This resource is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism and review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this resource may be distributed, or copied for distribution beyond the purchaser and his or her church or ministry. Permission to make copies of the materials in this manual (including accompanying resources) is given only to the purchaser for use in their church or ministry group.
Christmas for kids forms part of the kids@church Bible-based curriculum designed by CEP especially for use in church-based children’s ministry.
Some of the material used in this compilation has been taken from previously published CEP children’s ministry curriculum including Trowel, Connect and Kids Club packs.
Not the Normal Nativity is a new Christmas drama written for CEP by Monique Mannile.
ZIP file production by Steve Williams, Crosstalk Technical Services, 0419 607 429
CEP curriculum and resources are available from: Australia
Christian Education Publications (CEP) PO Box A287, Sydney South, NSW 1235 Phone: 02 8268 3344
Writing and editorial team: Rhonda Watson, Sue Aiken
Design team: Leigh Hedstrom, Phil Watson, Greg Mills
Production team: Sue Aiken, Grant Maple
Ben and the innkeeper
Ben and the donkey
Putting the Christ back into Christmas
Welcome to another Christmas!
It’s amazing how Christmas can fill us with a mix of dread, excitement, cynicism, and even sadness. We can dread the complicated relationships that surface at this time of year, the shopping crowds, the credit cards bills, and the commercial pressure on our families.
We can feel excitement at the prospect of catching up with friends and family, at a special holiday, at a gift to be given or received.
We can react with cynicism to the ridiculous claims of stores and products, to the pressure to overspend and over-eat, to the seemingly empty promise of ‘peace on earth and goodwill to all men’.
We can be touched with sadness as we miss loved ones or are confronted again with broken families, or loss of health.
It can be a challenge to push this aside and focus on the central figure of Christmas – Jesus. Children too can be bombarded with mixed messages and conflicting emotions at Christmas. They also experience the imperfections of family life and pressures of materialism.
This is one of our greatest challenges at Christmas – to help children focus on Jesus. For the most amazing thing happened when Jesus was born. He is the one who provides the only way to deal with our dread, disappointment and sadness. The message of his birth is at the heart of the best kind of excitement and fun.
We hope that the lessons, dramas, art, craft and fun ideas in this Christmas resource will help you help children to push aside everything else for a time and focus on one person – Jesus.
How to use this book
Its coming up to Christmas again and you know it is a really great time to talk to kids about the real ‘reason for the season’. You know you have some really great resources … somewhere! There is that really great lesson you did a few years ago and you have been asked to organise a Family service in church the week before Christmas, and someone has asked you for some ideas for an assembly at your kids’ school … and so on.
Well, that is why we have put this book together so you can have all the resources you need in the one place, can find the perfect solution for all the above problems and have some time left over to pray about the children you will be interacting with and enjoy what you are doing – without the stress. So …
1. You need a great new version of the Nativity for the children to perform. Turn to page 7 and you have all you need to put on a performance of Not the Normal Nativity especially written for CEP by Monique Mannile.
2. You have two or three of weeks of kids church and need some lessons with a Christmas focus … we have included four lessons each with content suitable for Infants-aged and Primary-aged children.
The lessons start on page 27.
3. You have been asked to organise an All-age or Family service … there are outlines for three All-age or Family services that give ideas for singing, prayer, a short talk or drama, Bible readings and ways to get everyone involved.
The ZIP file also gives you access to great full-colour pictures to use in a Powerpoint presentation.
For All-age and family services, turn to page 73.
4. You have been asked to lead the Christmas assembly at your children’s school. For Christmas assemblies, turn to page 95.
5. You like getting the kids involved in the local carols or church service and need a short drama – several scripts are in the lessons and services presented. Turn to page 109 for a summary of the dramas included and where to find them.
6. You want some extra craft ideas for kids church, kids club or your weekend outreach program? Turn to page 111.
7. Just want some Christmas-theme shapes to design your own craft ideas, or create decorations for the church or school hall. Turn to page 144 for a host of useful ideas. Need outlines for Nativity scene animals – copy them onto an OHT, increase them to the size you need and trace around the projected outline.
8. Need a few games with a Christmas theme? We have even included variations for several old-favourites. Turn to page 125.
