Object Lesson: Christmas Bows

Christmas gifts almost always come with a Christmas bow. Wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows are used to decorate and draw attention to the gift. It is not the bow that matters, but the gift that it adorns. It is sad that so many people are enjoying all the Christmas wrapping and decorations, but have forgotten the gift, God with us, Emmanuel, the birth of Christ.

Christmas bow games

• Christmas bow pass – In this game, teams race to pass Christmas bows from one end of the line to the other while holding hands. Divide the youth group into teams of 6-10 youth and have the teams line up next to each other. At one end of the line put six Christmas bows and at the other end have a basket where they can drop the bows. Give them the following instruction: “With your left hand, grasp the right wrist of the person on your right.” Teams must go through all the salutes to the end and then come back, without logging out to win. They can only play bows with their right hand. If a bow is struck, the team must retrieve it while still connected. If the chain breaks, all arcs currently being passed must go back to the beginning of the line.
• Pass the Christmas bow gift exchange – Played as “hot potato” Bow around the circle while listening to Christmas carols. When the music stops, whoever is holding the bow takes a gift from under the tree and places it on their lap or under their chair. The game continues until everyone receives a gift. If the music stops and someone holds the bow who already has a gift, go to the next person to the right who has not yet had a gift.
• Christmas Bow Hunt – This is like an Easter egg hunt, only with Christmas bows! Hide all the ties in one room or throughout the house and have everyone look for them.
• Christmas bow fight – Place a rope or jump rope in the middle of the floor to divide the room into 2 equal halves with a team on each side. Each team starts with the same number of bows. Set a timer for 2 to 3 minutes and when the game starts, the participants pick up the bows and throw them next to the other team in the room. When the timer goes off, everyone drops all the bows and counts how many bows there are on their team’s side. The team with the fewest bows wins.
• Taboo word – Everyone receives a Christmas bow to hang on their shirt at the beginning of the party or event. A word is chosen that not everyone can say. (eg Santa Claus) If someone says the word taboo to someone else during the event, you should give them your Christmas greeting. They attach the tie to their shirt along with any others they have collected. Everyone ends up trying to get others to say the forbidden word. At the end of the event, the person with the most Christmas bows attached wins.
• Christmas tree race – Youth are divided into two teams of equal number of players. One person on each team is designated as a gift and stands at the opposite end of the room from their team. In motion, one person at a time on each team should take ONE bow from a basket and run to the “gift” and stick it on their arms or head. Young people can only hit bows on the arms and head. The team that grants the most bows to the gift in a given period of time wins. Ties that fall don’t count.
• Christmas bow balance – Prepare two baskets of ribbons of various colors in each one. The baskets must contain an equal number of ribbons of each color. As you call out a color, the next person from each team runs to their basket, puts as many bows of the specified color on their heads as they want, and returns to their team. If even a bow falls off, they should try again. Say the colors in random order. At some point the game is canceled and the team with the most bows wins.
• Christmas Bow Strike – Glue two lines on the floor at opposite ends of the room as goal lines. The teams blow the goals across the ground towards the opposite goal and backwards. The first team to complete the relay wins.
• Christmas bow grip – Play like the usual game of spoons, but replace the spoons with Christmas bows. In the middle of the table, place one bow less than the number of players you have. Shuffle a standard deck of 52 cards and deal 4 cards to each person. Have everyone pick up one of their cards and discard it to their left simultaneously. The person to the dealer’s right, however, must lay one of his cards on the table to start the discard pile, while the dealer draws a new card. Repeat this process for everyone who passes by on the left. In each round, the dealer must draw a new card and the person to his right must add it to the discard pile, to have a continuous influx of new cards. The first person to have 4 of a kind (for example, the 4 aces or the 4 nines) has to lift a bow. After this, all other players must do the same, leaving the slowest person without a bow and out of the game.
• Put the bow in the present – In this Christmas version of the classic Pin the Tail on the Donkey children’s game, blindfolded children try to hold the bow where the ribbons intersect in a gift-wrapped box.
• Christmas bow throw – Bows are thrown into wrapped gift boxes labeled with various point values. If it falls on you the points. You can play with harder to reach goals that are worth more points.
• Christmas bow fan – One Contestant from each team must stand behind a Christmas bow holding a gift box. When the clock starts, each contestant can begin to fan the bow with the gift box. The contestants and the gift box cannot touch the bow at any time or the game will be over. To complete the game, the contestant must place the goal in a designated area of ​​the end zone (a square taped to the floor) within the 60 second time limit. The goal must come to a complete stop without leaving the designated end zone.
• Christmas bow tennis – Young people are divided into two teams facing each other at opposite ends of a table. The objective is to blow the bow off the opponent’s side by one point.
• Christmas bow label – Using a glue gun or piece of tape, attach the loop to a clothespin. You will need two for each participant. When you start the game, give each person two of the bows when they enter. When everyone has their bows, tell them that you are giving them two minutes to get rid of their bows. The only way for participants to get rid of the bows is by holding them to another person. Award an award to the person with the fewest bows. Icebreaker idea: After playing the game, each person should indicate a fun fact about themselves for each bow that has been put on them. If they don’t bow, they only have to say ONE thing about themselves.
• Christmas archery practice – Set up a series of rings (or crowns) hanging from a string as targets. Have the youth take turns trying to toss bows through the various sized rings or hoops for points. The lower the target, the higher the points.
• Christmas bow collector – Each young person is blindfolded, given a large wooden spoon and placed inside a large gift-wrapped box with the lid open and filled with Christmas ribbons. They should also hold a similar box on top of their head. In the given time, the blindfolded youth compete using the spoon to shove ribbons into the box on their heads while everyone else watches. Many times, empty spoons will be carried to the head and many times they will miss the box. When the time is up, the young man with the most bows in the box on his head wins.
• Christmas Bow Swooping – You will need small bows, Vaseline (Vaseline), and bowls. Place bowls 1 foot apart, with ties placed in 1 bowl. When the clock starts, each contestant can dip their nose in petroleum jelly and try to lift a bow with their nose. Players can only apply petroleum jelly by dipping their nose in petroleum jelly. The player must deposit the Christmas bow in the end bowl directly from the nose without contacting any other part of the body or object. To complete the game, a player must be the first to transport 5 bows from the starting bowl to the final bowl, with all 5 Christmas bows in the bowl at the same time.
• Mind Meld Christmas Bow – Place a Christmas bow between the foreheads of two people and run to the finish line.
• Christmas Loop Toothpick Relay – Each young person has a toothpick between his teeth and must pass a Christmas bow through the row of young people to the end of the row. The first team to pass all the arcs to the end wins. Hands are not allowed.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

