Free printable Christmas crafts stencils, holiday patterns, seasonal templates for art lesson plans

Inexpensive Christmas crafts are pretty cool. But guess what's even neater? Free Christmas crafts. For those of you who like free holiday stuff, here's a Santa-sized sleighful of free printable Christmas stencils, seasonal templates and holiday patterns. Print free stencils and make your own greeting cards, wrapping paper and Christmas crafts. To use make reusable holiday patterns and seasonal templates, laminate stencils and then cut them out. You can also transfer printables onto recycled cardboard, such as cereal boxes and cut them out with an X-acto knife. You might also transfer patterns onto recycled sheet plastic or Myler stencil plastic available at Hobby Lobby, Jo-Anne Fabrics, Michael's (but recycled is cheaper!)

Fashion Era has free printable Christmas crafts stencils with seasonal templates for religious and secular holiday patterns. Templates are arranged in a countdown to Christmas Advent calendar, one pattern per day. There are stencils for nativity (birth of Jesus), winter and general holiday patterns. Free printable stencils include reindeer, stockings, manger scene, wreath, holly and ivy, winter scene, snowman, ornaments, Merry Christmas banner,candles, presents, Mary and Joseph, Baby Jesus, bells, carolers, teddy bear, Christmas pudding, Christmas trees, angels, wisemen, Santa Claus and more. The art is nostalgic Dickensian England Christmas.

There's another page of free printable holiday patterns and stencils for another Christmas countdown. Seasonal templates include Jewish Chanukah menorah, Christian Madonna and Child, candle, camel, wisemen, star, a holiday choo-choo train, snowflake, dove, stocking with toys, wreath, Christmas tree, rose and for Easter and Christmas, a lamb and cross. About Painting offers links for many more free printable Christmas crafts stencils, holiday patterns and seasonal templates. Print a gingerbread man, patterns for snowflakes, ornaments, Santa Claus, Father Christmas and more. Christmas printables has even more Christmas stencil printables. Altogether Christmas features free stencils of animals dressed in Christmas-y outfits, like a cat in a Santa Claus hat! 

Free printable Bible Christmas nativity scenes, Advent manger scene

Are you looking for religious Bible Christmas crafts for children to make during Advent? You'll want these free printable nativity scenes. Children can color Bible characters and assemble an Advent manger scene. Here's a free printable Bible Christmas manger scene with cut and paste coloring pages to put on paper towel tubes. Catholic Icing has eight coloring pages that you can click and print directly from her blog. Each page features Mary and Joseph, donkey, angel, wisemen, shepherds, Baby Jesus, camels. Download the set from the website.

Hart of the Mountain has free printable nativity scenes with Bible character finger puppets. Activity Village offers free printable Bible Christmas nativity scenes that kids can color, cut out and assemble. Make a shoebox diorama stable. Scroll down for more manger scene crafts including a nativity mobile. words cards, and games.

Prudent Baby is a blog with a complete set of free Advent manger scene printables. Cute Bible characters people these nativity scenes. Love to Know has free printouts of Bible Christmas nativity scenes to color, cut and paste and assemble. Scrapbook Scrapbook has a darling free printable Advent manger scene with Mary, Joseph, Jesus, angels, animals, wisemen and shepherds. There's even a printable stable and manger.

To celebrate a Bible Christmas, allow children to color and make one character each day before the holiday as a way to count down to Christmas. This makes and excellent Advent devotional. Add a piece each night or move Mary and Joseph closer to the stable nightly. Save the Magi camels for Epiphany season. Have kids color while reading Advent calendar Bible stories. I suggest adding manger scene pieces in this order: stable, palm tree, manger, hay, cow, star, shepherd, sheep, angel, donkey, Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus, 3 wisemen, camel.

