Keeping Christ at the Focus of Your Family's Christmas

The month of December can quickly fill up with fun activities, family events, shopping, parties, and more. Here are some practical ways that your family can be intentional about keeping Christ at the focus of your celebration. Try finding at least one for your family to try this year!

Celebrate Him!

Birthday Party -- Throw a birthday party for Jesus. You can let your children or grandchildren help you decorate and bake a cake. Then spend time reading the Christmas story or watching a video version of it. You may even try inviting non-Christian friends and neighbors to hear about Jesus by celebrating with you.

Follow His Example.

Sacrifice for Others -- Give up something you would normally enjoy so that you can give to someone else in need. For example, one family I know gives up eating out for several weeks before Christmas and then uses the money they save to bless a family in need.

Serve others -- Decide as a family on someone you can serve together. Examples of this might be babysitting a single mom's children so she can get out to shop for them alone, spending an afternoon with a "shut in" or someone whom you know could use the company, or making homemade gifts, ornaments, or baked goods for people at a nearby nursing home.

Give -- Our children receive so many toys, and we often don't know what to do with them all!  Because the toys build up, you could encourage your children to pick out a toy that is still in great shape to donate to a child in need.  Find an agency or a place looking specifically for toys.  If you can, try to get the child's name so that your children can write him or her a card.

Enjoy the Christmas Story Together.

Act it Out. You may enjoy using a book called Granny Mae's Christmas Play, which tells the story of a Grandma who helped her visiting family act out the story of Christmas using simple objects from around the house as props (socks, bathrobes, ties, etc). The book gives instructions on what is needed to have your own family Christmas play.

Create your own Photo Nativity. You can find instructions for this photo project HERE. This as a fun activity to do with your children that you can continue to enjoy year after year.

Watch It. Here are some suggestions...

• Animated films like The Story of Christmas, The Prince of Peace, or Little Shepherd. (You may want to discuss any parts of the true story that are added or left out of these versions.)
• The Nativity Story
• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Memorize It. One member of our staff recites the story of Christmas with her children when they gather in her home. A few weeks before Christmas, she assigns older children and adults a verse or section to memorize from the Christmas story. Then when they gather to celebrate Christmas, each person recites his or her verse(s) in order so that together they form the whole story.

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There are so many ways to remember the Reason we celebrate this time of year. Please share your family ideas and traditions for doing this by using the "Comments" section below. We'd love to hear from you!