Day 1 After Snack Activities 

Saint Nicholas Story Time

Read a book about Saint Nicholas while the kids are enjoying their snack.

A couple options include: Saint Nicholas: The Story of the Christmas Legend orThe Legend of St. Nicholas.

Cool Coin Challenge

Did you know that St. Nicholas, who we also know as Santa Claus, used to give coins to help people? He would secretly leave coins in shoes or stockings to bring joy and help those in need. When you see coins, remember how St. Nicholas used them to spread kindness and happiness. It’s a great way to think about sharing and helping others just like he did!

Here are a few fun and simple coin games for kids:

Coin Toss: Try to toss a coin into a cup or a jar from a short distance. You can take turns and see who gets the most coins in!

Heads or Tails: Flip a coin and guess which side it will land on—heads or tails. You can play with friends and see who guesses right the most!

Coin Stack Challenge: See who can stack the most coins on top of each other without the stack falling over. It’s a fun way to practice patience and steady hands!

Coin Roll Race: Use a coin to roll down a flat surface (like a table) and see who can get it to stop closest to a line or target.

Day 2 After Snack Activities

Christmas Story Time

Read your favorite nativity story to the kids (in parts) before, during and after their snack. A few book suggestions that can be read in under 10 minutes.

Holy Family Alphabet Name Game

 Using Alphabet crackers or dry Alphabet pasta or Alphabet cereal, try spelling the name of the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary, Joseph. Be the first team spell them all.

Day 3 After Snack Activities 

Story Time

Engage children in praying the Rosary and inspire them to love the Blessed Mother with this inviting, imaginative how-to book. Colorful, reverent pictures and child-friendly explanations for each mystery offer kids a chance to grow together in the faith.

(Length of time: 7 minutes)

Fish Cracker Fishing

Materials: A small bowl of fish crackers and chopsticks or tongs.

How to Play: Place fish crackers in a bowl and have kids use chopsticks or tongs to pick them up and transfer them to another bowl. The player with the most fish crackers transferred in one minute wins.

DAY 4 AFTER SNACK ACTIVITIES 

Story Time

Ideal for kids ages 4 to 8.
Walk with Jesus through the special days of Holy Week: from the joy of palm Sunday to the love and mystery of the Last Supper, from the sorrow of the Garden of Gethsemane to the triumph of the empty tomb.

Purchase the book at your local bookstore.

DAY 5 AFTER SNACK ACTIVITIES 

The Jelly Bean Game

Theme Connection: We are going to play the Jelly Bean Game which makes us think of people who put their prayer life into action by sharing their faith with others. It is important to remember that living out our faith life requires evangelization, which means sharing the love of Jesus with others.

You’ll Need: 

• Jelly beans (2-3/child)

Activity:

1. Sit in a circle. You will each receive three jelly beans (but don’t eat them yet).

2. For each jelly bean you receive, you will have to answer a question. The questions will be different depending on what color of jelly bean you have.

3. Once you answer the question, you can eat that color of jelly bean.

Yellow: Name one of your favorite saints.

Orange: Tell us one of your favorite Bible stories.

Blue: Name one person you would like to pray for.

Red: Tell us something new that you learned at VBS this week.

Green: Wild candy...you can eat the jelly bean without answering a question.