Whether you find yourself at home with your own family or hanging out with the handful of teens who show up with their families on Christmas Day, here are four no-prep ideas to have fun and talk about the real meaning of Christmas together.
- Would you rather… Christmas-Style – Your group has to come to a consensus and chose one of the options in each of the following pairs:
- Have no Christmas Tree or One so big the top has to be cut off for it to fit in the room
- Drink only eggnog for a month or one sandwich made with Christmas Tree needles
- Have to wear the worst Christmas sweater you have ever seen to the beach every day during spring break or have to walk to school in your swimsuit on the coldest day of the year
- Always be smelling candy canes or only be able to taste sweet things one day a year
2. The quick discussion Lesson – What is our wrapping paper? Start by talking about your favorite Christmas-wrappings over the years. Follow up with questions like: What does that kind of wrapping make you think about the gift inside? After sharing stories talk about Jesus coming to earth born to a relatively average family and in a lowly place (the stable). Those were his wrapping paper. What other things were his wrapping paper? How did his ‘wrapping” (outward appearance, average family, etc.) reflect who he was and his ministry? How were they different?
3. Where does it say that? – The Christmas Story is spread out across different books of the Bible. Have a contest where individuals or groups find the following details of the Christmas story (if they are from the Biblical Account). First to complete wins the best prize you can find in the room:
- Shepherds in the fields nearby
- Jesus Born in Bethlehem
- The word became flesh and sweat among us
- Wise men
- Santa Kneels at the manger
- John the Baptist kicks his mom in the Stomach
- The Angel tells Mary about Jesus
- The Angel tells Joseph about Jesus
- The Little drummer boy
4. Pose the Story – This is simple and creates a lot of opportunity for pictures to post on social media. Go through the Christmas stopping after a scene and asking students to “pose the story” by recreating the most important moment using themselves and whatever else is in the room.