Every child attending your Christmas service should go home with something special. You might not be able to do any more than a bag of candy, but you need to make it special. We've done different kinds of things.
1. The Christmas Stocking. We ordered the stockings and all the goodies to go in them from orientaltrading.com. They even have "themes" like..."Jesus loves you Snow much" and more.
2. Bags of Candy. You can find all my hints and tips of presenting treat bags in my blog (Bagging It Up.) Just start asking for candy ahead of time and be sure your bags are special.
3. Books. You can find Christmas picture books at the Dollar store or try christianbook.com. They sell books at a discounted price and often will have a special price for larger orders. I bought Veggie Tales books and tapes to go with them one year for just a little over a dollar and used them for my son's Veggie Tale birthday party. Use my presenting a book idea in "Bagging It Up."
4. Fruit Baskets. Check your local produce market and see if they will give you a good price on small baskets just for kids. When we were youth pastor's in my dad's church he did this every year. They kids received 3 or 4 pieces of fruit and candy.
5. Ornaments. Again, try orientaltrading.com for large quanities. I have given ornaments as gifts from the church to about every group. I'll have more about that my Christmas teasures for church members blog.
6. Gift cards or coupons for a favorite fast food resturant. You can always find one of your local fast food resturants to donate free ice cream or free french fry cards. You can even purchase certificates by the dollar amount. We always liked to add one of these cards to the Christmas stockings, but you can use it as a stand alone treat if you are have limited funds.
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