Gift of Christmas Event
St. John Lutheran Church
Games Station
Station Summary
Mary will tell the story from her point of view. The children will then go through an obstacle course, which will help them remember the events of the story.
Preparation
Pray for the children and for your teaching of the lesson.
Materials List:
- Mary Costume for the storyteller
- Script for storyteller (see lesson)
- Angel wings--2 sets
- Large Hoops--2
- Large Boxes
- Pillows, large
- Baby doll (a soft cloth one)--4
- Bullhorn or megaphone (one can be made out of poster board )--2
- Stick Horse (donkey)--2
- Box for manger--2
- Cloth strips--2
- Large tub filled with beans
- Paper Hearts - one per child
- Obstacle course signs (see lesson)
- Tape
- Coloring sheets or mazes/puzzles related to the Bible story
- Crayons, markers
- Small boxes wrapped up in gift wrap in such a way that they can be opened without tearing the paper
- Parts of a Nativity scene--ONLY pieces that can't be broken (plastic or fabric)--must be small because the boxes that we have are small
- Stable (to put the nativity pieces in)
- Boom Box
- Christmas CD
- Brochures about St. John--one per child
- Brochure about Sunday School--one per child
Advance Preparation
- Make 2 megaphones from posterboard
- Make stick horse (horse heads with 2 broomsticks to put the heads on)
- Cut out paper hearts
- Make copies of coloring sheets or puzzles
- Make the obstacle course signs
- Place the nativity pieces in the various boxes
Before Class Starts:
- Set up the obstacle course in a gym or other large space if possible. Make the instructional signs and tape them to the wall near the activities. Add directional arrows if necessary. (see end of lesson for description of obstacle course)
Bible Story / Monologue
The Bible story will be told by one of the persons in the Bible story (a volunteer in costume). This may or may not be the same person as the teacher. They need to get their costume before the day of the event. Practice the script so that you can tell it with meaning and emotion. It would be nice to have it memorized, but it is OK to have it there to refer to.
If the storyteller is NOT the teacher, then they will remain in the class as one of the helpers.
The story for this activity station will be told by Mary (see end of lesson for monologue).
Activity
If you were NOT the storyteller, then introduce yourself to the children. Open with a prayer: Dear God, we are so glad that you wanted nothing to come between you and us. Thank you for sending Jesus to be our way to heaven to all who believe in Him. Amen.
Say: We just heard from Mary, the mother of Jesus. We heard about how she hears some exciting news from an angel, accepts God's plan for her, praises God, and ponders what her baby's life will be like. We are going to relive her story--in a way--as we go through this obstacle course. One part of our obstacle course tells a part of the story that Mary did not just tell us. After Mary learned that she was to have a baby, she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth was also going to have a baby named John, who would one day be a part of preparing people for Jesus.
Obstacle Course
Walk the children along the obstacle course and explain what should be done at each stop (this is a good way of reviewing the story!) Line the children up in order, for example: oldest to youngest, shortest to tallest, etc. You have several options on how to go through the obstacle course (depending on number of children, age of children):
- Have the children go one at a time through the course. This would be good if there are small numbers of children
- Divide the children into 2 teams. This would be good if there are large numbers of children. Have one child from each team go through the obstacle course together. Do not start the next twosome of kids until the previous two are done.
The children may want to watch the other children going through the obstacle course. If they tire of watching, you could have some coloring pages or puzzles for them to work on.
Closing: Explain that while some of the obstacle course activities were a bit silly, they were reminders of some of Mary's experiences. Ask some questions, such as: Which activity/event stood out in your mind? Why? How do you think Mary really felt during that event?
Pass the Gift Game
Have the children sit in a circle. Now we are going to play a game something like "Hot Potato" Each of these wrapped boxes has a person or thing from the Christmas story in it. You will pass it around in a circle while the music plays. Whoever is holding it when the music stops gets to open the lid (you don't tear the paper--show them how the lid opens). Then that person can put the person or thing in the Christmas scene here.
You will need to gauge how long to play the music for each box--depending on how many boxes there are and how much time that you have.
Gift Bag
Each child has their own gift bag to put the various items they collect in each of the stations. The group's helper will have all of the bags on a tray. At the end of class have each child put the following item(s) in their own gift bag:
- Their heart from the obstacle course
- Their coloring sheet (if done)
- Brochure about St. John
- Brochure about Sunday School
Age Adaptations
Older students: None
Younger students: Extra helpers should be at the stops along the obstacle course to remind pre-readers what they should do.
Turnaround Time
(You will have just a few minutes before the next group arrives.)
- Return the obstacle course to its original starting position.
- Put the Nativity pieces back into the wrapped boxes.
Resources/Bibliography
This was based on a lesson (no longer available) written by Amy Crane.
A lesson written by Cathy Walz and Amy Hodges from
St. John Lutheran Church, Forest Park, IL. 2014.
Obstacle Course Description (you will need 2 setups--one for each team)
ANNUNCIATION
- Sign: Angel flies in window and says "Greetings!"
