Christmas Service Opportunities for Children

Christmas Service Opportunities

 

Here are some ideas about ways to get children involved in serving and get the focus off Santa and personal presents.  I’d love to hear your ideas as well.  Feel free to share your own great ideas in the comments. 

 

Happy Birthday Jesus party

For the past several years, we have hosted a Happy Birthday Jesus party.  My girls love birthday parties and a birthday party for Jesus really helped drive home the idea that we were celebrating Jesus’s birthday.  It also gave us a chance to get the focus off of presents and onto Jesus. 

What we did at the party:

1.     Reenacted the Christmas story - Dressed up in colored sheets, tied tinsel around our heads for halos, carried a plastic bowl filled with rose pedals and whatever else we could think of to do that would allow our little ones to reenact the story of Mary, Joseph, Jesus, shepherds, and wise men.  Sometimes we had 15 angels and no shepherds, and we always had to do it several times to let more people be Mary.  We just had fun with it.  Someone read the story from Luke and the kids just listened and came in when the Bible talked about whoever they were dressed up as.  Sometimes we’d sing a Christmas song if the kids knew one. 

2.       Lit candles on a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to Jesus.  I bought some tiny manger scene ornaments at the dollar store one year and cut the string off them.  We would put those on the cake or cupcakes.  All the guests brought food as well, so we had a little snack time to celebrate.

3.       Made Christmas cards for a local nursing home.  These usually consisted of an ornament shaped or tree shaped piece of foam that they put Christmas stickers on.  I printed little labels that said Merry Christmas and they stuck those on as well.  The next day or later in the week, anyone who wanted to join us could meet us at the nursing home and pass them out.  We called ahead and scheduled with the nursing home to get the best time to show up. 

We always had a great time and had a little moment to truly celebrate Jesus and serve others.  Our kids were all pretty small so the activities were geared for ages 2-5.  I am sure this same kind of party would be fun for all ages if you just altered the activities a little. 

It appears we won't be able to host a party this year, but we hope to get to attend or help plan one somewhere else. 

 

Giving Tree –

This outreach is sponsored by KSJB.  They have a link on their page that you can browse to find a family with needs you can meet.  You can click on a drop-off location close to you.  Then browse the families and pick which family and which need to fill.  It could be fun to pick children that are similar ages as your own.  Then let them help pick out gifts for them.  Go to the drop off together to bring the presents. 

http://www.ksbj.org/GivingTree-2013

Angel Tree –

This program is similar to the giving tree, but you usually find a church or business that has a tree set up.  On the tree will be strips of paper that tell of a need.  You get the paper, fill the need, and return the gift to the tree location.  These trees are usually for children whose parents are in jail, families in need, elderly people or special needs adults.  I was not able to find specific links to locations of trees this year.  Let us know if you know of any. 

Christmas Carol –

 

Like Elf says, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”  Why not learn some great carols and take a group of kids caroling.  Some ideas of where to do this would include a hospital, children’s hospital, nursing home, assisted living center, and convalescent center. Be sure to call and schedule before you go. Most places have an activities director that would be glad to get some outside help.

Shepherd’s Pouch –

My children came home from church with a Shepherd’s pouch.  The idea was new to me.  The insert gave instructions.  It said to remind children that Christmas is about Jesus’ birthday.  We usually give gifts to people on their birthday, but how do you give an invisible Jesus a gift? Mathew 25:40 – “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” We give to Jesus by serving others. 

Get a stash of dollars or change ready.  Every time you see your child serving someone, put some money in the pouch.  (As a homeschool mom, I’d like to interject that this could be great practice counting money.) On Dec. 24, count all the money and give the money to God. 

