Christmas Activities for Families
Children's Ministry Ideas for Celebrating the Holiday
Let your Children's Ministry be the talk of the town when you offer these fun family activities to help celebrate the holidays.
Winter provides a perfect opportunity to instill valuable lessons about the Bible and God while having fun, too. If you are responsible for planning activities during the Christmas season for your Children’s Ministry, then here are some ideas that will keep everyone busy, and entertained as well.
Happy Birthday Jesus!
It is always a good idea to teach children the real reason for celebrating the Christmas season. Celebrating the birth of Jesus lets children know that they are getting more than just Christmas trees and Santa Claus in December. Plan a "Happy Birthday Jesus" party for the children in your ministry. You can set aside two hours and gear your party for any age group. Younger kids always enjoy this type of celebration the most. Have the children come in party attire and give them each a party hat to wear as they enter. Turn this day into a day of giving, too, and have each child bring a present to donate to a local children’s charity. Plan traditional party games with a Christian spin, such as musical chairs playing Bible songs or Pin the Baby Jesus in the Manger. Don’t forget plenty of cake, punch and ice cream, and you must sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, too!
Indoor Winter Carnival
All kids love carnivals and when it is too cold to go outside then bring the fun in by hosting a winter carnival. You can probably find plenty of help with older kids and teens who can run the games. Plan two or three craft booths, such as making a pinecone bird feeder. Then plan several easy to play games. One great idea is to make a Snowball Fight game. Line plastic jugs or cans on a table and give the kids a ball of white socks to represent the snowball. They can throw the socks to see how many cans they can knock over in a throw. Another great game idea for an indoor winter carnival at your church is to have gingerbread decorating or building towers with sugar cubes. Pin the Pipe on the Snowman is another fun game that you can make and hang on the wall. Or try winter-themed charades or BINGO.
Family Gingerbread Night
Here is a fun idea that will get the whole family involved. Host a "Family Gingerbread Night" at the church. Hold a contest to see which family can get most creative by making a gingerbread house. Maybe someone will come up with a great gingerbread manger scene! You can ask the families to bring their own basic supplies and you can supply extras, such as icing, candy and sprinkles, or you can provide all of the makings for a gingerbread house. When everyone is done, put all of the creations on display and let everyone vote. Have several fun and silly categories for prizes, such as Most Creative, House with the Most Candy, House with the Most Icing, Best Manger, and even a prize for the Plainest. You can be sure that everyone in your church will have a great time with this fun family night.
