Christmas Blessing Trail Mix & Crazy Sock Exchange

We have something in our children's ministry that we call Kids' Disciple Club. It is for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and is kind of like a mini-youth group. We meet once a quarter and try to combine service, fellowship, and fun. We recently had our Christmas party event with included a fun, easy service project and a crazy sock exchange that was also easy, inexpensive, and super fun! 

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:

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?

Worship Activity Bags for Kids

We all know that it can be hard for children to sit still and be quiet through an entire worship service. Different churches offer a variety of different ways to keep children engaged during the service. One very popular offering is worship activity bags for children.

There are a couple distinctive ways to approach this. One is to provide pre-assembled bags each Sunday. This is, perhaps, the most labor-intensive approach since it requires a set of "big hands" to assemble the bags each week for "little hands." Another approach is to set out worship bag shelves or carts that contain a variety of items and let children stuff the bags themselves withe the items they choose. At my particular church, we started many years ago with a volunteer who came in each week to organize and pre-stuff 50+bags. Once this volunteer relinquished her duties, however, we switched to the shelf method because we did not have a point person to do the bags each week. 

We have two different worship spaces. The cart is in one so it & the shelf is in the other.

A few things to consider;

The actual bags - I strongly suggest some type of canvas bags to avoid the crinkling, crunching noise of paper or plastic bags. It is completely worth the investment! 

These are the bags we use. (Markers for size comparison.) Our church logo is printed on the other side. We purchased many several years ago and they have lasted well.

Explanation to the congregation - If this is something new for your congregation, it will take some explaining, especially if children are stuffing their own bags. A letter to families, an announcement on Sunday mornings, a note in the bulletin, and/or some signage on the shelves where bags are located are all options. Be sure to include expectations that the bags AND the items in the bags are to be returned each week. They are not meant to be take home party favors! 😉 

Maintenance - Even if you use the shelf/cart approach, someone will need to regularly check the bags & shelves to make sure they are organized and re-stock items as needed. This is less intense than creating bunches of ready-made bags each week, but still needs to be a consideration. 

What goes in the bags? Below is a list of many, many suggestions. I am not, however, suggesting that ALL of these items be available all the time. These are simply suggestions for you to use based on your children and, quite frankly, your budget. Also, think about what ages of children are likely to be using the bags. Remember, too,  that items can be changed out seasonally. 

• Coloring books/coloring pages - You can purchase great coloring books at your local dollar store and/or print coloring pages as you please. 

  

  These both came from the dollar store!

• Markers/crayons/pencils - Of course, if they are going to have coloring books, they need utensils to color with! Crayons, washable markers, and colored pencils can all be offered. 
• Blank paper can always be used for coloring, not writing, or stickers.
• Stickers - All kids love stickers, right? You can also purchase seasonal  and bible story sticker sheets like THESE from Oriental Trading and other sources. 
• Books - Bible story books and children's bibles are great additions to the worship bags.
• Lacing Cards are a quiet activity that can keep little fingers busy while developing fine motor skills. The set of Bible Story Lacing Cards below can be purchased from Oriental Trading. They have a set of nativity lacing cards and various other religious and secular ones. 
  
• Pipe Cleaners - I don't know why, but kids LOVE pipe cleaners! I put them out for our bags and have to replenish them almost every week because they seem to be a favorite! Wiki Sticks are a similar idea, but would also have to her replenished pretty regularly. 

Photo Credit: Flickr

• Fidget toys - Honestly, go to Amazon and do a search fro "fidget toys." you will get LOTS of differs kinds of small items that are great to keep small hands busy. Pictured below are puzzle cubes (like rubix cubes) slinky (be sure to get plastic so they don't make as much noise), snake cube twisters, and fidget spinners. Also, check out Monkey Noodles, Liquid motion bubblers, and mesh and marble finger toys. 

• Activity pages such as word searches, mazes, and crosswords are great for older kids. You can find plenty of reproducible ones online or make your own. 
• Small puzzles are great for quiet play, too! You can get slide puzzles or twisty puzzles so you don't have to worry about losing pieces. 
• Scratch art is something most kids enjoy. You can get playing sheets or you can find shapes. 
  
• Flash Cards are a fun way for kids to learn. You can purchase some or create your own. Some ideas include bible story on one side/scripture on the other; sanctuary symbol on one side/location on the other (so they can actually find it in the worship space); and sing language image on one side/word on the other side (The Frutis of the Spirit are great for this one! )
• Bingo card - I saw this idea on another site. Create a bingo card with words they might hear during the worship service (pray, hymn, God, etc.) and let them mark off the words as they listen! 
• Magna doodles or Etch-A-Sketches both come in mini/travel size are are great for small bags. 
• Small treats such as fruit snacks or lollipops - This really only works if you are pre-stuffing bags each week. 
• Something kids can put in the offering plate - Somewhere, I saw the idea to give children a small sheet of paper that says something like "My Artistic Offering to God" or "Thank You, God, For . . ." so that they can draw a picture or write a sentence and, then, actively participate in the offering by putting it in the plate. 

Last, but not least, here are a few suggestions for what NOT to put in the bags. (Please note: these are all just from my personal opinion and experiences. If you feel these would work in your setting, you could certainly try them!)

• Play dough/slime - In our sanctuary, the pews are upholstered, so I have always been afraid that play dough and/or shine would get stuck tot he fabric. Many child care facilities have also expressed concern about these materials harboring germs. These could work if you pre stuffed bags so that old ones could be replaced with new/clean ones each week, but that can get pretty pricey! 
• Anything that make any amount of noise! I once purchased several of the little wooden Jacob's ladders (like this) thinking they would make great little fidget toys. I was quickly informed by several people that the "clackety-clack" noise they made was quite disruptive an had to remove them from our shelf! 
• Anything that is too expensive to replace. Unfortunately, the small fidget toys and a few other items I have put out have a tendency to disappear and have to be replenished periodically. If you have something you cannot afford or do not want to lose, I would suggest you don't put it out just to be safe. 

Have you tried worship bags? Have some additional suggestions of what to include or what not to include? Please feel free to share in a comment! 

Mealtime Prayer Box

Knowing that prayer is a key component to a healthy spiritual life, it is important that we begin to teach our children early. One of the most frequent and routine opportunities to incorporate a a family prayer practice is by saying mealtime prayers.

"God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food." Everyone knows that one, right?

While I believe there is nothing wring with memorization and recitation, it can become boring when we recite the same thing over and over. Therefore, it loses some of its meaningfulness. 

At my house, my youngest daughter (age 10) is usually the one who recites our mealtime prayer because her older sisters are far too old and mature for that! 😉 However, even she often sighs and mumbles because, after reciting the same blessing many, many times, she is getting a little tired of it. 

So, here is an idea to keep your mealtime prayer practice from becoming stale and mundane - create a mealtime prayer jar! It's is a super simple thing that might just jazz up your family dinnertime prayers! 

Simply take and empty, clean jar. Any shape or size will do. A box works great as well! Then, paint it, decorate with stickers or markers - whatever you want! Last, print the below pdf and cut apart each of the 25 short, sweet mealtime prayers. (Or create your own) Each night, when you gather at the table, pull one out an read it. Everyone at the table can read one or you can just choose one person to be the reader for that evening. You could even make a jar for each person around your table! Whatever works of you family is fine - there really aren't any rules! 

I hope this idea works for you and that your family enjoys this simple prayer practice!