Free Printable Christmas Party Invitations
Free Printable Christmas Carol Sheet Music and Song Lyrics
Free Printable Christmas Carols One of my favorite parts of the holiday season are the Christmas carols. If you're planning on Christmas caroling here are links for free printable Christmas carol sheet music. Check the links for free printable Christmas carol lyrics, too. View more »
Epiphany Twelfth Night Holiday Party Planner
Few students look forward to returning to school in January after
Christmas vacation. So why not start the New Year with a holiday party? But you
just did the holiday season, right? Well, not if you live Europe, South America
or some other countries. There, the holiday season has just begun! And it's
called Epiphany (or Three
Kings Day, Dia de Reyes, Twelfth Night). Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches celebrate
Jan. 6 as Three Kings Day when the Magi brought gifts to Baby Jesus. People mistakenly assume the
Magi arrived with the shepherds, angels, etc. But the Bible says they came
roughly 12 days after Jesus's birth, so Three Kings Day is the Twelfth Night
after Christmas.Here's an Epiphany party planner to use for social studies lessons.
Tell the Christmas story using a nativity manger scene. Explain
that the manger scene is a sacred devotional in many lands. It's called a
creche in France and Germany, a presepio in Italy and a nacimiento in Latin
countries. St Francis of Assisi first used the manger scene as an object lesson
in his homilies in the mid 13th century. In Catholic homes, the Magi aren't
placed in the manger scene until Epiphany. Nativity figures "travel"
around the room as the wisemen, Have students write a play, using the gospel of
St. Luke from the Bible, to show what the Magi and Holy Family might have
encountered in their travels. Act out the play.
Explore the Magi. Read "The Fourth Wise Man" by Henry
VanDyke. Or watch "The Fourth Wise Man" movie version at Youtube. It's the
story of Arteban, who was supposed to join the other three Magi--Caspar,
Melchior and Balthazar--but couldn't because he was so busy living the gospel.
Read the opening chapters of "Ben Hur" by Gen. Lew Wallace and watch part one of Jesus of Nazareth for portrayals of the Magi.
Make Three Kings Day crafts using these free printable Epiphany
activities. Make a nativity set by dressing up paper towel and toilet paper
tubes in fabric scraps. Use yarn for hair and draw on faces. Make crowns from
recycled boxes. Cut a piece to around the head and tape in place. Cut the top
edge in decorative designs. Paint the crown with metallic paint or cover with
aluminum foil. Glue on faux gems, stickers, fur trim, etc.
Perform Three Kings Day ceremonies. Since Twelfth Night also
commemorates the Baptism of Jesus, light your children's' baptismal candles. If
they did not receive one, you can light any candle and pray a special blessing
for them. Do an Epiphany house blessing. In this ancient tradition, ask the
three kings to watch over your home. Write the their initials over the door
that you enter and exit through.. Use chalk to write C+B+M fpr Caspar,
Balthazar and Melchior. Use different colored chalk each year.
Make crowns from recycled boxes. Cut it to fit and paint the crown
with metallic paint or cover with aluminum foil. Glue on faux gems or stickers,
fur trim, etc. Dress up in royal (looking) robes and put on an Epiphany passion
play.
Prepare a Twelfth Night King cake. A
traditional New Orleans King cake is a frosted cinnamon ring
filled with fruit and nuts and decorated to look like a crown. Colored sugar in
Mardi Gras colors of gold, purple and green, decorates the King cake. A tiny
plastic baby Jesus is placed inside. The finder is king for the day and must
make another King cake to be eaten the next night. The procedure is repeated
till Mardi Gras. That's a lot of cake to eat, so you could do a weekly King
cake. You can make any flavor King cake you like. Bake in a bundt pan so it
resembles a crown and insert prize from bottom when it's cooled. If you can't
find a baby Jesus, use a Hershey's Kiss, wrapped candy, plastic coin or dried
bean. Spray sugar with colored water for Twelfth Night decorations.
Host a Christmas Holiday Kid's Party
How to Organize a Holiday Party for Kids of Any Age! Need ideas for holiday activities for children? Here is the definitive guide! Compiled by a 22 year veteran teacher,and loaded with time, money and energy saving ideas, you can host a party that every one will enjoy (even you!) View more »
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