Shepherd's Speedy Snacks

Christmas Extras: Faith Filled Ideas for Celebrating Christmas by Jan Kershner is one of the new books at the Resource Center, and it's filled with lots of fun and easy projects for the Advent season.  The projects each have an objective, supply list, time needed, preparation steps, and even what to say and ask the children as they work on the project.

I'm on the team designing the Advent workshop at my church:  Preparing the Way at Providence.  Like most Advent workshop events, there will be stations for creating Advent wreaths and Chrismons, a corner for stories to be read, tables of fair trade wares, and yummy refreshments.  But what I was looking for was a fresh approach to 'getting the word out' about the event.  That's when I read Christmas Extras and came across Shepherd's Speedy Goodies on page 22.  Perfect!

I started off at the computer, developing a topper for the bag that would contain what I renamed 'Shepherd's Speedy Snacks'.  On one side of the topper were details about Preparing the Way at Providence.  On the other side (after the topper is folded) is the 'what to say' section from the project as shown on page 22... a story about the shepherds leaving on a journey to see the baby Jesus.  I also included the ingredients of the 'Snacks'.  Four of these toppers fit on a page, and were printed onto cardstock, cut to size and folded in half.  On to the mixing!

For the 'Speedy Snacks', I mixed Cheerios, pistachios, and dried cranberries: nutritious and festive in color.  I measured out 1/3 cup per bag and sealed it shut.  The topper was then stapled on and that was all there was to it!  The youth will help assemble these bags of 'Snacks', making quick work of the process.

These tasty little marketing tools will be handed out during our post-worship fellowship time... a tasty snack, a quick story, and an invitation to the Advent workshop. 

Check out Christmas Extras for some Sunday School fun, for Children's Church lessons, or maybe some surprising inspiration!

PS - Easter Extras: Faith Filled Ideas for Easter Week is available, too!