Advent and Christmas
Looking for some inspiration this Advent and Christmas? We have pulled together a range of resources, creative ideas and media to bring the season to life. We have a few Christmas and Advent ideas on our Pinterest boards too - check them out here
Advent
Advent Calendars
- *NEW* Nativity Advent Countdown (Sunhats and Wellieboots)
- A Journey through Advent (SUNZ)
- Advent Calendar (Busted Halo)
- Advent Conspiracy
- Advent Spiral (Good God Ideas)
- An Aotearoa Advent Circle (SUNZ)
All-Age Advent
- Intergenerational Advent ideas (Intergen AU)
- Christmas on the Move, our travelling nativity resource
- Engage Together - Advent: Lectionary-based Children’s Talk + Multi-age activities for Sundays in Advent
Advent Prayers
- Advent Candle prayers for the 4 Advent weeks (Theresa Cho)
- Advent Candle prayers (Theresa Cho)
- Advent Prayer Stations (Building Faith)
Advent at home
Jesse Trees
- Advent activities for Whanau and Tamariki (Laidlaw)
- 2017 Multi-Age Advent Ideas for Households (United Methodist Church)
- Jesus Storybook Bible: Advent readings using this great book, by Zondervan.
Jesse Trees
- Jesse Tree (SUNZ)
- Jesse Tree Printable Resource (CRCNA)
- Jesse Tree (Cath Family)
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Christmas on the MoveChristmas on the Move is a free printable resource with Bible Characters and a nativity set to make. Use it as a family activity at home or amongst your congregation - it can also be used in church. Join Mary and Joseph on their journey towards Bethlehem, as we journey towards Christmas.
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Meri Kirihimete - Christmas in New Zealand
There are some great New Zealand produced media, including those great videos from New Zealand churches. More videos can be found on our Christmas Media page
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Intergenerational ministry
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All Age Talks and Stories
Messy Church
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Christingle
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Christingles are festive celebrations taking place in communities every year. They get their name from the objects lit during the ceremony - oranges decorated with red tape, sweets and a candle. The Children's Society have resources, downloads and guides to help you run a smooth Christingle this year. (NB: Extra safety precautions needed when having candle flames near flammable face coverings and hand sanitisers.)
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Nativities and Pageants
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Bible Society resources
The Impossible Promise
The Bible Society NZ has a free Christmas booklet for families, based on Bob Hartman’s story booklet The Impossible Promise.
Animated video (YouTube) Download Video Download PowerPoint Instant Nativity (pdf) |
The Amazing days
The newest offering from Bible Society NZ, based on Bob Hartman’s story booklet The Amazing Days
Watch the animated video (NZ version) Download the video Sign up for a free impromptu nativity script with powerpoint |
Bible Society Christmas Videos
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Media
There are so many amazing Christmas videos and media, and we have put them on their own Christmas media page
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Make + Create
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Printable and Crafts
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Making a difference this Christmas
Compassionate Christmas
You might like to think about 'doing christmas differently' with one of the following:
You might like to think about 'doing christmas differently' with one of the following:
- Christian World Service - The Joy of Giving, alternative gifts for Christmas. These could be a great fundraiser for Christmas services, nativity plays and Advent events.
- Angel Tree (Prison Fellowship, NZ)
Songs
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Games + Activities
- Christmas Puzzle and Activity book (Strandz) - great to hand out to visiting kids over the Christmas weekend
- Human Christmas Trees
- A twist on Pass the Parcel - a fun way to retell the christmas story, from our friends at Resourced!
- Journey to Christmas board-game and instructions
- Family Time Podcast: Christmas Episodes (Salvation Army NZ)