Advent craft for sunday school. Help please!

[quickdrawmcgraw]

I'm one of the helpers up in our Sunday school and have been asked to do some sort of advent craft with the children on the 2nd Dec. They range from 4-12 years. Does anyone have any ideas of something they could make? i would have a small budget for supplies.

We have about 30 minutes to make something. Yikes!

I was thinking of having a felt tree that they stick velco backed baubles to each day of advent. So they would have to cut out the tree, cut 24 baubles out of different coloured felt that i would have pre glued to velcro.

anyone have any other ideas?

This is calling to mind the famed Blue Peter advent candle thing made of two coat hangers wired together and trimmed with tinsel. That's all I can remember, sorry. And is probably a major fire hazard too.

but maybe good if I gave that task to the older groups. Thanks for that.

I found some other things that might be good too.

Advent Candle. Secure a large, thick candle to a solid base and make 24 evenly spaced notches or marks up the length of the candle. Decorate around base and light each night to let it burn down to the next mark on the candle. Talk about something special while the candle is burning.

Colourful Paper Chain Advent Calendar. List 25 Christmas preparation activities (one on each chain) e.g. make shortbread, drive to see the Christmas lights, go to Carol Service, visit Santa?s Cave, make a card for an elderly neighbour, wrap presents, phone relatives, make table decoration, etc. Either pull one off each day to do or add one on.

Some ideas here and here and here too

Candle in a flower pot, secured with oasis, then stickers placed on the candle and pot.

Candle one is what I'll go for with little ones I think. A small pot is good cos it's useful after Christmas.

Thanks everyone!

I remember making a Jesse tree once with a group of children, and this might work for the older ones: I found a suitable bit of tree with several branches, which I then secured in a pot and sprayed gold. Then the children made things to hang on it based on symbols of Advent, which they could find by looking up Bible references (can't remember the details but there were things such as Star of David & River of Life - blue shiny paper, I seem to recall), and these were attached to the branches of the tree with thread. I think there was the option of spreading this over the weeks of Advent so that more things were gradually added.

I must say, I still have the golden branch, which has been very useful for other things such as an Easter tree, something to hang things on when the children have run stalls or for Hula Hoops at a party....as you may have guessed by now, I never throw anything away!!

We used to make Christingles with our Cub Scouts.

Should have said, these are more suited for the older children and to use rounded/blunt 'sticks', emphasising that it is a present for the house/family, not to be played with.

I decided in the end to go for the Christingles so thanks for the suggestion butterflymum
I reckoned that if there were fewer children than expected I would at least be able to use all the leftover bits. It went really well even if the sweets were eaten before they left the hall and the parents were wondering about the merit of an orange with bare cocktail sausage sticks sticking out of it.
Thanks again everyone for your suggestions