Items needed: Box of Celebrations, advent calendar, powerpoint (Click to download) – images in powerpoint taken from the brick testament.

Introduce yourself

Find Celebrations in bag. Tell the children that this is a clue as to what we will be thinking  about today.

Ask the children what they think we will be talking about today. Get one of them to read the name on the box.

Today, we will be talking about celebrations. Like this box of Celebrations which has loads of different kinds of chocolates in it, we too have lots of events in our lives that could come under the title ‘Celebrations’.

Who wants to share what they like to celebrate? What festivals and celebrations can you think of? – Take a few suggestions; Birthdays, Easter, New Year, Christmas.

This morning we’re going to be thinking about Christmas.

Who’s excited about Christmas? – Show of hands. (Put yours up too!)

I love Christmas; there’s such a lot to be excited about, and not just for me. Unlike my birthday, which might just be celebrated by me and my family and a few friends, millions of people across the world enjoy Christmas. It’s such a big festival, we don’t just pay attention to it on one day either – we have all of December to get excited about it, and count down!

Who else has one of these? (Hold up your advent calendar) This is my advent calendar. (Explain concept)

I use it to count down to Christmas, so in the drawers, there’s a small treat every day, leading up to the big treat itself, Christmas Day, or maybe the box of celebrations.

However,it’s not only because I like eating chocolate that I have an advent calendar; It’s to show me that i’m counting down to something worth waiting for, and to give me twenty-four days to think about what it could mean.

Some churches count down with advent wreaths…has anyone seen one in a church? (Show picture from powerpoint)

There are 4 Sundays in advent so we light a candle on the wreath for each Sunday advent

One on the first, two on the second, so on.

On Christmas day we get to light a special fifth candle, along with all the rest, so all the candles are lit. this is because what we’re waiting to celebrate is finally here.

Soon it will be advent, and we get to start opening our calendars and lighting our candles because Christmas is coming. But why do we bother, and what are we waiting for?

Why do you think we have Christmas?

Read a children’s version of the Christmas story using the Brick Testament pictures to air you in your story telling

Explain that Christmas is a celebration of a very special birthday.. the birth of Jesus Christ and just like the Jewish people had been waiting for the Son of God for a very long time we can wait for Christmas and get excited about it.

Prayer
Lord, we wait for the coming of Christmas with feelings of joy and excitement. 
As we wait, may we remember all that we have to do along the way, and may take time to think about you and the exciting birth of Jesus.
Amen.