Free printable Catholic O Antiphons prayers, crafts count down to Christmas

Advent, a penitential season in Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches, begins four weeks before Christmas. During Advent, the faithful Catholic pray, give alms, fast and perform acts of sacrifice. It's a lesser Lent. Starting Dec. 17, in Advent, says Benet Vision, the Catholic church counts down the last week till the Octave of Christmas, praying the Magnificat or O Antiphons (names for Jesus) litany. The Magnificat was the Blessed Virgin Mary's prayer to God.

Each day focuses on a different Biblical name for Jesus. These ancient messianic titles are referenced in the Old Testament of the Bible. They can be found in the hymn "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." Here are the titles in Latin and English.

Dec. 17 O Sapientia (Wisdom)
Dec. 18: O Adonai (Lord of Lords)
Dec. 19: O Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse or Flower of Jesse's stem)
Dec. 20: O Clavis David (Key of David)
Dec. 21: O Oriens ( Dayspring or Radiant Dawn)
Dec. 22: O Rex Gentium (King of the nations, King of Kings)
Dec. 23: O Emmanuel (God with Us, or With Us is God)

The Advent tradition of praying the Magnificat O Antiphons began in medieval times. Some protestant churches pray them too. Here are free printable Magnificat O Antiphons coloring sheetsto help children learn and pray these sacred worshipful devotions. Family Feast and Feria has freeprintable ancient Catholic church images found in stained glass windows to color. Have children, make them into a prayer booklet.

Teach kids that the first title letters, Emmanuel, Radix, Oriens, Clavis, Rex, Adonai and Sapienta spell the Latin word "erocras" meaning "Tomorrow, I will come." Advent anticipates the coming of Christ at Christmas. The O Antiphons take us to Dec. 24 the Feast of Christ's mass (Christmas). The symbol for Jesus is two Greek letters Chi Ro (X and P). It looks like a Pax sign.

You might also have children create free printable Jesse Tree ornaments and decorations for the Christmas tree. Children could learn to play O Come Emmanuel. Here is free printable sheet music for different instruments. Perhaps they could learn to sing it and share at a nursing home or church senior group. Words are included on the links. You might also make treats based on the seven Catholic Magnificat O Antiphons. Cut sugar cookies shaped printable images. Or cut them like a star, sun, tree, key, King's crown, Bible, cross, Chi Ro, fish, baby. Help kids explore the O Antiphons with all their senses.

Free printable Advent crafts and Countdown to Christmas activities

We homeschooled our four children for over 10 years. As a Catholic Christian family, we celebrated Advent in the weeks before Christmas. In our homeschool, the entire month of December was devoted to Advent preparation and Christmas countdown activities. Advent begins on the 4th Sunday before Christmas and counts down to the feast of Christmas. Christmastide extends through Epiphany. Here are Advent preparation and Christmas countdown activities.

First, let's look at the season of Advent, separate from Christmas. Advent means coming and refers to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as a baby born for mankind. Advent foreshadows Christ's second coming too. In preparation for that coming, Advent is a penitential season in the Catholic church, though not of the same magnitude as Lent in degree of penance. Advent, is a preparatory, anticipatory time. Advent focuses on prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The four weeks of Advent center on themes of Hope, Expectation, Joy and Preparation (these themes may be referred to in different terms). Christmas countdown activities should follow those themes.

Pray the Advent Calendar. Catholic Christian Advent calendars aren't the cutesy ones where children get candy or toys. A Catholic Christian Advent calendar has Bible verses, prophecies from the Old Testament about the Messiah and gospel scripture readings. Make your own Advent calendar and have children search Bible verses that reference Jesus as the Messiah as homeschool history or social studies activities. The prophet Isaiah wrote extensively about the coming of Christ. Have them look up the gospel nativity story in St. Luke. Write verses on the Christmas countdown calendar. You could also pray an Advent novena.

