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Advent stars
The theme of waiting for Jesus is an important part of Advent. This is a great craft to help children reflect on patience as it takes time and care to complete! Make the lolly sticks into a star shape, securing the star’s points with a loom band (as shown in the picture), and then make lengths of loom bands for each stick of the star. I used about 12 bands in each length, so you’ll need quite a few for a group of children. Use the first and last band of each length to join it onto the stick. As they create, encourage children to think about the journey of the wise men. Joining the loom bands takes time and patience, like the wise men’s journey, but what lay at the end was amazing. Encourage children to choose colours which reflect the joy of the wise men’s end destination. As always, give children the chance to share any insights which occur to them while creating.
Christmas card jigsaws
After talking about the Nativity story, ask children to choose a card from the collection and get them to cut it into eight to ten pieces that they should jumble up. Children can then spend time reassembling the picture like a jigsaw puzzle, perhaps swapping with someone else. This sounds incredibly simple and easy, but actually opens up amazing reflections from children about the Nativity story. What does the card show? Is anything missing? Why do you like this card? Would you have used these colours? How would you have drawn this part of the story? As with the previous craft, this piecing together takes time and patience for the full picture to be revealed and children can become quite engrossed!
Story stamps
This is another way to help children to reflect on the Nativity story. Cover the top of a jar lid with craft foam to make a base for a stamp. After discussing the story, ask children to choose an event or character that appeals to them most. Children can then use the craft foam to make a picture of what they have chosen, cutting out shapes and sticking them to the lid’s foam base. When the children have finished, let them cover the stamp with paint and press it onto paper. Leave time for the children to share their creations and to discuss their thoughts. Can anyone else guess what other people’s stamps show? Why did they choose that character or part of the story? Children can then use the stamps on coloured paper to make gift wrap or on card to make Christmas cards.
Celebration play dough (for 0-5s)
This is a very simple, very open-ended craft that will help younger children to engage with the themes of joy, celebration and specialness surrounding Jesus’ birth. Tell the story and then talk to the children about celebrations they have experienced, and how they felt. Let them use the play dough and extras to create cakes and other things that symbolise ‘celebration’ and ‘specialness’ to them. Depending on the age of the children, you may need to remind them that their ‘cakes’ aren’t edible! While they are creating, talk to them about what they are making and be prepared to get some really surprising insights!
