Gift Box and Homemade Christmas Ornament Craft

To children around the world, Christmas (without a doubt) means presents. At some point on Christmas day, we sit together with our family and share in the moment of watching each other open gifts. While it is a joyous occasion, it’s important to remember the reason why we celebrate so we don’t lose our focus on the true gift of Christmas.

The Tradition of Gift Giving

This tradition of gift giving points us back to the gifts that were brought to Jesus by the wise men. The story goes that a star rose in the sky that led the wise men from the East all the way to Bethlehem. The star went before them, guiding the way until it stopped over the place where Jesus was. When they arrived, they fell down and worshipped Him and gave him three gifts.

The Three Gifts:

1. Gold was associated with the riches of royalty and so it represented the kingship of Jesus. Later at His death, he was referred to as “King of the Jews” (Mark 15:26).
2. Frankincense was used as part of worship in the churches and so it represented the worship of His holiness and deity. Today, He is worshipped all over the world.
3. Myrrh was used when preserving the dead bodies for burial and so represented His sacrificial death. We remember that He was in the grave for three days until His resurrection. He is no longer dead but alive!

These gifts were symbolic of the life He would lead on Earth. He would go on to show us the way to heaven. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of old, all the way up to his sacrificial death on the cross, paying the ultimate price of sin for all mankind. 

Therefore, the gifts signified what the true gift of Christmas would be - Jesus Himself. Without His miraculous birth, there would be no sacrifice worthy enough to settle our debts. 

Jesus came so that those who could not come to God would now have a way to heaven. He came for those who did not have. This Christmas, remember that Jesus has called us to look after those who are less fortunate. May we look beyond our home to see those who are in need and may we be blessed so that we can be a blessing to others.

Gift Box Ornament Craft

Today, we give gifts to show the people we care about how much we love them. With this easy and fun craft, you can make this gift ornament to hang on your tree as a reminder of what Jesus did for us or make it as a gift itself for your friends and family.

Things you’ll need:

• Box template PDF - Print on white paper or coloured/patterned paper. Note: Regular computer paper is easy to fold but not very sturdy as a box so if you need something sturdier then use cardstock. With cardstock it may be harder to fold depending on the thickness. Choose what you think will work best for your kids to use. 
• Scissors
• Tape/Glue
• Ribbon or small bow
• Decorations: markers, crayons, paint, glitter, stickers
• String or thread

Instructions:

1. Print out the box template as many times as you need. You can make as many ornaments as you like!
2. Follow the directions on the PDF to cut out and put your box together. 
3. Decorate your box. You can use whatever you like, or if you use a patterned paper, you can leave as is.
4. Add the final touch with putting a ribbon on or a little bow on top.
5. If it’s a gift, you can make a little gift tag and attach it to your gift box.
6. Attach a string or thread loop for hanging it on the Christmas tree.