- ORNAMENT WITH PHOTO – we used the phrase from “What God Wants for Christmas” and pre-printed in various fonts, the words “What God wants for Christmas…” and glued that on the front. On the back we again had pre-printed the words “…is YOU!” As each child arrived at the party I took their picture in front of the tree, then printed them & trimmed to fit on the ornament.
- ORNAMENT WITH MIRROR – this particular year instead of taking & printing photos, we used little mirrors that I found in bags of 5 at Michael’s and used glue dots to adhere them to the ornament. Again, we had the words pre-printed for each child to cut out & glue to the ornament.
- ORNAMENT – this year I let them spend more time making the ornament & then just used the pre-printed words, without a picture or mirror.
Cardstock ornament
Chipboard Ornament
- BABY JESUS GIFT – one year we made baby Jesus using wooden balls for the head & felt for his swaddling cloths, then used shredded/crinkled brown paper (like you’d use in a gift bag) for his hay. We placed all of this in a little cardboard box, which we tied with ribbon & added a tag that read, “To: Charlie From: God” and told the children that it was to go under their tree & be the first gift they opened on Christmas morning. They loved it! It reminded us all that Christmas was about God giving Jesus to each of us.
Baby Jesus Gift
Baby Jesus
- WRAPPED PICTURE OR MIRROR – for this we used a larger cardboard box from Michael’s (4″ or so) and placed either a photo of the child or a mirror (again, sold in packages of 5 at Michael’s). Then the children covered the box & lid with paper, we glued it on, and they tied a ribbon & added a tag that read “To: God From: John”. It’s their gift to God at Christmas. We covered the box & lid separately so that it could be used from year to year.
Gift for God
Gift for God
- SANTA’S PRAYER BOOKMARK – I found Santa’s prayer online, which I loved. It sends the message that we can enjoy Santa, but should keep him in his rightful place, which is a servant of God, just like each of us. I printed the poem in a cute font, printed on colored paper, then let them glue it to a piece of Christmas cardstock, laminated it, punched a hole & added an eyelet & ribbon.
- BIRTHDAY CARD FOR JESUS – when the kids were younger I gave each child a blank card & red envelope to make a birthday card for Jesus to put out with their decorations at home. We used crayons, markers, stickers & stamps.
- TAKE HOME BAGS – I’ve generally used solid paper gift bags & let them children write their name & decorate with crayons, markers, stickers & stamps.
- PLACEMAT – I found placemats in packages of 12 at PaperSource (www.paper-source.com). I added their pre-cut Christmas shapes & the words “Happy Birthday Jesus”. I laminated them & keep them from year to year to use at the party. Last year I made each child one to take home, but in watching my costs I decided to cut that idea.
Placemat
Placemat
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