials needed:

Christmas washi tape
card stock
mitten cookie cutter
pencil or pen
scissors
glue
hole punch
string or wool

Stick washi tape on a piece of card stock. You can keep the lines straight or overlapping and haphazard. On some of our papers, I created patterns and on others, it was more random. There are so many variations to washi tape that no two sets of these mittens will be alike. You can also use some solid coloured washi tape in the mix to add even more options.

Once the paper is covered in washi tape, place a mitten shaped cookie cutter on top and trace it. Flip the cookie cutter over and trace another one facing the opposite direction.

Cut the mitten shapes out. Place the mitten pieces back to back so that the washi tape side is facing out and glue them together. Make another mitten in the same way to create a pair.

Wait for the glue to dry and then hole punch both of the mitten and string them together. We used a red and white string but wool would be a nice touch for this craft.

These ornaments are so cute hung on the tree!

If you want to create unique gift tags, you could make single sided paper mittens and write on the backs of them.

Check out some of our other easy Christmas ornaments for kids to make: