The Sparkle Box
Read the book "The Sparkle Box" by Jill Hardie, Ideals Pub., 2012, and have children make their own sparkle boxes to take home.
Overview: A family has a Christmas Tradition where they have a Sparkle Box on the mantle in which they input their gifts to Jesus as Christmas approaches. The family deeds they do in honor of Jesus are written on slips of paper and put into the Sparkle Box. On Christmas morning "Jesus' Gift" (The Sparkle Box) is opened and his gifts are read out loud. Bringing the reason for Christmas back into Christmas.
Lovely story book! Comes with a sparkle box to unfold.
Website has handouts to go with the kids after hearing the story and making their own sparkle box or jar. It also includes ideas for gifts for Jesus. If time allows for a family event it would be nice to have the families make a sparkle box together.
Check out The Sparkle Box website here.
I'm going to use this for our White Gift Service. I've purchased boxes that will work great for sparkle boxes (one for each church family) and they will be invited to take home a box at the end of the service with a handout from "The Sparkle Box" website.
Thinking I will narrate the book and have the children act out scenes of the family gift givings to Jesus and then putting a slip of paper into the box or something like that, just in the thinking stage now. Will likely come up with additional ideas than the book so all the kids can participate in a silent mime of gift giving.
How we ended up using The Sparkle Box in our White Gift Service
Here is what we did for our White Gift Service:
- I bought Christmas Gift Boxes at the dollar store - varying small sizes and assorted solid colors, I lucked out as they actually did have a sparkle finish - meant to be or what!
- We then placed a bare Christmas Tree with just a single large red bow hanging from the top and filled its branches with the "Sparkle Boxes".
- Inside each Sparkle box was the idea behind the box I had copied from their website (see link above)..
- Two of our older children (brother and sister) - read the story to the congregation.
- We then invited a member of each family to come up and pick a sparkle box from the tree to take home.
- Each year during advent season families were to bring out their Sparkle Box and write down their gifts (helping at the local food bank, showing a kindness, helping someone in need, etc.) then read their slips (gifts for Jesus) Christmas morning.
No practice required, I just sent the book home with the two older siblings to read and determine how they wanted to split up the reading.
Big hit with the entire congregation and kids!
Luanne