Make a Catholic Christian Advent prayer grotto. Put up your manger scene or nativity set on a table. Place the Advent wreath nearby. Let each child make his own Advent wreath using artificial evergreen wreath and battery-powered candles from Dollar Tree. Or make green clay wreaths and burn birthday candles. Keep Advent candles glowing all week long. Pray your novena, do daily homeschool devotions and read scripture from the Advent calendar by the grotto. Children love bringing the sacred into their homes.

You might even set your grotto outside in the front yard so everyone in your neighborhood can enjoy it. Invite them to pray with you or just stop by and meditate. Keep lights burning at night to send an Advent message of joy, hope, expectation and love to neighbors. This is a great homeschool outreach lesson plan for children. You aren't shoving your beliefs down anyone's throat, just sharing the love of a Bible Christmas.

Make a Jesse Tree and place it in your Advent grotto. This daily devotional activity follows the lineage and birth of Jesus from Adam and Eve to the Nativity. You can create your own Jesse Tree with a simple evergreen tree cut from green construction paper. Have students research the family tree of Jesus using Bible verses. They might color images and hang them on the Jesse tree like ornaments. Add one per day as a Christmas countdown activity.

Perform Advent almsgiving activities. Do a Catholic Christian Christmas countdown with Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Write one good deed on each link of the Christmas countdown paper chain. Make every Christmas countdown activity part of your Advent preparation. Fill Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, write holiday letters, make Christmas greeting cards, create crafts to give as gifts, shop for Giving Tree gifts for church, go caroling, bake cookies and share with neighbors. Feed the birds. It's been since our children were in homeschool. But the happy memories remain; each of our children has carried these traditions into their adult lives.

Free Printable Advent countdown to Christmas Activities

Advent is the Catholic Christian season leading up to Christmas. For four weeks, prior to Christmas, Catholics practice Advent values prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Each week focuses on hope, expectation and joy. Here are free printable advent calendars for kids to make, to guide advent to Christmas devotions. 

Many involve candy or treats and while there's nothing wrong with a little treat, materialism defeats the Advent purpose: to focus on God. Constantly receiving teaches children (and adults) to be even more aquisitory than they already are at Christmas. If they're getting all season long, where's the magic of Christmas morning? Advent is about preparing for the coming of Christ with acts of charity.

Advent observances should be spiritual. Here are templates from Loyola for free printable Bible Advent calendars. Children read Bible stories and practice the gospel values of prayer, fasting and charity.

Have children make their own Advent calendar. Here's a printable calendar with Catholic feast days listed. Print Bible clipart from Clipart Pal or free Christian Christmas images from Web Weaver. Write Bible verses and gospel passages on the back of clipart. Have children list daily acts of kindness: visit the elderly, pass out cocoa at Christmas parade, wrap Giving Tree gift.

Mr. Printable has free printable Advents calendar crafts. They're not religious. but they could be made that way adding Bible gospel readings and works of mercy.

Here's are free printable Jesse Tree ornaments patterns for kids to color. The Jesse Tree is a visual aid that tells the genealogy of Jesus. It takes children through major Bible stories. Each night, children color a symbol to add to the tree, taking them to the O Antiphons (and ancient Advent prayers said before Christmas).

Sign up for ZonderKidz from Bible Gateway and get a free Jesus Storybook and Bible verses Advent calendar to print. Spiritual Advent calendars teach children that the best gift doesn't come in a wrapped box. The very best Christmas present, the reason for the season, was born in a rough manger.

ESRS creatives has a printable Advent calendar that looks like Christmas ornaments hanging from a tree. There's a printable contemporary Advent calendar. Check this site for a free printable whimsical styled Advent calendar. For a modern Advent calendar click here. Here's an advent calendar that looks like a 3D town. Here is another town shaped Advent calendar printout.

Yellow Bliss Road has an Advent calendar styled like treat bags hanging from a line. O Happy Day has a similar printable Advent calendar. And Petit Lapin has yet another printable bag-style calendar.

