Birthday Party for Jesus

It's that time of year again!  Time to celebrate the birth of Jesus!  We almost didn't do it this year because things get so crazy and busy this time of year....but then thought...we can't not do it.  He is the reason for the season after all! Plus everything is easier and more fun when you have a friend or two to help out :).

 

With my friend Angela Jost's help we came up with a theme and tried to keep it low key and fun. I had picked up a tree cake pan at a garage sale so we decided to go with a tree theme this year. 

  

  

We decorated the tree with some m&m's for ornaments that each had special meaning...

  

 

 

 

  

 

Then we read the The Tale of  Three Trees with a puppet show full of fun props. 

  

 

The kids got a cross to take home to remind them of the story and God's love for each and everyone of us.

 

 For a craft we painted tree ornaments....

   

 

 

My friend Malinda came up with an idea for our gifts this year.  The kids brought gifts of diapers, wipes, toys, etc. for a young mother of a newborn baby boy in need of a little extra help.  Of course I forgot to talk about that with the kids at the birthday party...but what's a party without a hitch or two. :)

I told a friend that "I just hope we get the message across when we do these parties."  And she reminded me that just throwing it is enough.  Everything doesn't have to be perfect, just getting together to celebrate our Savior is enough. What better reason is there to get together!

Merry Christmas!

 

For unto us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6



Birthday Party for Jesus

I can't really believe it's Christmas time already!  Wasn't it just yesterday that I was pregnant? And now I have a baby 2 months shy of a year.  Guess that's what sleep deprivation does to a person!  Whole chunks of time pass without you realizing it! 

Well, with Christmas time comes my now annual Birthday Party for Jesus.  Now that my friends Malinda and Angela help me it has become a fun event to plan.  It totally took the stress out by asking them to help and I'm so glad that they do!  Not only because it helps me, but because they are so much more creative than I'll ever be!

This year we decided to do an all girls party of close friends/relatives and neighbors.  The worst thing about birthday parties, I'm coming to find out, is who to invite.  We've had many a tear in our house over not being invited to birthday parties, so as a mother I have a hard time finding a cut off point! But, I guess that's just part of life...

This year we went with a manager theme. 

Our invitation was an ornament to color with information about the party printed on the back.

We started with a craft.

We glued craft sticks around a felt piece for the manger.  I found some nice manger scene figures at Hobby Lobby and put felt backing on them.  The idea was to have a craft they could play with over and over like a flannel graph.



I got some manger scene stickers for the younger ones.

Angela then had an interactive story for the kids.  If you are familiar with resurrection eggs for Easter, this was along those lines.  The kids went on a scavenger hunt to find little presents to open that coincided with the Christmas story.  Very fun!

Every child brought a gift for Children's Mercy hospital and we worked that into the story time.  They got to show what they brought to give away and everyone was very happy and excited to place their gift in the box for others to enjoy. 

Next we did the cake.

Malinda free-handed this cake of her own creation.  I loved how it turned out!

I just have to say that it's really nice to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and have Him be the focus of the party.
It's so refreshing to see kids having so much fun at a party that's not thrown in their honor!

  

 



We finished the night playing dress up and acting out the Christmas Story.  I think this was the kids' favorite part of the night.  They got to take turns acting out different parts.

 

 

We had Kings

Joseph

And donkeys!

Joseph leading Mary and the donkey to Bethlehem



Mary



 

A donkey taking a break

It was great night to take time to focus on the Lord and remember the reason we celebrate Christmas.

 Merry Christmas Everyone!

A Birthday Party for Jesus

This was my second annual attempt at hosting a birthday party for Jesus in my home.  I decided last year that we put so much emphasis on the girls' birthdays that this would be a good way to show them that Jesus is just as much a part of this family as they are. 

We had a blast doing it last year, only I decided it would be a lot less stressful for me if I asked a couple of my friends to help this year.  And my wonderful party plannin' friends said "yes!"

Malinda and Angela - thanks, you guys are the best!

For the two times I've done this, I've realized there are so few resources out there on ideas for a Jesus birthday party. So for those of you who want to do this in your homes sometime, I will go over some of our ideas. (And for those of you who couldn't possibly add one more thing to their plate at this time of year - believe me, I GET IT!!!  There are many ways to celebrate Jesus's birth as a family and this is just one!)

We decided to take the "Angel" route this year and talk about the angels role in announcing the birth of Jesus.  Angela put these cute invites together:

I included a little angel ornament with them because I don't know about your kids, but mine LOVE getting a little something in the mail.

I made some halo's for the kids to wear:

Angela did an angel window decoration craft for the kids by gluing tissue paper and to waxed paper. 

Malinda read the Bible story starting with the Angel's announcement and did a "find the hidden angels" game:

Last year we had the kids bring some of their toys to give away to a local charity.  This year we had the kids bring gifts to Blake to welcome him home.

He was so cute opening them!

Lastly, we had cake and ice cream!

I free-handed this Angel off the invitation....I totally don't have any drawing abilities. So, I was pretty proud of myself and as my sister would say, "the force was with me" when I decorated it.

After everyone left, I found my inner control freak stressing about whether or not we got any point across. Sometimes I wonder if all the kids care about is playing together!  I had done a lot of praying over our party and above all I just wanted it to be a God-honoring night. 

But at the end of the day, I remembered each little face that rushed to my door with excitement.  Each little smile in anticipation of the next thing. Each child eager to see their present opened by Blake.  And each scream, squeal and squeak of joy. 

The Lord was there and I'm pretty sure he was smiling too.

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This Week's Verse:

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

A Birthday Party for Jesus

The Idea

I decided to host a birthday party for Jesus at my house this year.  The idea came after we celebrated Austyn's birthday in October. We live for birthday parties around here and the girls kept asking me "who's birthday is next?!"  I would say, "Well, it's Jesus's birthday."  So I began to think, why don't we have a party? We have a party for everyone else in the family and Jesus is a member of this family too.  I tried to talk myself out of it several times because of the busyness that is December but I couldn't in good conscience not do it. This is the reason for the season after all!

I would be lying if I said it didn't stress me out, but I only snapped at my husband a few times so I'll call it a success.

The Party

I decided to go with a Follow the Star theme and managed to get a few invitations out.

Found some perfect plates and cups at Hobby Lobby.

I read A Star for Jesus book and then had the kids help decorate Jesus's cake by making it as bright as possible. This was a ton of fun! We also made a star ornament for the kids to take home.

I wanted to invited so many more kids but we were bursting at the seams as it was...I think we had 13 kids not counting the babies!

I also had the kids bring a toy from their home that they could give away to a boy or girl that wouldn't get any toys for Christmas.  The next day I had so many awesome toys to take to Main Street Ministries I was so excited by the kids generosity! The parents brought a bunch of canned goods and food items too!

I forgot to say and do a few things I had planned so I don't know how well I got the "real meaning of Christmas" message across....I even forgot to pray! Good grief.  But, the excitement level was at an all time high and the kids had so much fun at Jesus's party so I'll call it a success!

The Learning

This is what I learned from my party.  I need to utilize my resources, in other words, ASK FOR HELP! My friends have such amazing abilities and I didn't have any of them help.
Oh, how much better it could have been if I would have:

Let her bake the goodies

Had her read the story and talk with the kids

Had her do the crafts




Any one of these awesome moms would've helped if I had only asked...some even offered and I said "no I got it." I don't know why it's so hard for me to receive help.

 My control issues have to go! I'm the only one to blame for my stress, so next year there will be a party and it will be better because I will get off my high horse and ask for help!