Review – Bethlehem Town

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

About The Star

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

The GodVenture Lazarus Book – a slow, prayerful read of his story

Have you seen my family activity sticker book: GodVenture through the story of Lazarus? It’s a collaboration with Yvonne Morris from the Diocese of Oxford, and perfect for use during Lent due to the poster in the middle with 40 days of Bible verses and activities. Don’t worry! It’s designed to be easy to use, … Read more

Review: Diary of a Disciple

Title: Diary of a Disciple Author: Gemma Willis Useful for: children age 8-12ish or anyone wanting a new slant on the Jesus story Best bit: brilliantly retold and designed Worst bit: you’ll finish it quicker than you want to Price: RRP £10 Only £6.99 here at time of writing It’s not often I come across a book I feel deserves … Read more

DIY Christmas Story Photobook

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

DIY Advent Candle

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

Explore nativity art

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

Nativity Dress Up

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

Gingerbread Nativity scene (using an IKEA kit!)

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

Advent Candle Idea: 25 Ways to be Thankful

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

My favourite nativity scenes

My name is Victoria and I’m a nativity scene addict. There. I’ve said it. I just love nativity sets, especially ones which everyone can touch, play with and enjoy. There are some lovely ones about, and although it may seem like quite a bit of money, I’ve found this is one of the best ways to engage … Read more

Play Mobil Jesus feeds 5000

This week I’ve aquired a variety of Play Mobil baskets so I thought we could do the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. It’s a story we know well, but I’m always amazed at how playing a story allows us to explore it and how it relates to us in new ways. Having set out … Read more