This site has printable advent calendars in different styles. For printable child-themed advent calendars, check this site for a Santa Claus Advent calendar. Here's a stocking Advent calendar. Or here's an advent calendar with tags that look like ornaments.

Here are some printable window advent calendars. Here's a cute geometric one. Here's a vintage calendar. Here's a religious advent calendars from Loyola. All Crafts has advent calendar printables. And here are more Advent calendar to print. Here's a site with links to more printable Advent calendars.

Free Printable Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico Lessons, Activities

Dec. 12 marks the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Catholic Church. It dates to 1531 when Catholics believe the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec peasant at Tepeyac Hill in Mexico City. Latinos venerate Bl. Juan Diego on Dec. 9 and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Their feast days are part of Catholic Advent celebrations. Here are free printable Our Lady of Guadalupe lesson plans. Lesson plans on Mexico are included.

Loyola Press tells of Juan Diego, who reported seeing a "lady clothed with the sun" who commanded him to build a church. To prove that she was the Blessed Virgin Mary she caused her image to be emblazoned on Diego's tilma (cactus fiber cloak). Loyola Press provides a printable image made from the icon that parents can have children color as they tell the story.

Mary our Mother describes many miracles associated with Our Lady of Guadalupe's image. It provides a Biblical analysis, dates, timeline, history and biographies. There is a cultural analysis on relations between Spanish explorers and missionaries and the native Aztec in Mexico in the 16th century. Many terms are Aztec or Spanish and this site provides translation. Parents can use these to explain the significance of Our Lady of Guadalupe for Catholics and Hispanics.

Mother of All Peoples tells how the Guadalupe apparition of Mary fits with other appearances of Our Lady. Tradition in Action offers slide shows about scientific aspects of Our Lady's image. Parents can use this to help children understand the image from a technological viewpoint.

Catholic Heritage Curricula has many free home-school activities. It offers a how-to-draw coloring page of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Catholic Mom has free printable Our Lady of Guadalupe lessons, games, puzzles, coloring sheets and activities. There are several printable crafts.

Sancta has printable prayers and holy cards. Sancta gives parents permission to print these images and use them for family devotions.
Children's author and illustrator Tomie de Paola wrote "The Lady of Guadalupe." Parents can use this version to tell the story to younger children. The book contains many helpful and references and some activities too.

Free Printable St Nicholas Day Activities, Christmas Crafts

Dec, 6 marks the Catholic feast day of St. Nicholas, said the Manila Bulletin Dec. 5. He was a fourth century bishop and patron saint of Orthodox Christians, Russia, Holland and children around the world. Dec. 6 is Saint Nicholas Day in many countries. He is the Christmas gift-giving figure and basis for the Santa Claus legend, St.Nick's acts of charity weren't myth, however. If you want to celebrate a more Christ-centered Advent and Christmas, here are free printable St. Nicholas activities.

First-School has an adorable St. Nicholas Advent calendar to print free. There are free printable advent wreath crafts, Bible Christmas lesson plans, nativity of Jesus coloring pages and more.

St. Nicholas Center is dedicated to the promulgation of the faith through devotion to St. Nicholas. Visit the activities page with free printable St. Nicholas games, crafts, lesson plans, hidden pictures, puzzles, word search and 3D cut and paste play set. You can print a free St, Nicholas coloring bookfeaturing holy cards, Byzantine icons and stained glass images of the saint. Even older children will enjoy coloring these beautiful sacred images. Use as an art lesson to explore Byzantium and the Eastern Orthodox church. Older children might color the images and write a narrative of St. Nicholas's. Then assemble into a book, laminate and read annually on the Feast of St. Nicholas.

Catholic Mom has free printable Catholic Christmas activities in the Sunday gospel section. There are free printable advent activities too. EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) has a Catholic Kidssite with holiday and holy day lesson plans, games, crafts, recipes and activities. Check the main site for viewings of the cartoon Nicholas: the Boy Who Became Santa Claus. Youtube has a video on Nicholas, the Real Santa Claus.

