Christmas Party Week

This week is our Christmas Party week.  We kicked off the Christmas celebrations on Sunday, with the Children's Christmas Program.  Then, last night, we celebrated Jesus' Birthday with a party at Pioneer Clubs.  

As everyone knows, the best possible way to celebrate Jesus' special day, is with a foam nativity craft.  

The kids did a great job, and most everything ended up where it was supposed to go.

After craft time, we enjoyed some delicious birthday cake.  Wide-eyed sugar induced smiles were proof that the cake was a great success.  

Oh, these kids.  They are just so amazing, and so incredibly special.  

And I absolutely love having the opportunity to share a fun filled afternoon with them.  

My amazing husband came to share a little devotion with the group this week.  Many things were learned during his 10 minute lesson.  First off, never give twenty kids cake, before you ask them to sit quietly and listen to a devotion.  This was a lesson that I learned pretty quickly.  Thankfully, Jer did an amazing job, and they all enjoyed hearing the story of Jesus' birth.

The nativity was a huge success too!  I finally picked up a child-friendly one, after a few years of bringing my own porcelain set, and having the pieces get a little too much love from the kids.  All I can say, is that super glue works wonders for shepherds who need their heads reattached.

Tonight we thoroughly enjoyed a fun Christmas party with our Senior High group.  We started out the night with a lesson where Jer showed the Christmas story told through Facebook.  It totally made me tear up.  There's just something so touching about bringing different aspects of a story that I've heard hundreds of times, into a modern twist.  Once again, it reminds me of why I celebrate this season.  I'm not just celebrating gifts or holiday parties.  I'm celebrating Jesus and a birth that brought love and joy to a hurting world.  I'm celebrating a Savior that still brings love and joy to a hurting world.  

After the lesson, we moved into the official Christmas party room, to play White Elephant gift exchange.  

The gifts were amazing this year, as always.  Some were good, some were funny, some were just strange.

Some were pretty epic.

It was fun to watch the anticipation of each person as they opened their gift.

Most of the reactions were pretty great.

All in all, it was a great night.

It also gave us the opportunity to thank the amazing leadership team that we have in our youth group.  We could not do what we do without these wonderful leaders.  They selflessly give of their love and time each week, to help to make our youth group run amazingly.  We love them and are so blessed to have them minister with us.  

Tomorrow we will be having our Jr. High Christmas Party.  Looking forward to more great people, great food and great gifts!