9. Need some worksheets for the kids who finish their craft projects quickly or for kids to do in church during the sermon? All sorts of colouring, find-a-word, spot the difference, mazes and code-breaking activities are included with the Lessons and All-age service outlines.
10. Need some songs to sing? Turn to page 129 for masters for producing OHTs of the words of the 10 songs included on the ZIP file.
ZIP file
The songs on the ZIP file can be played using a music player.
The following files may be accessed using your computer:
• Graphic files 1-14 (graphic files in jpeg format)
• Graphic PowerPoints (graphic files in PowerPoint format)
• Song PowerPoints (song words in PowerPoint format).
The graphic files should open easily in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or other graphic software. If you have trouble opening the graphics check the software you are using to open them.
And finally, we wish to thank you for the work you do in your children’s ministry. If you have read this far on the page then we know you are involved in children’s ministry at some level and our prayers are with you that you will continue with the great work you do and that God will open the hearts of the children you reach so they may know of God’s great love for them.
The purchaser of Christmas for kids is entitled to photocopy this page for use with his or her group.
Not the normal nativity
by Monique Mannile
Getting prepared
Characters
Messenger; Newsreader; Joseph; Mary; Donkey*; Narrator; Shepherds 1, 2 and 3; Sheep; Extra sheep*; Angel; Extra angels*; Wise men 1, 2 and 3
* Denotes non-speaking parts (but can join in with singing)
Also required
Someone to play music: sheet music for The Twelve days of Christmas, Deck the halls, We wish you a merry Christmas, Jingle Bells and the carols you decide to include; people to help set up backgrounds/props.
Gear
q Costumes (see Suggestions, below)
q Baby doll
q Stable (see Suggestions, opposite)
q Backdrops (see Suggestions, opposite)
q Cardboard sheep (see Suggestions, opposite)
q Decorated boxes for the wise men to give Jesus
q Prepared dot-to-dot pictures (see Suggestions, opposite) and felt pens
q Birth announcements (optional, page 15)
q Microphone for reporter
q Small table and chair for newsreader
q Hacky sack
q Striped bag stuffed with newspaper (the kind you get from a $2 shop)
q Candles and matches (optional)
Suggestions
Costumes: Be as creative as possible when organising costumes. It’s not necessary to go to any great expense. Use old dressing gowns and other clothes available from opportunity shops. Or, dress in modern clothes. Just be sure to give parents plenty of notice.
Sheep: Younger or less confident children may enjoy the non-speaking sheep part. This is like a chorus part. Encourage them to hold up the cardboard sheep.
Donkey: If you can’t find someone to act the part of the donkey, simply use a broom with long donkey ears attached.
Invitations: Encourage the children to invite their friends. Use the Invitation master on page 13.
Cardboard sheep: Enlarge and copy the sheep template (page 19) onto white or black cardboard. Glue cotton balls on the bodies.
Birth announcements: Use the Birth announcement master (page 15). Make plenty of copies so all audience members have one. Try staining with strong black tea or coffee. When are dry ask an adult to burn around the edges of each one to give an aged effect.
Background displays: OHTs for the backdrop designs are supplied on pages 16–18. Enlarge the image onto calico and use a felt pen to trace the image onto the calico. Paint the designs.
Dot-to-dots: Enlarge the three dot-to-dot templates (pages 20–22) onto A3 paper. Draw light pencil lines so that the actors draw the correct shapes by drawing over the lines.
Stable: This can be as simple as two bales of hay with a manger between them. If you have a talented handyman he may be able to make a simple frame that is easily set up and moved. See page 142.
Encourage the children to help as much as possible with the preparation. They can:
• Make the sheep (template on page19)
• Decorate the treasure boxes that the Wise men give to Jesus
• Stain the scrolls for the Birth Announcements with tea or coffee
• Help paint the backgrounds
For extra impact …
Add PVA glue to the paint you use to paint the stars. Sprinkle glitter onto the stars before the paint dries.
Burn the edges of the Birth Announcements before tying with ribbon to give an aged look – but be careful.
Alternatively, why not set aside a time after church for the whole congregation to get involved in painting backgrounds, making cardboard sheep, staining the birth announcements, and so on.
