Christmas Blessing Trail Mix
Every Tuesday and Thursday, our church serves a free meal to anyone who is hungry. These trail mix bags will be handed out to the guests who attend the meal. However, if you don't have a ministry like that, they could also be used as blessing bags to hand out to homeless people or taken to a local shelter for guests there.
Basically, I had all the ingredients there along with some large foil pans. The kids wore gloves to dump all the ingredients into the pans, mix it up, and scoop it into sealable sandwich bags with the card pictured below. My hope was that the trail mix would represent elements of the biblical Christmas story, so, as you can see on the card, the ingredients were as follows:
- Golden Raisins - 15 oz box ( to represent the star)
- Chex cereal - 12 oz box (to represent the manger - I used cinnamon, but any variety would work)
- Bugles - two 7.5oz bags (to represent angel trumpets -FYI, I could only find these at my local Dollar Tree!)
- Mini Marshmallows - 10 oz. bag (to represent the sheep and shepherds - could also use popcorn)
- Pretzels - 16 oz bag (to represent Mary's loving arms)
- Red and green M&M's - 11.4 oz bag (to represent God's love and promise of eternal life)
You could substitute or add other items as you see fit. One batch yielded about 30-35 half full sandwich bags and I would suggest that you distribute bags within a week after assembly so they don't become stale. The kids had lots of fun making it and I thought it was a great way for them to learn about this particular ministry of our church and help out in a simple way.
Crazy Sock Exchange
After we made the trail mix, it was time for some crazy socks! This is a great alternative to the "Dirty Santa" type of gift exchange that is often done. Everyone ends up with a fun pair of socks and some surprise treats!
So here's how it works:
- Prior to the event I had given everyone these instructions: Purchase a pair of fun Christmas socks in a size that would fit this age group (these are available at any dollar store) and stuff both of the socks with treats. Then, tie the socks together and bring them to the party!
- At the party, everyone started with the socks they brought. We sat in a circle and everyone got a turn to roll a die. We followed the rules based on what each child rolled:
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| For #6, they could keep the socks they had in hand and exit the game or choose to roll again if they wanted to keep going. |
We had about 27 kids there, so this took quite a while. I started having them take turns rolling by just going around the circle, but this got a little tricky every time we had to "scramble," so next time I might have them take turns in alphabetical order or something. One other piece of advice, pre-determine whether you will give everyone one roll, two, etc based on your time and group size. Then, once you have done it, the game finished and everyone gets whatever they have in their hands even if they end up with the ones they brought or a pair they are not fond of.
It was super fun to see what creative ideas people had for stuffing the socks. Here are some of the things that were inside:
- Candy (this is a no brainer! Kids always love candy and almost EVERY pair of socks had some kind of candy inside!)
- Other socks! Some of the socks had other socks rolled up and stuffed inside.
- Small toys (bouncy balls, cars, play dough, etc.)
- Toiletries - travle sizes fit nicely!
- Toothbrush & fun toothpaste
- Money! A couple socks had a dollar bill inside with the other treats! the kids LOVED finding money.
- Hot Chocolate - Just stick some individual packs inside the socks.
- Candy canes
- Christmas ornaments (Make sure they are not breakable!)
One more suggestions - make sure you bring some extra stuffed socks to the party! I had a couple kids who forgot to bring some and was very glad I had some extras on hand so they could still participate. It was also lots of fun for me to get creative and stuff some cute socks! 😀 Here are the ones I made:
We also played some other fun Christmas themed games, but I'll save those for another post! What fun ideas to you have for Advent and Christmas activities?
