Christmas is a special time for Christians around the world. It's the season in which believers celebrate the birth of the Messiah and remember how gracious God was to give his only Son. Teaching the story of Christmas in Sunday School is an honor because this may be the first place children are given the opportunity to hear it. The most obvious lesson for Christmas in Sunday School is the actual story of the birth of Jesus, but there are many approaches to take when it comes to celebrating the spirit of Christmas.

Teach Topical
One approach that can be used to teach Christmas lessons in Sunday School is a topical approach that centers lessons on a different aspect of Christmas each week. For example, if you want to teach the importance of giving, you may want to teach about how Abraham was going to sacrifice his son or how members of the early church sold everything they had so that no one would go without in the book of Acts. The next week you can teach about grace and have related Bible stories to illustrate the topic of that particular week. Each topic should be tied to Christmas and emphasize the season of giving, receiving and sacrifice.

Use Visual Aids
When teaching the story of Christmas, incorporate as many visual aids to demonstrate the point of the lesson. In this approach you can take your time teaching a different aspect of the story week by week. By spending more time on the story you can pull it apart and involve the children in the process. For example, the first week you may talk about Jesus' genealogy, which is what starts most of the Gospels. You can have the children make their own family tree and talk about Jesus' family tree (David, Solomon, Rehab, etc.). Using visual aids and crafts will help make the message relevant and more meaningful for the students.

Incorporate Drama
Drama is a fun and creative way to help children learn the story and release some energy during Sunday School. Every child loves to make-believe and perform, so, as you teach the Christmas story, assign each child with a different role to play. At the end, have each child tell the other children how their character must have felt during the story. For example, the girl playing Mary may say that she was very happy and a little scared, and the boys playing the wise men may say they were surprised. This exercise will help the children make the story their own.