- Setup: Helper holds up a large hoop to serve as a window (or you could tape a hoop between 2 chairs). Put a set of angel wings next to the "window"
- Instructions: Student puts on wings, climbs or crawls through window, says "Greetings!" to an imaginary Mary, climbs back out of the window, and takes off the wings and leaves them for the next person.
MARY HURRIED TO VISIT ELIZABETH
- Sign: Mary went to visit Elizabeth in the hill country; climb over the hills.
- Setup: Arrange boxes and pillows to make hills.
- Instructions: Have the students crawl or climb over the hills.
GREETED BY ELIZABETH
- Sign: Elizabeth's baby leapt: throw the "baby" up and catch it.
- Setup: Put a soft doll at this station
- Instructions: At Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's baby jumped in her womb. The students should throw the baby straight up, catch it, and put it down before moving on. If the baby is dropped, try again.
PRAISE THE LORD
- Sign: Magnify the Lord by singing "My spirit rejoices in God my Savior" through the megaphone.
- Setup: Put the bullhorn or megaphone at this station.
- Instructions: The student should praise God as Mary did by singing (or saying) "My spirit rejoices in God my Savior" using the bullhorn or megaphone.
TRAVEL TO BETHLEHEM
- Sign: Ride the donkey to Bethlehem, as Mary did.
- Setup: Put the stick horse at this location. (Someone will need to move it back to the starting point, or set up a circular course so that the donkey ends up where it started and is ready for the next student.)
- Instructions: Travel to Bethlehem on the stick horse donkey.
BABY JESUS IS BORN
- Sign: Mary wrapped Jesus in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger.
- Setup: Baby doll, manger or box, and strips of cloth.
- Instructions: The student should wrap the baby in the strips of cloth, give him a hug, and put him in the manger. (Someone will need to unwrap the baby for the next student, or the student can do that as part of the activity.)
PONDER
- Sign: Mary treasured these words and pondered them in her heart; find one heart in the tub.
- Setup: Fill a tub with red beans several inches deep and bury the paper hearts in the tub.
- Instructions: The student should search until he finds one heart and take it with him to the finish line.
Script for Mary
When performing these, the most important thing is to speak slowly. Practice in front of someone and have them time you. It should NOT be any shorter than 3 minutes (or much longer than 5).
Children enter room to find Mary rocking, and possibly singing to a baby doll in her arms. She is intent in her interaction with the child, and acts startled when they come in)
Oh!? Visitors! Shh!! I just got him to go to sleep, and don't want to wake him up. (looking lovingly at the baby)Â What a beautiful baby he is. So precious. So small. Yet what a big story He has already! If you can be really quiet, I'll sit here and chat with you while he sleeps.
(She sits near the children, or in some other way draws in close to begin her story) It all began with a visit from an angel. Well, I suppose the story all really has been woven all through history, but the most likely place for me to begin telling the story is when the angel Gabriel came to visit. You may have never seen an angel, and I hadn't seen one before either. I knew that angels were something to be feared, and was quite troubled when he appeared and began to speak to me. But the angel told me not to be afraid, and that I had found favor with God!
I wondered what this was about, and he told me that I would become pregnant and have a baby boy, and that I should name him Jesus. He said that this boy would be great, and called the Son of the Most High. That he would reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there would be no end.
Well! Imagine an angel telling you something like that, right after he tells you not to be afraid! I was still caught up in the announcement that I was supposed to have a baby, and the other things hadn't begun to sink in yet. Though engaged to a man named Joseph, I was not yet married; it couldn't be possible for me to have a baby at this time. So I asked,
"How will this be, since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered that this baby's arrival had nothing to do with me, or my relationship to my fiancee Joseph. He would be placed in my womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. He would be the son of God! I was still amazed at all of these things, but finally had collected myself enough to respond to the angel,
"Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word."
When I had said this, the angel left me. Though I still had lots of questions, in my heart I knew that my life had forever changed, and that these things would indeed take place. "For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name!"
In time, my stomach began to grow, and I could feel the feel the child within me. I looked forward to His birth, and seeing all that God would do.
The baby wasn't born in my hometown, Nazareth, because I needed to go with Joseph to Bethlehem for a census. The time came for the baby to be born while we were there. It seemed fitting, as Bethlehem was the city of David, and the angel had told me that this child would end up a king on David's throne. I couldn't understand how that would be, as we Jews were currently under Roman rule, and David's throne was empty. But my heart did race within me to think that this miracle baby would be born in Bethlehem.
When he was born, it was a whirlwind of events. As if just having a baby in a strange town wasn't enough excitement! We had visitors who found us -- can you imagine! We were in the middle of a crowded town, and certainly weren't trying to draw attention to our arrival, or the baby's birth. But shepherds came; who said the angels had come to them --and were praising God for the baby.
Angels again. It makes me think back to the beginning of my story, and the angel Gabriel telling me that I would have a baby, a baby king. It makes me think of all the questions I had that day, and still have. But I trust God that He will do all that He has said.
Oh, there are so many more stories . . . but I think I need to take care of the baby right now. I want to sing to him some more. Babies grow up quickly, you know, and you can never sing to them enough. I do hope you'll get a chance to hear from Joseph more of these things.
Thanks for listening to my story.