The Symbols of Christmas

For our Christmas Activity, I wanted to share something spiritual with the girls and have some fun, too. I had heard the story "Teach the Children" several times, so I Googled it and was amazed how many versions there were! I combined four versions--three I found on the internet and one that my mother had given me in a Christmas binder some years ago. I condensed a couple of things and used LDS terminology that would be familar to the girls.

Click the link below to download my version of "Teach the Children" via Google Docs:
Teach the Children Story

I purchased tiny Christmas Trees, Ornaments (from the story) and a red fabric gift bag for each girl at a local craft shop. I waited for everything to go on sale and got most of the items for 50% off.

I found some mini clothes pins and hot glued them to the back of each ornament so they could easily be attached to the tree. I placed everything in the red fabric gift bag along with a copy of the story "Teach the Children."

For our opening excercises, we shared the Christmas Story told in Luke 2. When we were done, I told the girls that I had something very exciting to tell them. Santa Claus himself had visited me last night and brought me this little bag. The younger girls were excited and in disbeleif, while the older girls just played along. I told them that Santa Claus wanted me to share something very important with them. I began reading the story. I pulled each item out of my little bag as I read the story, decorating the tree along the way. The girls had fun guessing what each ornament in the bag meant and were very interested in what Santa had shared with me. When I finished, I told the girls that Santa had left them all a bag. They were so excited to have their own little tree for their rooms. They took about 15 minutes decorating their trees and chatting more about each ornament's meaning.

It was a fantastic activity that taught the girls about the true meaning of Christmas in a fun way. I told them to take their trees home and share them with their families for Family Home Evening (which I think they all did!). I also encouraged them to save their trees and bring them out each year to remind them of the true meaning of Chirstmas.