Arts and crafts Introduction Christingle celebrations are a great way to engage children and young people and inspire them with the messages of the Christian faith. We have compiled a wealth of arts and crafts resources, which have been written with our colleagues, The Church of England s Children s Work Advisers that explore these messages in a fun and interactive way. For more ideas, download our Messy Church Christingle resource. Contents 1) Orange pomanders 2) Christingle cookies 3) Christingle orange and cinnamon muffins 4) Chocolate orange cookies 5) Stained glass Christingle window 6) Orange peel lantern 7) Prayer candles 8) Christingle colour-in 9) Christingle puzzle 10) Christingle banner 11) Christingle candle holders 12) Art exhibition 13) Giant Christingle
1. Orange Pomanders Oranges Cloves A large darning needle Ribbon Use a large darning needle to make holes through the skin of the orange. Push a clove into each hole. Use the ribbon to tie and hang the pomander. Encourage children to think about who they could give it to as a seasonal gift. 2. Christingle Cookies These are really easy to make so ideal for younger children Digestive Biscuits 100g Icing Sugar (sieved) 1 tablespoon water 2-3 drops orange food colouring Dolly mixtures and raisins Red liquorice laces Make the glacé icing by mixing together the icing sugar, water and food colouring. You may need to add more water if the icing is too thick or more icing sugar if it s too runny. Spread the icing onto one side of each of the digestive biscuits. Put one of the red liquorice laces around the centre of each biscuit to represent the red ribbon. Use the dolly mixtures and raisins to decorate the rest of the biscuit to look like a Christingle and put in the fridge to set.
3. Orange and Cinnamon Muffins These are great for older children to make. They could even be sold after the Christingle service. 250g self-raising flour (sieved) 100g Demerara sugar Grated zest 1 orange 1 tbsp ground cinnamon Juice 2 large oranges 100g melted butter 2 eggs Topping: 2 tbsp melted butter 50g Demerara sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon Preheat oven to 180 C. Line muffin tin with paper cases. Mix the topping ingredients together and set aside. Mix together all the dry ingredients including the orange zest. Whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl until frothy. Using a wooden spoon, combine the dry and wet ingredients ensuring you don t lose the air by over mixing. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases until about two thirds full. Spoon the topping mixture in a thin layer on top of each muffin. Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. 4. Chocolate Orange Cookies 100g dark chocolate, finely chopped 2 tbsp butter 1 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp baking powder 3-4 tbsp plain flour 1 Orange, juice and rind Preheat oven to 180C. Cream together butter, honey, and baking powder until smooth. Add vanilla extract and mix together. Gradually add the flour until you have a smooth but thick mixture. Add rind and juice of the orange and chopped chocolate and mix all ingredients together until well combined. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place dessert spoons of the mixture on to the baking sheet, leaving adequate space for cookies to spread. Cook for 15-20 minutes and leave to cool on a wire rack. 5. Stained Glass Christingle Window Stiff card Clear cellophane Coloured tissue paper Cut out an arched frame with a border of 1 inch from the card using a craft knife. You may want to do this before the session as children may find this quite difficult. Cut out a piece of cellophane which covers the entire frame and glue it to the back. Cut out various shapes from the tissue paper, you could use different parts of the Christingle as inspiration, stars and angels also work well. Stick the pieces of tissue paper to the cellophane until it is completely covered. Hang your finished stained glass window where the light will shine through it.
6. Orange Peel Lantern Thick skinned oranges A sharp pointed knife A spoon Narrow wicking Small metal washers Vegetable cooking oil (or lamp oil) What to do: Cut each orange horizontally into two halves and scoop out the flesh using a spoon without damaging the peel. Cut a circle, about 2.5cm in diameter, from the centre of one half. Cut a 5cm length of wicking, knot one end and pull it through the washer Position the wick centrally on the bottom half of the orange and half fill the skin with vegetable oil. Light the wick and place the top cover in position so that the smoke from the flame comes through the hole in the top. 7. Prayer Candles Card discs Wax candles Pens, crayons and paints to decorate the discs Activity: Invite the children to colour their card disc orange. On one side write or draw the things they want to pray for. On the other side of the disc, draw all the elements of the Christingle. Insert the candle into the disc, light them and join together in prayer. If you have access to the Internet, look at the What we do section of The Children Society s website and ask the children to pray for the children that we support.
