Christmas Day

25 December 2021

Bible readings for today

Collect

Eternal God, holy and glorious,
shining through the darkness;
lighten the darkness of our world,
of our minds, and of our lives,
awaken us to your grace and truth.
Through Jesus Christ our Liberator,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen

Christmas Day

Today we celebrate the birth of the Saviour of the world!

Printable Nativity

I wonder

The printable nativity in Christmas on the Move is great to print out and give to families as at your christmas services. Encourage them to make their own at home, or give them a pack with pens to start making it in the service.
Head to the Christmas on the Move page on the Strandz website

I wonder what you really want for Christmas.
I wonder what God wants for Christmas.
I wonder if there's something that you can give God that will make him very happy.

What God wants for Christmas

What you need:

7 cardboard boxes; 6 large (refrigerator size) and 1 that can be any size
A lot of wrapping paper (enough to cover the boxes)
tape
scissors
Permanent marker
The script printed out for the narrator
Christmas costumes
manger
doll for baby Jesus
large mirror

What you do:
Cut the bottoms off of the big boxes
Wrap the boxes with Christmas wrapping paper
Wrap the small box, but slit the top so that the box can still be opened
Number the boxes 1-7 ( the small one is number 4)
You will need the following characters:
Narrator
Gabriel
Mary
Joseph
Wise men and women
shepherds (2-3)
1 mirror holder
2 helpers to lift the boxes
Practice this with the children before you do the drama in front of others!!
optional: small mirrors or mirrored paper for each member of the congregation

Set the boxes up front. Before anyone is there (or looking) have the children get into their costumes and into the appropriate boxes. Check the script to see where each child belongs.
Have the narrator stand off to the side and begin to read the script, pausing at the appropriate times so that the 2 helpers can lift the boxes and the characters can come out.
When the last box is opened, and the person steps out with the mirror, encourage him or her to show the mirror around to everyone. Or invite each person to pick up their little mirror and look at it.

The Human Christmas Tree

What you need:

Red and green crepe paper
Aluminum foil
String
Scissors
Tape
Prizes for the different teams if desired

What you do:

Divide players into teams.
Each team selects someone to be the tree.
Give each team some of each of the materials, plus scissors and tape.
Give the teams 5-10 minutes to decorate their tree.
Have the teams pose with their trees for photos.
If you want to have judging and prizes: You can give each team a prize for something, ie, most decorated tree, best looking tree, etc. Or you can choose the best decorated tree.

The Gift We Give To Jesus

What you need:

Pens or felts
scissor
2 rolls of wrapping paper
cello tape or staples
Optional: gitter and stickers to decorate the presents (if you'd like, you can use plain presents, rather than the coloured ones proveded, and allow everyone to decorate them completely)
Some music to play during the prayer time

What you do:

Make 2 large Christmas stockings using the wrapping paper. These can be up to a metre long. Cut each side out and then tape or staple the sides together leaving the top open. Hang these up near the front of the church.
Rough cut the presents and put them in baskets or on tables
Put the scissors on the table
As people first come in, invite the to cut out a present to take into the service. They can also decorate it at that time
During the service, at prayer time, give out the felts and pens and invite people to write down their prayer. It can be something their sorry for, something they need help with, a thank you prayer or a praise.
Explain that we're going to pretend that the two Christmas stockings hanging up front are God's stockings (that's why they're soooo big!) and during this time, we're going to give our prayers to him.
Start the music.
Give people time to write or draw their prayer on a present, bring it up and put it in one of the stockings.
Rather than set a definite time, keep watch and be prepared to move on when most people have come up. At that point, lower the music and close the prayer by giving all the gifts that have been shared to God— and thanking him for the many gifts he gives to us.

Alternative Collect

Son of God, Child of Mary,
born in the stable at Bethlehem,
be born again in us this day
that through us the world may know
the wonder of your love.
Hear this prayer for your name’s sake.
Amen.