Author: Madeleine L’Engle Illustrator: Frescoes by Giotto Published by: Simon and Schuster Available second-hand from sellers on Amazon and Abebooks “Possible things are easy to believe. The Glorious Impossibles are what bring joy to our hearts, hope to our lives, song to our lips.” Good for: Families with children aged 7—14 and adults who like … Read more
I love paper decorations. I can recycle them after the season instead of storing them and it gives my family a chance to have fun making them each year. Discuss: What do angels look like? Do they have wings? Are they male or female? Can angels be children? Do they have swords? Discussing these questions … Read more
Title: Jesus was a Refugee Written by: Andrew McDonough Series: Lost Sheep Books Published by: Sarah Grace Publishing Price: £5.99 Buy from: Malcolm Down Publishing Useful for: parents of children age 3-10 years old Best bit: Beautiful re-telling in the first person – Jesus and Joseph write their own story, explaining how they had to escape … Read more
Title: Bethlehem Town Written by: Andrew McDonough Series: Lost Sheep Books Published by: Sarah Grace Publishing Price: £5.99 Buy from: Malcolm Down Publishing Useful for: parents of children ages 3-10 years old Best bit: The fun, quirky, colourful pictures and well-rhyming text, describes the birth of Jesus taking place in a house, which from what I’ve … Read more
This year, I’ve been wondering about The Star. I love decorating my house with story-themed decorations and this year is going to be stars, so I wanted to spend some time reading and exploring this part of the Christmas story in Matthew 2:1-15. So I started with this question: What do you notice in this story? … Read more
These cute little books are a fab way to explore Bible stories from the perspective of a character in the story. This could be one of the main characters or someone who observed, one of the crowd or the family of the ‘main protagonist’. Thinking about what they saw and heard, what they might have … Read more
Free Download! I love making books (being a publisher, that helps!) so here’s a way to make your own Christmas story photobook. We often make photobooks with FreePrints which print 20-page photobooks for reasonable prices. All you need to do is download their phone app, upload the photos and wait for your luscious new book! … Read more
I love Advent Candles and you can get these from amazon. We light ours each dinner time in Advent, sometimes spending a few minutes chatting or praying or being thankful (here are 25 ideas on things to be thankful for!). Here are some other ideas of prayers you could use each time you light your … Read more
Search online for nativity art, and look at how the same stories have been depicted differently by different artists. You might like to look for pictures of the angel visiting Mary, the angels and the shepherds, the shepherds visiting Jesus and the wise men arriving. Which picture do you like best? How does it speak … Read more
Have fun by dressing up as the characters from the Nativity story. Visit some charity shops to look for bits and pieces that could be used in different ways. Scarves and dressing gowns for example. You could make tunics out of pillowcases and headdresses with tea towels and a ring of elastic. You could download … Read more
This is a simple way to make a gingerbread nativity scene by creating a manger scene in a stable (or house depending on your theology of the nativity!). I know homemade gingerbread tastes fab, but the bought stuff is easier to build with and gets us straight to the fun bit which is of course … Read more
I love Advent and candles. Here’s a really simple idea for using them to develop thankfulness in the run up to Christmas. It doesn’t take long, but a few moments each day will help develop a habit of thankfulness in a month when so much is trying to pull us away from it. You might … Read more