• Describe some of the Christmas gifts under your tree.
• How are they wrapped? What colors are the ties?
• What are some of the things we need to wrap a Christmas present?
• Wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows are used for decoration. How many of you would like to receive a bow for Christmas? Just a bow?

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

• What are some of the things we think of when we think of Christmas?

Christmas is not about decorations. It’s about the gift. With Christmas comes many decorations: there are Christmas trees; there are Christmas lights, Christmas carols, candy canes, angels, nativity scenes, Christmas cards, Christmas bows, wrapping paper, and even Santa and elves. But these, like a Christmas bow, are just the decorations. They are not the most important thing in Christmas. Christmas is the greatest gift, it is about Jesus.

It’s sad that so many people are enjoying all the Christmas wrapping and decorations, but have forgotten about the gift.

Read the Christmas story from the Bible:

Matthew 1: 18-25; Matthew 2: 1-12; Luke 1:26 – 38; Luke 2: 1 – 20.

MAKE IT PERSONAL

How many of you never open your presents at Christmas? Just leave them with all the wrappers under the tree, never to find out what’s inside. Many people enjoy all the wonderful things about Christmas, but they have missed the Christ at Christmas. The gift of Jesus, of peace with God, of salvation is never received and there is only something left to look at or just one more decoration.

Unless Jesus is received into our hearts, the gift could also remain as an unopened gift under the tree.

Let your light shine so brightly that people know that the true gift of Christmas is not in all decorations, but in Jesus.