This Christmas Bible activity for children, “O Holy Night,” is a wonderful addition to your Christmas preparations for children’s church. Kids hear the gospel message proclaimed through six twinkling stars of different colors — and now, the entire activity is free for you to use.
I created “O Holy Night” for one of my preschool Christmas chapels because I wanted to creatively share the true meaning of Christmas, inspired by the carol of the same name. I wrote a poem about the colorful stars that may have shined in Heaven the night
Jesus was born. Each color reflects the “Wordless Book” colors — gold, dark, red, white, and green — plus one more: purple, a reminder of Jesus’ royalty.
Watch the presentation:
I use my “Bible Story Boxes” for this activity — they rotate to reveal each visual as the poem unfolds. No special boxes? No problem — you can easily adapt this onto plain packing boxes. The goal is simply to creatively showcase each visual so your kids stay engaged.
Watch how to build it:
The Poem: “O Holy Night”
O holy night, the stars are brightly shining They proclaimed our Savior’s birth that first Christmas morning The stars all twinkled with colorful hues telling God’s story to me and you Let’s hear with wonder what each color means As each point of their light glows and beams
The first star over Bethlehem town Was a beautiful gold like that of a crown This star reminds us of Heaven so fair Where forever with God we can live there Who can find the gold star?
This next star was a purple quite rare It speaks of God’s royalty and of His care To love us enough to send us His Son Who is King of all kings; God’s chosen One Who can find the purple star?
This next star, sadly, had no light to shine It reminds us of sin filling your hearts and mine But God had a plan to get rid of our sin He sent His Son Jesus to cleanse us within Who can find the dark star?
This star shines brightly like Christmas red It tells of the blood that Jesus shed For baby Jesus would grow to a man And give His life on the cross. This was God’s plan. Who can find the red star?
Look at the white of this bright star The light of this star can be seen from far It shouts of how Jesus forgives all our sin And makes our hearts white as snow deep within Who can find the white star?
Here is our last star dressed in green Much like a beautiful Christmas tree It reminds us that we can forever grow In God’s grace and His love when Him we know Who can find the green star?
Now let’s light all the stars from the gold to the green And let us always remember what each color means.
By Kathy Vincent, The Scripture Lady
Best Practices for This Activity:
- If possible, laminate all pictures for long-term use.
- Purchase 3 cardboard boxes about 9–10 inches long. The box picture files below are 8″x8″ once printed.
- Print the box images and attach them to each box according to its number.
- Print the stars and mount them on cardboard or another heavy material to create your “twinkling lights.”
- Cut a hole in each star for a tea light to shine through.
- Purchase 6 square dowels (18″ long) and 6 battery-operated tea lights — dollar stores work great for both.
- Attach one light to each dowel about 4 inches from the top, with Velcro above and below the light. Place all 6 dowels in a vase or basket for kids to grab.
- Attach Velcro to the back of each star, above and below the hole, so it sticks to the dowel rod.
- Before the activity, attach each star to a box side that only has a purple square, using Velcro.
- Turn the slides into a slideshow, or print them to display on an easel or your lap.
- Read through the poem, inviting a child to find the matching star for each verse. Help them attach it to the dowel and stand near you as you continue.
- After all six stars are created, switch on the lights and review what each color means. Have fun!
Bonus: Since you love a good Christmas Bible activity, I’m also giving you access to my Bible song “There Is a Star,” which pairs beautifully with this one.
Downloadable Files:
Poem Slides / Posters (9): Slide 1 · Slide 2 · Slide 3 · Slide 4 · Slide 5 · Slide 6 · Slide 7 · Slide 8 · Slide 9
Box Pictures (print 4 of each set — 1 unique + 3 repeats): Box One – 1 · Box One – 2-4 (print 3) Box Two – 1 · Box Two – 2-4 (print 3) Box Three – 1 · Box Three – 2-4 (print 3)
Stars (6): Gold Star · Purple Star · Dark Star · White Star · Red Star · Green Star
Full Poem: “O Holy Night” Poem by Kathy Vincent (PDF)
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I get so much joy watching kids’ faces light up (literally!) when each star turns on. I’m excited to finally make this fully accessible to all of you — it’s been a while coming!