Don't forget the best-loved St. Nicholas Day tradition. It comes from the Netherlands. On St. Nicholas eve, December 5, children leave their shoes out near the door. Legend says St. Nicholas, dressed in his bishop's robe and mitre, rides by on a white stallion and leaves presents in shoes. Children leave a hot drink for St. Nicholas and hay or a carrot for his noble steed.

Nicholas's feast day is Dec. 19 in the Julian Orthodox calendar.

Free Printable Bible Games, Puzzles, Activities for Christmas

Looking for free printable Bible Christmas lesson plans? Here are dozens of free printable Catholic and Christian Christmas activities. Focus on the real meaning of Christmas. Coloring pages, crafts, mazes, word search, puzzles and lesson plans are available to print free for families and non-profits. These activities make excellent holiday lesson plans. They're great to use at Advent to count down to Christmas. Use for homeschool, Sunday school, Catholic and Christian school, CCD and Catholic religious education. These Christmas activities come right from the Bible, which of course, incorporates the Joyful Mysteries of the rosary, too.

Calvary Williamsport features a Calvary Kids Pages website with all sorts of free printable Christmas activities, games, puzzles and lessons.

You can print puzzles, color by number, dot to dot, crossword and mazes like:

-- Zecharias visited by Angel Gabriel word search

-- Annunciation of Angel Gabriel to Mary hidden picture page

-- Angel appears to Joseph word search and crossword puzzle

-- Mary, Joseph and donkey travel to Bethlehem maze and dot to dot puzzle

-- Jesus born in a manger maze

-- Angels appear to shepherds color by number puzzle

-- Birth of Jesus crossword puzzle and word search

-- Color by number angel puzzle

You can print Christmas and Advent crafts like:

-- Manger scene activity

-- Nativity scene craft

-- Advent wreath craft

-- Candy cane story activity

-- Snowflake maze and puzzle

-- Snowflake craft

-- Jesus is the Greatest gift maze

-- Events of the life of Jesus sequencing activity

Calvary Kids Pages has dozens of free printable Christmas coloring pages of angels, Mary and Joseph, Baby Jesus, stable, shepherds, star of Bethlehem, manger scene and Bible stories. This should keep kids actively engaged till Christmas and beyond!

Free Printable Advent Crafts, Christmas Activities

Are you looking for religious Bible Christmas crafts for children to make during Advent? You'll want these free printable nativity scenes. Children can color Bible characters and assemble an Advent manger scene. Here's a free printable Bible Christmas manger scene with cut and paste coloring pages to put on paper towel tubes. Catholic Icing has eight coloring pages that you can click and print directly from her blog. Each page features Mary and Joseph, donkey, angel, wisemen, shepherds, Baby Jesus, camels. Download the set from the website.

Hart of the Mountain has free printable nativity scenes with Bible character finger puppets. Activity Village offers free printable Bible Christmas nativity scenes that kids can color, cut out and assemble. Make a shoebox diorama stable. Scroll down for more manger scene crafts including a nativity mobile. words cards, and games.

Prudent Baby is a blog with a complete set of free Advent manger scene printables. Cute Bible characters people these nativity scenes. Love to Know has free printouts of Bible Christmas nativity scenes to color, cut and paste and assemble. Scrapbook Scrapbook has a darling free printable Advent manger scene with Mary, Joseph, Jesus, angels, animals, wisemen and shepherds. There's even a printable stable and manger.

Free Printable St. Lucia Day Activities, Christmas Around the World

Advent is the Christian period of preparation for Christmas. Several Catholic feast days fall during Advent: Dec. 6 is St. Nicholas, Dec. 12 is Our Lady of Guadalupe and Dec. 13 is St. Lucia (or Lucy) Day, says School of the Seasons. Here are free printable St. Lucia Day activities. Advent is a great time to learn about Christmas traditions around the world. St. Lucia was from Sweden. St. Lucia is the patron saint of Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark). So on her feast day, explore Scandinavian Christmas celebrations.

