Serve apple stars by cutting apples in half across, rather than from top to bottom. Let each child find the star shape inside the apple halves. Talk about the guiding role that a star played when Jesus was born. Another option is to let the children help with edible manger snacks. For each child, spoon instant chocolate pudding into a baking cup until half full. Let the children crumble a large shredded-wheat biscuit on top of the pudding to make the manger's hay. Show the children how to place a pretzel nugget on the "hay" to symbolize the body of the baby Jesus, and add a mini-marshmallow to represent his head.
A stand-up Nativity scene enables hands-on pretend play. Select black-and-white or color templates from the First-School website (see Resources section), and print them on card stock. The black-and-white templates permit the children to color and decorate. Cut out the pieces in template No. 2, and let the children glue the stable frame and star pieces to the dotted lines on template No. 1. The children can embellish the sky with glitter glue stars or star stickers. Cut out the stand-up figures on the solid line and fold on the dotted line. Stand the figures by securing the small flaps where they meet with tape or glue. After folding template No. 1 on the dotted line, glue a toilet tissue tube to the back of the template. Encourage the children to role-play as they arrange the figures in front of the base figure.
Read a preschool story about Jesus' birth, such as "A Child Was Born: A First Nativity Book" by Grace Maccarone. Set the pieces from a Nativity set on a shelf or tray. Remove one of the pieces while the children close their eyes. Ask the children to guess which piece is missing. When the children name the missing piece, talk about the special role the piece played in the story of Jesus' birth. Repeat the process with other pieces from the Nativity scene.
Select and print coloring pages about Jesus' birth. Let the children color the pages. Talk about birthday parties, and ask the children what they enjoy most about the celebrations. Discuss Jesus' birth and explain how Christmas provides an opportunity to celebrate His birthday. Present a birthday cake for snack time and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.