More tried and tested children’s talks for Christmas. All have one simple objective; to share the real meaning of Christmas.
Hook 5: Clues
Have a series of ‘clues’ or prophecies printed out which God gave his people before the first Christmas. These could include:-
1. Where would this special event take place? – Bethlehem (Micah 5 v 2)
2. Who would be born? – Immanuel (Isaiah 7 v 14)
3. What would he become? – A king (Isaiah 9 v 6 & 7)
Wrap up a present, and give a series of clues relating to the present for the children to guess what it is before opening it, e.g. it carries people, it has three wheels, it can fly. (Make the clues ambiguous, so the children have lots of options when making suggestions). When the present is unwrapped discuss how they worked out what was inside by solving the clues. Then show the Biblical clues and explain the meaning of these. In the same way as the wrapped present, God gave his people prophecies or clues about the coming of Jesus but the people misunderstood the clues and thought that they were going to have a powerful earthly king, rather than a saviour king who would reign in people’s hearts.
Hook 6: Presents
Get a group of small present boxes and place a Bible verse relating to Christmas inside each box. These can easily be purchased at this time of year from any gift or card shop. A few sweets could also be included to make it a treat. The presents could then be hidden around the room for children to find, alternatively they could be placed inside a large box filled with polystyrene pieces. You might want to place names on the boxes or number them so that they could read each prophecy about Jesus’ birth in order or verses about the first Christmas story.
Hook 7: CHRISTMAS word
Have a series of large letters for the word CHRISTMAS; either print these off or purchase a ‘Happy Christmas’ sign and dispose of the ’Happy’.
On the back of each letter stick on a label relating to the Christmas story. Each label should have one word on it e.g. C = Christ, H = Herald Angel or Herod ,R = Redeemer, I = Israel, S = Shepherds, T = The Wise men, M = Manger and S = Star . Get the children to guess what the hidden word might be behind each letter before revealing it.
Then you can explain the meaning of each word and its place in the Christmas story.
Hook 8: Drawers
If you have a container holding a series of small drawers, these can be used to tell different parts of the Christmas story. I have one such plastic container in my garage for holding screws and nails. My daughters have cardboard ones for holding girly things!
Number each drawer and decorate with a Christmas sticker. Inside each drawer place a piece of paper upon which is part of the Christmas story for a child to read out. A few sweets in each drawer will encourage the children to consider it a great treat to have a turn.
Hook 9: Advent Calendars
It is possible to purchase an advent calendar which does tell the Christmas story. Produced by The Meaningful Chocolate Company it is called The Real Advent Calendar.
You could use this on two, three or four occasions running up to Christmas. Get each child to read a day’s passage before opening the chocolate and open five or six doors each time.