Reenact St. Lucia story. Legend tells of a period of great hunger and snow storms in Sweden. St. Lucia is said to have brought warm food and drink to the needy. She appeared dressed in white with a halo of light around her head. On St. Lucia Day the eldest girl dresses in white, wears a lighted wreath halo and serves sweet rolls and cocoa to her family and neighbors. You could reenact the story or bring baked goods, Christmas cookies and holiday treats to neighbors. Remember especially the elderly, unemployed, lonely or handicapped. Thrifty Fun shares traditional St. Lucia Day recipes.

Make St. Lucia Day crafts and games. Willow of Wonder has a free printable St. Lucia Day crownand recipes for sweets. Catholic Mom has Sunday gospel lesson plans for the entire liturgical year. The December page features printable activities for Advent and feast days that fall during that time. There are puzzles, games, crafts, wreath activities and more. Making Learning Fun has free printable St. Lucia crafts, coloring pages, paper dolls, puppets and 3D stand-up crafts.

Learn about St. Lucia Day. Here is a collection of free printable St. Lucia lesson plans from Bright Hub Education. Here a St. Lucia themed printable lessons from Lesson Planet. There are maps and activities on Sweden, too. PBSKids has an Arthur episode with activities featuring George and D.W. celebrating St. Lucia Day.

Celebrate St. Lucia Day as part of Advent. Pro Teacher has created a printable December Holidays unit. These activities focus on Advent and Christmas and take you though St. Nicholas Day, St. Lucia Day and other December activities. There is a free printable Advent calendar, Advent house and other activities. Loyola Press has a plethora of free Advent resources and printables.

Free Printable Jesse Tree Pattern, Ornaments

 Advent is the Catholic Christmas liturgical season leading up to Christmas. For four weeks, we pray, fast, read Bible passages on the gospel Christmas story and give alms to the poor. The theme of Advent is to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. One way is to pray an Advent calendar. Another, related to the Advent calendar is to follow a Jesse Tree.

The Jesse Tree is an ancient visual aid the shows the lineage of Jesus. The basis comes from the Old Testament Bible passage "a root shall spring up from the stump of Jesse's lineage." This Bible foretells the birth of the Messiah and that He will come through Jesse, King David's father. . During Advent, symbols are hung on the Jesse Tree to represent Bible characters and people in Jesus's family tree.

Here are free printable Jesse Tree devotional activities. Each night, have children color one symbol place it on the Jesse Tree. Do this as you light candles on the Advent wreath and candles and read and pray from the Advent calendar. The Jesse Tree ends by adding images from the O Antiphons, another ancient Advent to Christmas series of prayers.

Life Your Way has a set of free printable Jesse Tree ornaments with Biblical symbols. ERIERCD has several pages of Jesse Tree coloring pages to print free. Print in black and white and have kids color. Jesse Tree ornaments include apple tree (Adam and Eve). Ark and rainbow (Noah), tent (Abraham), cradle (Sarah), coat (Joseph), stone tablets (Moses), Harp (David), ladder (Jacob), tambourine (Miriam), crown (Solomon), anchor (Ruth) lion and lamb (Isaiah), mallet (Deborah), trumpet (Joshua), lion (Daniel), well (Rebecca), house (Elizabeth), lily (Mary) hammer (St. Joseph) Chi Ro (Jesus). The Reformed Church in America has more free printable Jesse Tree symbols to color. Catholic Icing has more printable Advent Jesse tree crafts. 1+1+1=1 has a free printable Jesse Tree booklet with devotions, prayers and crafts to make.

The Jesse Tree can be made in many ways. In times past, it was a Christmas tree. Some families use a tree made of paper or a cloth banner with detachable ornaments. In our family I use a small table top tree with child-made ornaments and symbols. We add one each day.