CYF Christmas Resources

The Children’s Society have lots of Christingle resources – for those with dementia, under 7s, Muddy Christingles, primary school resources and more.

A Christingle assembly plan, video, prayer station ideas and playdough mat.

A pack of arts, crafts and games ideas.

Christingle playdough, cupcakes and eco-friendly ways to recycle your Christingle.

The Children’s Society

• The Children’s Society has a playlist of songs including “Sing Christingle” and “The Christingle begins with an orange”.

The Christingle Song

Activities based Christingle

• An activity around each element of the Christingle – 
• Playdough mat: https://flamecreativekids.blogspot.com/2015/11/christingle-play-dough-mat.html
• An “Around the World Quiz” True or False or A,B or C quizzes make it easy for everyone to be involved and have a go. / Tell the creation story with props / pass an inflatable globe down the line as the child holding the globe names a country, without repitition, pauses or hesitation, until there is a “last man standing”.
• A seasons game – A relay race to collect pictures depicting the seasons. They pictures then need to be sorted in to the seasons. Or a treasure hunt to find pictures depicting the seasons.
• Cracking a code to discover the verse John 3:16 / a song about God’s love – John Hardwick’s “For God So Loved the World” can be signed. See the video here:

• Light game – like Captain’s coming – star, candle, glowstick, lighthouse, campfire etc. / Kim’s game with sources of light. What does light do? Banishes darkness. It always wins. This is why Jesus came that first Christmas.
• Nativity Story 
• Lighting of the Christingles – sharing the light. Which part of a Christingle do you think is the most important? Why?
• How can we share the light of Christ in our neighbourhood this Christmas?
• What has it meant for you to receive the light of Jesus and become a child of God? (Not a question for a school setting but one of the team could say something of their response to this question).

The Reflectionary Christingle treasure hunt

• Crib services are generally aimed at younger children and families and can be a good link for toddler groups and pre-schools.
• Perhaps consider inviting children to be part of the service, dressing up as characters from the Nativity, and / or creating a tableau.
• Think about whether you want the service to be formal or less so.
• How can you tell the story? Through a book such as “Little Owl and the Star”, “The Christmas Promise” or one of the Bible Society’s nativity stories, which come with craft activities, too. Please make sure you have bought a copy of the book that you intend to use.

The Spiritual Child Network has 4 service plans and a carols for under 5s list, with words set to nursery rhymes.

With Sunday School plans, advent activities, podcasts, an all age service plan and a video!

Including an all age plan, crafts and interactive storytelling.

A round up of their Christmas resources from over the years.

A round up of their Christmas resources from over the years.

• Story Stones.

These ideas are great for sharing with schools, too:

• Finger puppets or cut them out and put on lollipop sticks.

• Nativity Choosers.

• Nativity Dice.

• Re-ordering the story with these pictures to cut and colour.

• See the assembly links re Bible Society, Grumpy Owl resources and FiK in Telling the Story section.
• Why not invite the school to be part of your advent or Christmas trail? Having the school host a station involves the children and creates interest.
• Ask if you can send an invite out via the school for Christmas events. Some will have electronic options so a picture or pdf can work well, as well as flyers.
• Can you ask the school to be part of your services? Readings / Prayers etc.
• Are you holding a Christmas Fayre? Can you invite the school choir to sing? 
• Could the school take on a tree for the Christmas tree festival?
• Do the school have a service / nativity that you can be part of? Offer a prayer / talk? Serve tea and coffee to parents, carers and other guests.
• Do the school or community have a fayre that you can visit with a simple craft and flyers to your Christmas events? This could be a good way to meet families and to ask about them.

• Pop up nativities, toddler books and those for older children, craft and activities.

• 4 Christmas episodes with crafts, songs and the Christmas story.

• With permission and thanks to Jennie Fytche, this rewrite of “The night before Christmas” tells the birth of Christ.

You can download a higher quality video here:

• The Video is from Go Chatter, and Faith in Kids have produced a parent take home sheet, 3 series session plans and an online advent calendar. You can buy the book too.

• A story video and book, with activity sheets, an outline for a crib service and ideas for outdoor worship.
• There are also four weeks of collective worship resource materials is available from the National Society for Education for use by schools during Advent. The resources unpack the theme of ‘The Joy of Christmas’ and include activities, prayers, practical actions and videos

• A Christmas story for Under 5s using ‘Happyland Figures’ from Hope Together. Includes downloadable activities, an action song video and an all age plan.

• From the Additional Needs Alliance, each story is broken into 7 – 10 parts designed to engage the sense.
• There are also story scripts, storyteller notes and recommended sensory resources, alongside a set of Widgit Symbols.

Trails are a great way to engage the local community and to get people involved in the real meaning of Christmas.

They can be simple, with pictures in windows or using laminated print outs of nativity characters or figures at stations, or more complex with a quiz question at each station, bible verses, the story through a poem and / or prompts for things to think about.

Things to consider:

• Getting the local school(s) and community centres etc to host a station.
• Using the “What 3 Words” app so that you have precise locations for stations if people get lost!
• Using QR codes for links to church services, story clips and / or quiz answers.
• Getting station hosts to create their part of the Christmas story – a picture or collage or display.
• Laminating any pictures or posters to protect against the elements.
• Making videos of people of all ages telling parts of the Christmas story – introduce those taking part to your congregations.
• Having an event for a few hours one weekend, with mince pies and treats at the end of the trail, in your church.

From Muddy Church. Wander and Wonder through a trail, or 4 sessions. Crafts, games and creative prayer.

Part of their “Must know stories” with trails, powerpoints, lesson plans, assembly outlines and puzzle sheets.

A free resource offered by Roots on the Web, a play based, interactive nativity trail.

A Nativity trail.

With Sunday School plans, advent activities, podcasts, an all age service plan and a video!

Someone has put together this catalogue of Christmas videos that may well be useful!

A round up of their Christmas resources from over the years.

A round up of their Christmas resources from over the years.