If you are looking for a fun and engaging idea for gift-exchange among the teenagers, try this hands-on activity that can double as a game and a project. Purchase a block of potter’s clay (available online) that will serve a group of your size. Give each teenager a chunk of clay that is about the size of an orange. Then, invite each teenager to fashion a mug, cup, bowl or a small dish from his or her clay. These can be exchanged in the group or given out as gifts (perhaps to church staff shut-ins, or others in the congregation). The clay will harden on its own in time, or you could take the clay items for firing. In lieu of exchanging the clay items, teenagers also could have fun fashioning these and then voting on the best or most creative Christmas mugs.
