Preschool Christmas Bible activities (ages 2–5)

Nativity games, crafts and songs for children who can't read yet, plus a 30-minute plan you can teach this Sunday.

Updated 1 November 2026 · How we pick resources

Two- to five-year-olds learn the Christmas story through their bodies: moving, touching, singing and repeating. Keep each activity short (5–10 minutes), tell the story the same way every week, and let them act it out.

A 30-minute preschool Christmas lesson

1. Welcome (5 min): Sing "Away in a Manger" while children arrive. Hand each child a small piece of hay or yellow wool to hold.
2. Story (5 min): Tell Luke 2:1–20 with figures from a child-safe nativity set. Use the same short lines every week: "Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem. There was no room. Baby Jesus was born and laid in a manger."
3. Game (10 min): Play "Where's baby Jesus?" (below).
4. Craft (8 min): Paper plate angels or handprint sheep (below).
5. Prayer (2 min): "Thank you, God, for sending Jesus." Children add their hay to a shoebox manger as they say it.

Nativity games (no reading needed)

Where's baby Jesus? (ages 2–5)

Hide a baby Jesus figure (or a wrapped doll) while children cover their eyes. They search like the shepherds who "hurried off" to find him (Luke 2:16). Whoever finds him lays him in the manger and hides him next time.

Shepherds, sheep and angels (ages 3–5)

Call out "Shepherds!" (hold a pretend staff), "Sheep!" (crawl and baa) or "Angels!" (arms up, "Do not be afraid!"). When you say "Baby Jesus is sleeping," everyone lies down very quietly.

Follow the star (ages 3–5)

Walk a paper star on a stick slowly around the room while children follow like the wise men. Stop at a manger or a picture of Jesus, and let everyone kneel and give him a "gift" (a pretend box).

Who is it? (ages 4–5)

Hold up nativity figures or pictures one at a time and ask: "Who is this? What did they do?" Mary (Jesus' mother), Joseph (took care of them), the shepherds (came to see), an angel (told the good news), the wise men (brought gifts).

Easy crafts

• Paper plate angel: fold a paper plate into a cone for the body, add a face and two paper wings. Write "Glory to God!" on the wings for parents to read.
• Handprint sheep: white paint handprint, fingers down for legs, cotton wool on the body. Talk about the shepherds' sheep.
• Star of Bethlehem: stick yellow tissue squares onto a cardboard star. Hang them from the ceiling.
• Shoebox manger: each week children add a strip of yellow paper "hay" for every kind thing they did, ready for baby Jesus at Christmas.

Nativity sensory bin

Fill a tub with hay or shredded yellow paper, wooden animals, a cloth, and a baby figure. Children dig, find and name each piece, then tell you where it belongs in the story. (The Bible mentions the manger and the shepherds' flocks; the ox and donkey come from tradition, which is fine for play.)

Songs preschoolers can learn

"Away in a Manger", "Silent Night" (first verse), "Go Tell It on the Mountain" (chorus) and "Happy Birthday, Jesus" all work well. Add simple motions: rocking arms, a finger to the lips, pointing up.

For a mixed-age class

If older siblings join your preschoolers, picture bingo works for everyone: little ones find the pictures while older children call them.

Our game

Christmas Picture Bingo

Ages 3–8 · $4.99

30 different printable picture cards, so children who can't read yet can play, plus a web caller that calls pictures at random and checks a win from the card number.

Get it on Etsy TpT

Older children (5 and up) can play our Christmas Bible game show at the Kids level.

Our game

Bible Showdown: The Christmas Story

Ages 5–18 (3 levels) · $11.99

A click-to-play Bible game show covering the prophecies, the angel messages and the nativity. Kids, preteens and teens each get their own 25 questions plus a Final Round, all with Bible references. Plays in any web browser with automatic scoring, or as a PowerPoint, with printable cards for classes without a screen.

Get it on Etsy Gumroad TpT

Preschool printables we recommend

See also: Christmas Bible games for kids and the nativity lesson by age.