8. Christingle colour-in Below are 3 images for children to colour-in. Suitable for younger children.
9. Christingle Puzzle Elements to make a Christingle (i.e. oranges, candles, red ribbon, cocktail sticks with sweets/dried fruit) Dice Activity: Children take it in turns to throw the dice and take a piece of their Christingle puzzle according to the number they throw. Each child will need an orange to start by throwing a six. Six orange (complete with red ribbon) Five cocktail stick with sweets/dried fruit Four cocktail stick with sweets/dried fruit Three cocktail stick with sweets/dried fruit Two cocktail stick with sweets/dried fruit One candle The winner is the person who makes their Christingle first. 10. Christingle Banner Paper for the banner Pens, crayons and paints to decorate the banner Activity: Ask the children to think about Christingle and what it stands for. Alternatively you could talk about the work of The Children s Society, or the time of year. With the children, take each letter from the word Christingle and ask them to think of things relating to Christingle to form an acrostic poem for example. Candles are lit on Christingles Holidays are special Relatives get together at Christmas Icicles hang off the roof
Snow may come at Christmas Trees are decorated in our homes at Christmas Icing is put on top of Christmas cakes No one wants to miss the Christingle service Girls and Boys are excited Light shines in the darkness Everyone is aglow in the candlelight Display the poem as a banner and ask all the children to decorate it. 11. Christingle Candle holder Christingle candle Plasticine / blue tack Clean glass jar, e.g., jam jar Tissue paper Red ribbon / tape Secure the candle inside the jar using the plasticine or blue tack. You may need to trim the candle down to ensure it all fits in the jar. Stick pieces of coloured tissue paper on the outside of the jar until the glass is completely covered. Stick the red ribbon or tape around the centre of the jar. Light the candle and admire the shining colours coming through. 12. Art Exhibition Give young people the chance to creatively explore their feelings in relation to bullying, by getting them to produce paintings or other art forms on this subject. We suggest that you ask them to look at this exercise in relation to the Christingle message of Shining Light into Darkness. Encourage the children not just to express the negative dark aspects of bullying but how light can be brought into people s lives by the respect, love and support of others.
Mount a display or exhibition of their work in your class, school or local library and turn it into a fundraising event in aid of The Children's Society helping us to shine light into the lives of children affected by bullying. Step-by-step guide to a successful Art Exhibition: Get young people to draw, paint or create a piece of art that reflects the subject of bullying and shining light into darkness. This could include collage, models, poems or short pieces of prose. Arrange to exhibit the work at your school or a local venue. Get the young people involved to run the event like a proper art exhibition with personal invitations being sent out to parents, other schools and local dignitaries. Invite guests to make a donation for their viewing. A raffle is another great way to raise money on such occasions. (Tickets must only be sold on the day. Any other type of raffle must be licensed.) Parents or carers can be encouraged to place coloured sold stickers by their child s works of art, just like a real art exhibition, and make a donation of any amount. This makes the children feel their work is really appreciated and helps raise their self-esteem. (All work is returned to the child after the exhibition regardless of stickers). Get the children in your group or school to vote by ballot for their favourite star exhibit. Invite your local press and radio stations to promote your achievement. Don t forget to mention that you are fundraising for The Children's Society. Don t forget to send in the amount raised to Christingle, The Children s Society, FREEPOST LON14519, London WC1X 0BR. We would also love to hear about any successful exhibitions you have. Please contact us at: christingle@childrenssociety.org.uk
13. Create a Giant Christingle This can be done as a group and used as a demonstration tool as part of the Christingle service. Large balloon PVA glue Newspaper strips Orange paint Red tape or ribbon 4 Kebab sticks Large dried fruit and sweets, e.g., dates, marshmallows Large candle Blue tack Inflate the balloon and use the newspaper and PVA to papier mache the entire balloon. Leave it to dry and apply another coat or two of papier mache. Once it is completely dry pop the balloon with a small needle and paint the entire Christingle orange. Another coat may be needed to ensure all the newspaper is covered. Attach the red tape / ribbon around the centre of the Christingle. Skewer the fruits and sweets onto the kebab sticks and secure these around the top of the Christingle using the blue tack. Make a hole at the top of the Christingle slightly smaller than the bottom of the candle. Wrap a piece of blue tack around the bottom of the candle and carefully insert it into the hole.