Keeping Christ in Christmas- Dec. 18- Happy Birthday Jesus Party



(design elements by http://www.shabbyprincess.com/)



I've had good reason to be away from Joy Treasure this weekend. As I am writing this post my feet are still throbbing because we've been going, going, and going. One of the ways to celebrate the joy of Christ is to make much of Him at Christmas. To make Jesus the focus of the Christmas season, you don't have to do anything elaborate. Throw a Happy Birthday Jesus Party! Make Him the focus of the celebration. Lead kids and adults to remember why we celebrate "Christmas."

A HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS PARTY

Our Sunday School class had a bday party for Jesus on Saturday night. As I was washing my hair a few weeks ago, (which for some reason a lot of good ideas come to me when I wash my hair!!!!) the idea came to me. I was remembering how I used to go play games, eat pizza, and hear the Christmas story at my home church when I was a little girl.  Those are memorable times to me even now-they are just as vivid to me today as they were then. I wanted to teach my son that Jesus is why we celebrate Christmas. I was going to make a cake with him and then I thought, "why don't we all have a party together with our class and celebrate Jesus!" We ended up having almost fifty people from our class come and the kids had such a great time. Thank you God for opening my eyes to a simple way we all can make Jesus the focus of our Christmas season! 

This cardboard house from Hobby Lobby was a big hit. Inside the house are a few kids hiding!

This was a fun activity that kept some of the kids occupied while waiting for the food.

 We had let the kids play, then ate pizza, and read the Christmas story from the Jesus Storybook Bible.

After we the Christmas story, we had Birthday Cake. (I will post a picture of the cake later.)

To end the night, we had a hayride. Just a couple of bales of hay in the back of my husband's truck. It was a huge hit!The kids loved the entire night.

Here is the empty plate to show for the piece of cake I ate! yum yum.

I had this idea to make a shepherd's pouch as a party favor holder for candy. Here is how they turned out:

I am not a seamstress but this is so easy. Just buy felt sheets and fold in half. Cut the shape of your palm. Sew together. Then make two holes at the top and place wireless chenille stem through the holes and tie.

The night was a success because the focus was on Jesus. This was the first Happy Birthday Jesus party so I have lots of ideas for next years party, but my prayer is that every year we throw a Happy Birthday Jesus party, more children will come and be a part of the celebration. I pray they will remember Jesus' birthday and that they would treasure Jesus more and more each Christmas.

You can do this with your children too. Hope you enjoyed our party!