Kids can celebrate the coming of baby Jesus — the incarnation of Christ — with this fun Happy Birthday Baby Jesus Christmas ornament craft.
When I was a kid, my mom made Jesus a birthday cake every year.
It was one way to focus on the incarnation of Jesus. The fact that God-the-Son became fully human while remaining fully God as a part of his plan for salvation for his people is pretty amazing. So, the fact that Jesus–God-the-Son and the Son of God–has a human birthday, well, that is something our kids can consider as you explain the coming of Christ in human form.
Now, do we know when Jesus’ actual day of birth is?
No. But the reason Christmas is such a big deal is that Jesus was born as a human! God was made man–for our sake!
Happy Birthday Baby Jesus
Read Luke 1:26-38 with your child.
Before making your ornaments, discuss:
- Who came to see Mary? (Luke 1:26)
- What did the angel Gabriel tell Mary was going to happen? (Luke 1:28-31)
- Who is Jesus? (Luke 1:32-33)
- Virgin means that Mary was not married. She was not even pretending to be married. Having a baby was a miracle. How did Mary respond to the angel’s news? (Luke 1:34)
- Consider memorizing Luke 1:37 as a family.
The incarnation of Christ is an important historical and theological event. You can help your kids learn about Jesus’ birth with this fun ornament craft.
Baby Jesus Ornament Craft
Check out this fun video of the Happy Birthday Baby Jesus ornament craft!
Tips for Making Bible Crafts with Kids
Doing art projects with kids can be a challenge. For that reason, many parents forgo this valuable time altogether. As an art major and a parent who has done frequent art projects with my four children, I have a few suggestions for you.
- Cover your space. Use painting drop cloths and plastic to keep your furniture and flooring protected.
- Cover your kids. Grab a couple of your old T-shirts and throw them over your kids, buy them painting aprons, or designate clothes specifically for crafting.
- Do the prep work in advance. Do as much prep work for a project as you can before you get the kids involved. Not everything on the page needs to be their work. It’s OK to help.
- Schedule several short sessions for one project. Children need several days to be able to create larger projects. Art is time-consuming and requires energy.
- Encourage your kids. Children are likely to be frustrated by the disconnect in the artwork they envision and the art they actually create. Remind your kids that they improve every time they create, and tell them how much you love their work (even if you don’t know what it is!). Also, stick figures are fabulous.
- Operate the hot glue gun and X-ACTO knife. Hot glue burns are terrible and X-ACTO knives are razor sharp. Until your kids are old enough to cook, I’d advise you do the hot gluing and razor cutting. For this project, you may want to pre-cut the Nativity Scene.
Happy Birthday Jesus Christmas Ornaments Printable
You can get your free Baby Jesus ornament templates and step-by-step instructions in the store!
- Sometimes readers are concerned about using colored ink. If this is the case for you, there should be a setting on your printer that allows you to print in black and white. Printing in grayscale will still use some color, but it will come out prettier than black and white
- I recommend printing on white cardstock so the cards will be more durable and the back won’t show through on the front. This is my very favorite cardstock: Neenah Premium Cardstock.
- You’ll need to cut them out and glue them onto toothpicks. You can choose the black and white flags for your kids to color in, or the already colorful set.
Supplies Needed to Make Your Baby Jesus Ornament Craft and Happy Birthday Jesus Ornaments
You’ll need a few supplies to make your project. You may have a few of these items already. If not, these are all fairly inexpensive and will serve you well for multiple projects.
44PCS 4 x 4 inches Assorted Color Felt
Gold Eye Embroidery NeedlesEmbroidery Floss 50 SkeinsFiskars 01-004761J Softgrip Scissors Straight Stainless Steel, 8 InchPentel Twist Erase CLICK PencilSatin Craft Ribbon, 1/8-Inch
- Felt squares
- Needle and thread
- Ribbon
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Your printable templates
Make Your Baby Jesus Christmas Ornaments
Here are the steps for your happy birthday baby Jesus ornaments:
1) Print Your Happy Birthday Baby Jesus Ornament Template.
2) Cut out your Baby Jesus ornament pieces.
3) Make your baby Jesus ornament.
To create your manger, place the bottom side of the manger right over the top of the larger manger piece so that they line up exactly. Stitch around the sides and the bottom of the manger, as shown, using a flat blanket stitch for the sides and bottom. There is no need to sew along the top.
Place the hay on top of the manger and line up the edges.
4) Make your gift ornament.
Place the ribbon felt piece vertically along the middle part of the box and stitch down the center of the ribbon.
Sew the bow onto the top of the gift box as shown.
5) Make your birthday cake ornament.
Lay your decorated cake piece on top of the undecorated cake piece and line up the edges. Sew the edges of your frosting and cherries piece on top of the decorated cake.
Stitch the felt candle onto the top of the cake, then stitch around the sides of the two cake bases.
6) Add ribbons to your happy birthday Baby Jesus ornaments.
Take a piece of ribbon and form a little loop for each ornament. Stitch the ends of the ribbon to the backside of each ornament as shown.
You’re ready to hang or gift your happy birthday baby Jesus ornaments!
Your 12-month Bible verse calendar has themed devotions focusing on:
- The Bible
- Love
- The Church
- Resurrection
- Jesus
- Prayer
- The Holy Spirit
- The Fruit of the Spirit
- Salvation
- Our Father
- Thanksgiving
- Advent
Want a sample calendar? Grab your free Christmas Advent calendar here.
Books Make Great Gifts!
Teach the kids about the Bible and Christian history…
…with fun books they’ll love reading!
Introduce your children to engaging stories written in an engaging narrative they’ll want to read. As they learn more about God’s Word and gain real-life heroes, they will learn to apply Scripture to their own lives. And, give yourself the gift of a book that will help your kids learn and love the Bible.
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