Seasons > Christmas > Activities for the home: Fun Ways to Celebrate Christmas > Illustrations and Activities to Tell the Christmas Story
The following downloads are the same illustrations as shown above, but are much smaller (4 fit on one page), so they are just the right size for making into booklets or cutting apart to use for games.
Note: Use wisdom about whether to use this part of the story or not--for younger children, it may be better to leave off these last three pictures, and end the story with the wise men giving gifts.
This picture depicts Joseph deciding to quietly put Mary away rather than marry her. Note: Use wisdom about whether to use this part of the story or not--for younger children, it may be better to leave off this picture, as it could bring up some awkward questions you may not be ready to answer.
These illustrations of the birth of Jesus can be used in a lot of ways.
Tell the story:
They can be used to tell the Christmas story. If you are not confident to tell the story, you can print out verses from an easy translation and glue each portion to the back of the picture. Another option would be to let the children try to tell the story. The smaller booklet size might be good for this.
Coloring activity:
The pictures can be printed out as coloring pages, especially to help wigglers sit still for the story.
Puzzle activity:
Cut the pictures into strips or squares, and children can try to put the picture back together again like a puzzle. For young children, only cut it into 3 sections. For older children, cut it into more pieces, or mix pictures together to make it harder.
Game activity:
Print the smaller version and cut the pictures apart. See how quickly the children can put the pictures in the right order. For a large class of children, divide them into groups, and give each group a stack of pictures and stop-watch. They will take turns doing it over and over to try to get faster--what a fun way to review the lesson!! Or put them in order with some out of order, and let the children find the pictures that are out of order. Flip some face down, and see if the children can tell you which part of the story is missing. Let children line them up and see if they can stump the teacher! These are some fun ways to review the story.
