Christmas is always a special time of year—one filled with excitement, joy and family. Many of you may be making lists of things that you want for Christmas, but we need to also remember that Christmas is the time that we celebrate Jesus’ birthday.
The day Jesus was born is very different from the days you and I were born. For example, when people in Jesus’ time wanted to travel, they would usually walk. Today, we ride in a car. Hospitals were not common in Jesus’ time, so babies were usually born at home. As the Bible tells us, Jesus was born in a stable, surrounded by animals.
But one thing for sure has not changed—the good news that Jesus was born because God loves us. As we celebrate Christmas and the birthday of Jesus, let’s remember that Jesus was born because God loves us.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord,” – Luke 2:11.
Now, let’s make a Christmas ornament of baby Jesus in the manger!
Time Needed: 20 minutes
Materials Needed:
• Popsicle sticks
• Raffia
• Scissors
• Glue (you may want to use hot glue to hold the manger together)
• Brown and tan construction paper
• Black marker
• Red or green marker (optional)
Procedure:
• Glue the popsicle sticks in a V-shape for the manger.
• Cut a triangle out of the brown construction paper about the size of the opening of the manger.
• Glue the brown paper triangle onto the back of the popsicle stick manger.
• Cut a small circle out of the tan construction paper.
• Draw a face on a circle that represents baby Jesus and glue it onto the back of the brown paper.
• Glue the raffia to the ends of the popsicle sticks to make the tree hanger. Also, glue a few snippets of raffia to the manger to represent the straw.
• You can also write “Happy Birthday Jesus” or “Merry Christmas” in red or green marker on the popsicle sticks.
