20 Creative Ways to Teach the Christmas Story

When you teach the Christmas story every year, it can be hard to find new and engaging ways to teach it. Here are 20 creative and interactive ideas for teaching the Christmas story in your children’s ministry this year! Use these ideas during Sunday services, family events, on Christmas Eve, or anytime you want to help kids connect with the story of Jesus’ birth in a fresh way. Find a printable version of this list here. 

Interactive Storytelling Ideas

• Story Stations: Set up simple stations that walk kids through each part of the Christmas story (announcement, journey, birth, angels, shepherds). This event turns the story stations into an “escape room” challenge for kids to decode and discover!
• Live Nativity Remix: Let kids act out the story using costumes, puppets, or even Lego sets.
• Christmas Escape Room: Create simple puzzles and clues based on Luke 2 that help kids “unlock” the good news of Jesus’ birth. Here’s one of our favorites!
• Sound Effects: Assign parts to different groups and when they hear their word, they make a sound effect! The sheep baa, the Mary’s shush a baby, etc. This script makes it easy! End with a moment of quiet as you reflect on the wonder and peace of that first night.
• Pictionary Christmas: Have kids draw parts of the Christmas story as you share it, but in this game, there’s a catch: kids are drawing on paper plates on their heads! 
• Nativity Freeze Frame: Tell the story scene by scene and have kids pose like they’re frozen in a nativity picture, like Mary and Joseph traveling, shepherds watching, angels announcing, etc. Take photos (or let kids take turns narrating) as you go. It helps them visualize and remember key moments.
• Piece by Piece Story Puzzle: Create a simple puzzle (either cardboard or paper) where each piece has a picture or keyword from the story, like Mary, Joseph, angel, star, shepherds, etc. As you tell the story, kids add each piece to reveal the full nativity scene and see how each part fits into God’s bigger plan.
• Make it a Game! Whether it’s a Nativity Picture Reveal, Christmas Mad Libs or Christmas Bible Bingo, use games and play to help tell the Christmas story. 

Sensory + Hands-On Experiences

• Smell the Story: Use scents like hay, cinnamon, frankincense, or myrrh to help kids imagine what the stable might have been like! We’ve even made a “Wisemen’s Gifts craft” where we used epsom salt and yellow food coloring (for the gold), then added drops of frankincense and myrrh essential oils into empty sprinkle bottles! Kids loved it! This lesson also invites kids to use all 5 senses to explore the Christmas story!
• Build Bethlehem: Have kids build a mini-town out of blocks or cardboard and talk about where Jesus was born.
• Nativity Mystery Bags: Hide props like a star, sheep, or angel in bags and invite kids to pull out a prop and guess how each connects to the story.
• Glow-in-the-Dark Angels: Turn off the lights and give each child a flashlight, finger light, or battery-powered candle and encourage them to turn it on as you read Luke 2:9 to highlight the angels’ appearance. Or this interactive message uses glowsticks to talk about Jesus as the light of the world!
• Story Stones: Paint small stones with symbols from the nativity and use them as storytelling prompts. This resource lets families do this activity at home! 
• Use Christmas Objects Kids Know and Love: Use gifts, candy canes, or a favorite Christmas movie to teach the Christmas story in creative ways all month long! Find even more Christmas curriculum here.
• Follow the Star Scavenger Hunt: Hide small paper stars around the room. Each hidden star has a clue or short verse about the Christmas story. Kids “search” for the stars. When they find all the pieces, gather to read Luke 2:15–20 and talk about how we can seek Jesus today.

Digital Media Ideas

• Stop-Motion Nativity: Encourage older kids to create a short video retelling the story using pictures compiled.
• Guess That Sound: Play sound effects related to the Christmas story (sheep, baby crying, angel wings, donkey bray, etc.) and let kids guess what part of the story each sound connects to. Then, read that Bible verse and talk briefly about that moment.
• Share a Video: After teaching the story live, let kids experience the story again through a video! Some of our favorites include the videos and mini-movies here. 
• Kids Share the Story: Record short video clips of kids telling the Christmas story in their own words and show them on Christmas Eve.
• Emoji Christmas Story: Share the Christmas story using emojis on slides or printouts and have kids guess which part of the story each emoji string represents. Then, challenge kids to create their own “emoji summary” of the story to share with their families.

Want more simple, practical, and doable ideas for making your Christmas meaningful AND manageable this year? Join us on November 13 for our online workshop all about prioritizing 3 essential elements: the people, the programs, and the point of Christmas. If you can’t attend live, your registration includes access to the replay! In this 90-minute online workshop, you’ll learn how to make your December in children’s ministry meaningful and manageable by focusing on the people (your kids, families, and teams), the events, and the message of Christmas. Walk away with practical systems and creative ideas that help you lead your children’s ministry with peace and purpose this Christmas season. Learn more and save your seat here!