Jesus' Birthday Party 2018!
I think this is my 7th year hosting a birthday party for Jesus with my kids and their friends. It started with 6 kids under 2 putting stickers on a poster depicting the stable and I made a few cupcakes. Over the years it has morphed into breakfast, lesson time complete with visual aids, and intense games with 16 kids! I actually feel guilty for not inviting more of our friends who I know would enjoy it, but my parents' house can only hold so many people! Haha.
I get asked every once in a while for ideas for Jesus' Birthday Parties, so I'm going to share what I did this year. It was actually one of my favorite years. I'm coming to accept that my spiritual gift is coming up with ideas. Haha. I get a basic idea in my head and just keep turning and tweaking and re-thinking it until it turns out how I want it to. As our kids are getting older, I've been trying to present the Christmas story as they know it, but also incorporate why the incarnation is important to the gospel and why we need Jesus so much.
We started with a delicious breakfast: 3 different kinds of quiche, breakfast potatoes with bacon, little sausages, fruit, baked oatmeal, and muffins.
Then I corralled all the kids into the living room for lesson time. I started by asking them what they know about Heaven, reminding them that Jesus was in Heaven but voluntarily agreed to come down to earth as a helpless baby knowing the pain and discomfort he'd endure. We talked briefly about why he came to earth and how he took our punishment even though he didn't deserve it. Then I told the kids I needed their help with the Christmas story because my notes got a little mixed up. At this point, I plugged my computer into the TV for a slideshow of some absolutely epic visual aids. ;-)
I added a few variations to the story and told the kids to shout when they noticed something wrong. Like this:
When the angel told Mary she was going to have a baby, Mary didn't like that idea. She threw her shoe at the angel and shouted, "No way!"
The angel told Joseph that the baby would be a boy and he was to give him the name Olaf.
The wise men brought gifts to baby Jesus: an x-box, a Lego set, and a guitar.
The kids loved pointing out my mistakes and telling me the correct answers. To see my lesson plan, click here. To see my amazing visual aids, click here.
Finally, we had an intense relay race. It works out that our group has an even amount of boys and girls, so they each comprised a team that competed against each other.
First, each group had to choose half of their team to be donkeys and the other half to be Marys. The Marys rode the donkeys across the room where they each received a balloon. Inside each balloon was a portion of a Bible verse printed on a small piece of paper. (I had the verse printed out at the station for their reference.) They each had to pop their balloon, then work together to put the verse portions in order.
Once that was finished, they hurried to the next station where they made a "manger" for Jesus, by emptying a tissue box as quickly as possible. I just had one box per group, so they took turns ripping the tissues out.
Then came time to swaddle the baby Jesus. Because my girls are spoiled, we actually have 12 baby dolls so each kid could have their own. I also gave each kid a roll of toilet paper, and they had to wrap their baby dolls in "swaddling clothes."
Once the entire team had their babies swaddled, they moved on to the angel station. Each kid put on a "halo" (headband with sparkly gold pipe cleaner formed into a halo) and sang "Glooooooooooooria, in excelsis Deo!"
Then they tried their hand at "shepherding" with a candy cane pick-up game. I threw a bunch of candy canes down on the table, then gave each kid a candy cane to put in their mouth. Using only their mouths, each team had to pick up 3 candy canes off the table.
Once they got to three, they moved on to finding gifts for the baby Jesus. I gave each team a big stack of styrofoam cups. Yesterday, I colored the bottom of 3 cups and labeled them "gold, frankincense, and myrrh" then buried them throughout the cup stacks. So the kids had to search through all the cups to find the gifts.
Finally, they rushed back to the beginning to put together an Oriental Trading nativity puzzle. Each team had one puzzle that they had to work on together.
The girls won the game, but everyone got a prize, because #millenials.
For the little kids that weren't quite old enough for the game, I had this coloring page tablecloth from Oriental Trading and these little sticker books.
We finished our festivities with cupcakes, candles, and a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday."
It was another successful party and we look forward to many more to come!
I get asked every once in a while for ideas for Jesus' Birthday Parties, so I'm going to share what I did this year. It was actually one of my favorite years. I'm coming to accept that my spiritual gift is coming up with ideas. Haha. I get a basic idea in my head and just keep turning and tweaking and re-thinking it until it turns out how I want it to. As our kids are getting older, I've been trying to present the Christmas story as they know it, but also incorporate why the incarnation is important to the gospel and why we need Jesus so much.
We started with a delicious breakfast: 3 different kinds of quiche, breakfast potatoes with bacon, little sausages, fruit, baked oatmeal, and muffins.
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| Just a few of the gang. |
Then I corralled all the kids into the living room for lesson time. I started by asking them what they know about Heaven, reminding them that Jesus was in Heaven but voluntarily agreed to come down to earth as a helpless baby knowing the pain and discomfort he'd endure. We talked briefly about why he came to earth and how he took our punishment even though he didn't deserve it. Then I told the kids I needed their help with the Christmas story because my notes got a little mixed up. At this point, I plugged my computer into the TV for a slideshow of some absolutely epic visual aids. ;-)
I added a few variations to the story and told the kids to shout when they noticed something wrong. Like this:
When the angel told Mary she was going to have a baby, Mary didn't like that idea. She threw her shoe at the angel and shouted, "No way!"
 |
| Lol Photoshop is NOT my gift |
The wise men brought gifts to baby Jesus: an x-box, a Lego set, and a guitar.
The kids loved pointing out my mistakes and telling me the correct answers. To see my lesson plan, click here. To see my amazing visual aids, click here.
Finally, we had an intense relay race. It works out that our group has an even amount of boys and girls, so they each comprised a team that competed against each other.
First, each group had to choose half of their team to be donkeys and the other half to be Marys. The Marys rode the donkeys across the room where they each received a balloon. Inside each balloon was a portion of a Bible verse printed on a small piece of paper. (I had the verse printed out at the station for their reference.) They each had to pop their balloon, then work together to put the verse portions in order.
Once that was finished, they hurried to the next station where they made a "manger" for Jesus, by emptying a tissue box as quickly as possible. I just had one box per group, so they took turns ripping the tissues out.
Then came time to swaddle the baby Jesus. Because my girls are spoiled, we actually have 12 baby dolls so each kid could have their own. I also gave each kid a roll of toilet paper, and they had to wrap their baby dolls in "swaddling clothes."
Once the entire team had their babies swaddled, they moved on to the angel station. Each kid put on a "halo" (headband with sparkly gold pipe cleaner formed into a halo) and sang "Glooooooooooooria, in excelsis Deo!"
Then they tried their hand at "shepherding" with a candy cane pick-up game. I threw a bunch of candy canes down on the table, then gave each kid a candy cane to put in their mouth. Using only their mouths, each team had to pick up 3 candy canes off the table.
Once they got to three, they moved on to finding gifts for the baby Jesus. I gave each team a big stack of styrofoam cups. Yesterday, I colored the bottom of 3 cups and labeled them "gold, frankincense, and myrrh" then buried them throughout the cup stacks. So the kids had to search through all the cups to find the gifts.
Finally, they rushed back to the beginning to put together an Oriental Trading nativity puzzle. Each team had one puzzle that they had to work on together.
The girls won the game, but everyone got a prize, because #millenials.
For the little kids that weren't quite old enough for the game, I had this coloring page tablecloth from Oriental Trading and these little sticker books.
We finished our festivities with cupcakes, candles, and a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday."
It was another successful party and we look forward to many more to come!
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