Everything You Need to Enjoy a Christmas Story Lunch

My kids LOVE to eat.  Anything we do with food instantly becomes more meaningful for them.  That’s why we came up with The Christmas Story Lunch!

A couple of years ago I stumbled upon this amazing Story of the Passion Lunch.  It’s a symbolic and memorable way for kids to learn the Easter story.  Everyone receives one food at a time.  Then they hear the corresponding scripture while they are eating.  

I thought it would be fun to create a similar experience for Christmas.  The kids will love that they get to sneak a little sweetness into the middle of their lunch.  You will love that the ingredients are easy to gather and prepare. The Christmas Story Lunch also requires little to no cooking!  

A Few Tips Before You Start…

Have the food ready to go on plates. (Just make sure you don’t peel the orange/cutie ahead of time.)   Then you will be able to hand them out quickly and the story will flow better.

If you are worried about your kids getting too much of something, just scale it back to a bite or two. They don’t have to have an entire piece of angel food cake!  

Christmas Story Lunch--a symbolic and memorable way for kids to learn the Christmas story! Click To Tweet

Here is Everything You Need to Enjoy a Christmas Story Lunch…

Water

Grape Juice

Tomato Soup (see alternatives below)

Parmesan Cheese

Angel Food Cake

Rice

Animal Crackers

Orange

Miniature Candy Canes

Dill Pickles

Star Fruit (see alternatives below)

Water–This is symbolic of how God created the world and it was good and pure. Jesus was with God when this amazing world was created.

Genesis 1:26, 31

Grape Juice–Add a splash of juice to the water to show that once sin entered the world, the world was no longer perfect.   God created a plan that would save His people.

John 3:16

Tomato Soup–(Any pureed soup may be substituted.  Or take your child’s favorite soup and put it in the blender.)  Have your child look for chunks in the soup for a couple of minutes. Just as they can find no chunks, the Jewish people could not hear God’s voice.  It had been about 400 years since the last time God spoke to His people.  This is the time period between the Old and the New Testaments.

Parmesan Cheese–Add a sprinkling to show that God was about to break the silence.  

Galatians 4:4

Angel Food Cake–Examine how white, fluffy, and perfect the angel food cake seems to be.  God’s angelic messengers had a perfect message for Mary and Joseph.  

Luke 1:26-38

Matthew 1:18-24

Rice–Ask your kids if they can count the grains of rice in a small scoop.  It’s hard to count that high.  It’s also hard to count a big group of people.  That is why everyone had to report back to their home town.  Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to be counted.  

Luke 2:1-5

Orange–Baby Jesus had been safe and secure inside of Mary’s tummy, but it was time for Him to enter the world.  (For this part of the story, you will want to peel the orange or let your children.  It will have more impact.)

Luke 2:6

Animal Crackers–There was no room in the inns, so Mary and Joseph had to stay in a stable with the animals.

Luke 2:7

Miniature Candy Canes–(I used miniature because they have already eaten quite a bit.  You could give them a large one and let them hold onto it as a treat for later.)  The candy canes represent the shepherd’s hooks.

Luke 2:8-20

Dill Pickles–The wise men had seen a star appear in the sky.  They knew this meant a new king had been born, so they went to ask King Herod about it.  But something was sour…

Matthew 2:1-8, 12

Star Fruit–(Any star shaped food will work.  You can use a star shaped cookie cutter to make sandwiches, cookies, or cut slices of star-shaped cheese or fruit. You can also find star shaped cereal.)  The wise men followed the star that led them to Baby Jesus.

Matthew 2:9-11

I hope you enjoyed your Christmas Story Lunch. May it be nourishing for your soul, just as it was nourishing to your body!

Would you make any food substitutions?  What is your favorite way to share the Christmas Story?