How to Make a Christmas Present for Jesus

You give gifts to your loved ones on Christmas - your family and your friends - but why not start a new tradition? Give a gift to Jesus. After all, it's HIS birthday.

You can do this easy project with your family, as part of an advent celebration, or with a church or Sunday School class.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Jewelry gift box
• Wrapping paper
• Bow
• Gift tag
• Tape
• Paper & pen

1. Start with a large jewelry gift box or small candy box; the kind with a separate top and bottom works best.

2. 
    

   Wrap it in pretty paper. It can be traditional Christmas paper if you like, or choose something special; white for purity or purple for royalty – or even baby wrap for “Baby Jesus.”
   
   Wrap the box so that it can be opened and reopened. (Wrap the top and bottom separately, taping the paper inside.) You can leave jewelry boxes white if you wish.

3. 
    

   Tape the bow to the top and add a gift tag.

4. Explain that it’s important to give Jesus presents, too; but the presents he likes most aren’t toys and clothes. He wants presents from your heart. Write them as notes to Him; promises telling Him what you'll do for Him in the coming year.

5. Talk together about what kinds of presents Jesus would really like most.
   
   Ideas:
   This year, I will keep my room clean.
   I promise to pray to you every day.
   I will try to love people more.
   I will volunteer at my local soup kitchen.
   I promise to be nice to my sister/brother.

6. Give everyone pieces of paper and pens. Ask them to write their “presents” on the paper. Have them fold the papers, put their own names on the outside, (Don't forget to write the year) and put them into the box.

7. With very little children, ask them to draw a picture of what they will do for Jesus, and tell you about them as they draw. You may want to caption the pictures.

8. Put the present under your Christmas tree.

9. In a year, open the box and let your children see if they kept their promises. Write new promises to put in the box every year.

Tips & Warnings

• If people want to their promises to be private, they can tape them shut, or just pray silently instead.

[sonni57]

on 12/8/2009 Now we are talking the true meaning of Christmas.

[tammyfrost]

on 12/6/2009 Wow...Good idea!