On Tuesday morning, I felt like the Pied Piper. None of the neighbor kids returned for our Christmas activity. After getting a few kids outside our compound, we wandered down the street to get most of the kids who go to school with SHIP for one of our Christmas service ideas.
Each child received a ziploc of candy & paper plate with graham crackers. Each child made their own graham cracker nativity crafts for kids from the candy in the ziploc.
- The people (Joseph/Jose, Mary/Maria & shepherd/pastor) were made from gumdrops & a toothpick (to hold them together.
- Sheep were made from large marshmallows, black licorice & toothpicks.
- A donkey was made from a large tootsie roll & small large tootsie rolls. I cut a snack size tootsie roll in half for the donkey’s body. Each child cut 3 small tootsie rolls in half. They used 4 small pieces as donkey legs. The last 2 small pieces made the donkey’s neck & head. Some used a toothpick to keep the neck & head connected.
- If we had time, we would have created a stable, but it was a little too involved. If I had more helpers, we might have made a stable. But, I was alone with 10-15 kids, trying to explain this project with my limited Spanish.
- Finally, we made a manger of graham crackers. The base was half of a large graham cracker. The remaining half was broken lengthwise. I smeared chocolate frosting along the edge, so each child could put the 2 small halves together and place them on the base.
- Now it was time for hay, so I sprinkled coconut on each manger. The kids added a small marshmallow which represented baby Jesus.
Although I’m not sure how much they related the Christmas story to the candy nativity, the kids had a fun time. Here are more ideas to share the Nativity story with your kids:
In the afternoon, the kids from the orphanage came over. We repeated the project with them.NOTE
.Question: Does your family make gingerbread houses?? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
2 Comments
We make gingerbread houses on Thanksgiving. This year we are making them from scratch from graham crackers.
Our kids loved making graham cracker houses & villages. Let me know how it goes