This post is day 18 of the 25 day series, 25 Hands-On Nativity Lessons for Kids.

I enjoyed thinking up creative ways for a child to understand the three gifts for baby Jesus brought to him by the Wise Men. I wanted to create/craft gifts that a child would be able to use their senses while exploring. These three gifts incorporate the sense of smell, sight, touch, and possibly even taste (coconut oil).

The Gift of Gold

I found this small wooden treasure chest at Michael's craft store. I filled it with gold sparkly pompoms and curled shiny tinsel strips. It creates a fun sensory experience for the child when opening the treasure chest. If you are not able to find a treasure chest, then simple use a small gift box.

Teach: The gift of gold was brought to honor a king. Do you think gold is valuable? Do you think the wise men believed that Jesus was the King even though He was only a baby?

The Gift of Frankincense

For the gift of Frankincense, I placed brown pompoms inside this adorable tiny basket from Africa. I dropped a couple drops of Frankincense essential oil on top of the pompoms. The Frankincense smells delightful and because the basket is breathable it permeates an entire room. If you can not find a little basket, then you can use a cloth gift bag with the pompoms.

Teach: Read about the history of frankincense. It is used as an incense and can represent our prayers ascending to heaven. Read Revelation 8:4

The Gift of Myrrh

For the gift of myrrh, I placed coconut oil in this little wooden jar. If I had the essential oil of Myrrh, I would of added that for fragrance. However, I did not have this essential oil. I just left the coconut oil plain and then explained that coconut oil can help heal dry skin or chapped lips. Myrrh is also referred to for its healing properties. This was as creative as I could get. 😉 If you do not have a wooden jar, you can use any plastic container.

Teach: Read about the history of myrrh. It was used as a “healing balm” for certain illnesses. Is Jesus able to heal our broken hearts?

To buy REAL and affordable Frankincense and Myrrh ($1.50),please visit - The Spice House.

The Wise Men

To learn how I crafted the wise men, please visit - Biblical Wooden Peg People Craft Tutorial. Also, to learn how I crafted the cardboard camels, please visit - Cardboard Animals for Kids.

I only crafted two things differently for the wise men (kings) compared to the instructions for a "regular" Biblical peg person. For the king, I created a cape as pictured below. It is a triangle with rounded edges. I hot glued the top of the cape onto the shoulders of the king. I also cut out a crown from shiny card stock for each king and hot glued it onto his head. That's it!

Thanks for visiting! 🙂