Their suggestions for places to give the money were:

·         Church offering on Christmas Eve

·         Heifer International

·         Living Water International

·         Church Benevolence Offering

·         Lottie Moon offering for international Missions

·         School for the Zabaleen in Egypt

This idea came from The Children’s and Preschool Ministry at Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy, TX. http://www.kingsland.org/

 

Hand out Christmas cards –

In the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it is easy to get overwhelmed and discouraged.  Someone walking into your space and telling you Merry Christmas can be very uplifting.  A child handing you a card and saying Merry Christmas can brighten your day.  Great places to hand out cards would be church staff during the week, convalescent centers, pregnancy centers, any non-profit service type organization, schools, to people who are too sick or old to leave their home, neighbors, and really just about anywhere.  Think about people who are serving others and take a moment to serve them back with a smile, a little card, and a kind word.  You may also be able to hand out cookies or candy or small gifts.  Ask first before you go.  Many places have people with varying health issues and possibly a lack of teeth.  It will be best to consider those things when deciding what to bring. 

Gift wrapping  –

Krause Children’s Center is a center helping children from age 12 -18.  They posted on their webpage that they can use gift wrappers to come help wrap the presents donated to the center.  http://www.krausechildrenscenter.org/volunteer-2/ 

Decorating –

We may have missed it for this year.  It appears places were decorated for Christmas long before Thanksgiving, but there may still be a chance to help.  Churches, nonprofits, and elderly people may need a little extra help to decorate.  Contact your church and find out when they are decorating or call someone you know who may need assistance with their decorations.  This could include elderly people, new moms, single moms, families that husbands are deployed with the military and many others. 

 

Christmas Blessing bags–

I posted in March about making blessing bags to hand out to people experiencing homelessness that you encounter as you drive around town.  http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/03/loving-others-project-1-goodie-bags-for.html  Why not add some Christmas cards for the Christmas season?

 

Gift Donations –

Let your child pick out a special gift to buy and donate to a child in need.  Or have them look through their own unopened presents after Christmas and decide if there are any they would like to donate to bless someone else.  There is a Texas Children’s Hospital branch here in Katy that will accept new unopened gifts to bless their patients with.   Gifts intended for Christmas should be taken by the second week of December.  Here is the volunteer page with contact information and additional information.  Be sure to look at for instructions if you are intending to write cards.  There is also a list of good gifts by age group.  https://waystogive.texaschildrens.org/document.doc?id=352 They must be gifts that can be enjoyed by children in their rooms unsupervised. 

https://waystogive.texaschildrens.org/page.aspx?pid=1731

Ideas for Texas Children’s Hospital –

There are some great ideas listed on the Texas Children’s Hospital webpage.  I copied them from https://waystogive.texaschildrens.org/document.doc?id=352 for you to be able to scan quickly. 

“New Non Toy Items

 Care kits including: travel size toothbrush/toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, shampoo/conditioner, soap, disposable razors/shaving cream, comb/hairbrush, and lotion.   

New clothing such as plain colored pajama pants, elastic waist shorts, t-shirts, socks, slippers, underwear and onesies. Accidents happen. 

 Fun colored blankets and pillows to brighten patient rooms.   We cannot accept flowers, balloons or edible items of any sort. 

Activities and Handmade Items

 Craft Packets that include pre-made craft supplies that patients can work on in their rooms unsupervised. Examples include door hangers, nametags, or small crafts. Place all items in a ziplock bag with simple instructions a child can follow.   

Activity Books that contain a few coloring pages, word finds or crosswords. Make packets with 5 pages, hole punch one corner and connect with a ribbon for a customized, possibly seasonally inspired, activity packet.  

Food Tray Mats on 8 1/2 x 11" bond paper of any color. No markers, buttons, ribbon or glitter may be used. Crayons may be used. Lamination is acceptable, but not necessary. The patients prefer something interactive such as a crossword puzzle, dot-to-dot or trivia games. We prefer a large number of these at once (100+).  

Decorated pillowcases to brighten hospital rooms- tie-dye, fabric paint, or sewn from fun child friendly fabrics.   Homemade blankets and quilts.

Hand sewn items such as teddy bears, gingerbread men, and a number of items that may assist with long term patient care. For advanced sewing projects please contact Volunteer Services for more information. “

 Military Care Packages -

There is still a few days left to send a care package to Afghanistan.  http://houstontimeframes.blogspot.com/2013/11/make-care-packages-for-military-now-dec.html

 

 

What ideas do you have?

Please share in the comments.