Seek the Star

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Christmas presents and star

Illustration by Bryan Beach

It’s your turn for the family home evening lesson, and since it’s December, you want to do something Christmas-related. Acting out the Nativity is probably the first thing that pops into your head, but Mom and Dad have that lined up for Christmas Eve. So here’s another bright FHE idea that’s out of this world as a galactic way to teach your family about keeping Christ in Christmas.

Materials Needed: A star. You may have one on top of the Christmas tree. If not, just tap into your inner artist and make one out of paper. Make sure it’s fairly small, because you’ll be hiding it around the house.

• Step 1: Pick your game.

  • The “Hotter/Colder” Game: Send one of your family members out of the room while you and the rest of the crew hide the star for this celestial lesson (done with the star-related jokes now). When it’s hidden, ask the family member to rejoin the group. That family member now needs to find the star, but he or she won’t have to do it alone. The rest of the family will help him or her find the star by saying “hotter” when he or she moves closer to it and “colder” when he or she moves away from it. Have your family keep giving the “hotter” and “colder” instructions until he or she finds the star.

  • Star Treasure Hunt Game: In this treasure hunt, your family will follow clues to find the hidden star, which you should place near a light switch or lamp. Jot down these clues (or come up with your own) on scraps of paper, and then hide the clues and the star before the lesson. As your family finds each clue, talk about how that characteristic of Christ is important in our lives.

    • Clue 1 (give this to your family to start the hunt): John 6:35. “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

    • Clue 2 (hide this clue wherever you keep bread): John 4:14. “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

    • Clue 3 (hide this clue by a faucet or water pitcher): Mosiah 16:9. “He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.”

• Step 2: Play the game. If you’re playing the treasure hunt, you’ll notice that clue 3 leads your family back to the star.

• Step 3: Make the connection.

  Just like the star was hidden and took some serious seeking to find, Christ can sometimes get hidden in our Christmas celebrations if we’re not careful. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, has taught:

  “Sometimes the most precious and sacred things are right in front of us—in plain sight, so to speak—but we cannot or will not see them. This may be especially true during the blessed and precious season of Christmas” (“Can We See the Christ in Christmas?” 2009 Christmas Devotional; lds.org/broadcasts).

  Talk with your family about how Christ can be hidden by events and traditions during the Christmas season. Come up with ways you can make sure Christ is a central part of your celebration this year.

• Step 4: Wrap it up!

  If you’re not very handy with the wrapping paper and tape, have no fear, because all you need in order to wrap up this lesson is your testimony. Then, for the bow on top, leave your family with a challenge to seek Christ this season.