'Bright and Light' or 'Celebrate the Light' party

Insist that everyone wears bright multi-coloured or sparkly clothes. Invite every child who can, to bring along a torch. Alternatively you could provide 'glow' sticks or 'glow' necklaces. 'Light' themed activities could include:

• Decorate the room with bright coloured balloons and fairy lights.

• Start with some lively songs, and have the lights in the building as low as possible so the torches or light sticks are effective.

• If possible organise someone to do face painting with themes such as sunsets, stars, fireworks and rainbows.

• Serve bright coloured food and drinks.

• The children can ice biscuits with bright coloured icing and write on them with icing pens. Have a disco with flashing lights.

• If you have access to a bright coloured parachute, play games with that.

Focus on Jesus 'Light of the World'. Remind the children that Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness, the light that the darkness has never put out. (John 1.5).


For younger children

The songs 'Jesus you're the Morning Star' by Mike Burn (on the CD Great Big God), Julia Plaut's 'Jesus, Light of the World' (on the CD God's Wonderful World) or 'Shine Jesus Shine' are all appropriate.

Have a cake with a trick candle that won't blow out to illustrate the message. (Try it out first!)

Young children could make scraper pictures of candles and stars. First colour over a whole sheet of paper with lots of bright colours. Then go over with black wax crayon. Scrape the shapes of stars or candles by scraping off the black with plastic knives so the bright colours show through.


For older children

Doug Horley's song 'Come out of darkness and into the light' on his album We Want to See Jesus Lifted High is great.

Set up a graffiti wall by covering a wall, door or window with lining paper, or by using a flipchart. Give out bright marker pens. Invite the children to write up the names of places or situations that need the light of Christ. Alternatively, let them rip headlines out of newspapers and stick them up on the sheet.

Then take the sheet of paper down and lay it out on the floor. Mark out a large cross on it using votive candles. Sit around the cross on the floor. As a prayer activity each child in turn lights one of the candles. Say the prayer, the words in italics can be said together as a response:


PRAY

Lord of Light,
Shine in the darkness.

For those who live dark lives through poverty or hunger,
Lord of Light,
Shine in the darkness.

Lighten the hearts of those without a glimmer of hope.
Lord of Light,
Shine in the darkness.

Burn like a fire for those who are cold or homeless.
Lord of Light,
Shine in the darkness.

Help us to share your light with others.
Lord of Light,
Shine in the darkness.

Buy a pack of 'glow in the dark' stars and give each child one to take home, to remind them of the evening.


BOLT ON TO BRIGHT AND LIGHT PARTY
For young people aged 11-14

You can use the ideas from the children's session with some of the following adaptations. Obtain an Ultra Violet (UV) or BlackLight fluorescent tube. You will find these for sale in shops where guitars and amplifiers are sold and those selling amplification and disco equipment. You should be able to buy a 5ft tube for about £20. A UV tube can be used in a light fitting bought from a DIY outlet for a few pounds, to make a portable UV light source. If you are not 100% confident about wiring these things up safely ask a qualified electrician. You can use the UV light in these different fun ways.

Take a large piece of paper (flipchart or lining paper) and a security marker pen – the sort that only shows up under UV light (from stationery shops). With this pen write the words 'Jesus loves' in large, bold lettering that fills the sheet. Take time to do this carefully. On the night of the event, pin this sheet up near the entrance and invite everyone coming in to sign the sheet using a highlighter pen (by this time the lettering you previously put on will have dried to invisibility). Later on, as part of a talk about Jesus being the light of the world or similar, turn off the room lights and switch on your UV light near the sheet they signed. Two effects will be obvious. The words 'Jesus loves' will be clearly visible and the highlighter signatures will appear to float off the page with different colours at different depths.

People can make models of themselves using dayglo Fimo clay. You can talk about Jesus being the light of the world and ourselves, his followers, being lights to the world through his power and presence in our lives. Turn off the room lights and switch on the UV tube near the models. They will glow intensely, not of themselves but in a light that is really there even though it cannot easily be seen.

You can buy A4 sheets of glow-in-the-dark paper from stationery retailers. You can cut shapes out of this to decorate a youth room but also you can use a black marker pen to write a Bible verse using 'bubble' writing.. When the paper glows in a dark room it is difficult, initially, to see what is written. But, when you have worked it out it's obvious and it seems strange that the text was so obscure at first.

You can cut shapes out of the paper and decorate black or dark clothing by pinning them on. The room lights can be turned off and the UV tube turned on. The paper will glow brightly.