Families all over the world have had their
Christmas traditions since the very beginning of the celebration. Have you
established your own Christmas traditions yet? If not here are some ideas that
will help you along the way in making the most of the Holiday season, with
purpose and long lasting memories that you and your children’s children will
remember and enjoy. Remember to add things that will bring Christ into your
Holidays, for that is the purpose of this wonderful Holiday. Gifts, trees,
parties should revolve around Jesus, not just when we can fit Him into our
festivities. Below are some ideas that I have shared with my own children as
they were growing up and would like to pass them on to you.
· Have a Nativity somewhere in your home or in your yard to remind yourself, your friends, family and passer byers, what the true meaning of Christmas is in your home.
· Find ways to remind one another in love and kindness of the true meaning of Christmas. For it becomes so easy to veer off and forget.
· Have your family members dress in biblical-type clothing or matching clothes and take photos to use for your Christmas card. Maybe use a nativity as a backdrop.
·
Start an Advent calendar with your family from Thanksgiving Day through
the first week of the New Year. Decorate it with Christmas stickers or your own
illustrations. Hang it in a high-traffic area. List all invitations,
announcements, concerts, and other events you will attend as a family.
·
Reach out and give at Christmas. As a family, choose some charitable
activities you can do together, such as volunteering at a homeless shelter or
helping with a toy drive. Note the dates on the family Christmas season
calendar and designate them as "everybody must show" dates. Identify
an elderly or low-income person or couple who might not have family support
during the Christmas season. Invite them to one of your family gathering, offer
to take them Christmas shopping, or invite them to attend a Christmas church
service with your family. You might also take them food gifts over the course
of the festive season. As you by yourself a gift, remember someone else.
· Plan times to cook and bake Christmas goodies for special family dinners, parties, and gifts. Look for cookie cutters that are Nativity related, such as stars, angels, camels, sheep, and Nativity silhouettes.
·
Make the purchase of the
Christmas tree and Christmas wreaths a family event. Be sure to add Nativity
scenes around them. Afterward, go out for hot chocolate together. Make family
craft keepsakes and heirloom ornaments imprinted with the year they were made
and the name of the maker. (Many craft stores sell simple ornament kits).
Consider adding a Christ-centered phrase, such as "Christ, Our King” or
"Jesus - the Heart of Christmas." Over the years you will build a
family keepsake collection to treasure.
· Set up a separate tree and decorate it with angles, nativity related ornaments. Wrap empty boxes illustrating gifts that you give Jesus and place words on them like; joy, peace, kindness, love, offering, sacrifice and so forth.
·
Discuss Christmases long ago during
the colonial times, the Victorian era, various wartimes in America or
just in your own family.
· Plan some Family Christmas movie nights. But remember to view the story of the Nativity as well.
·
Keep a family Christmas journal expressing your thoughts about what
happens throughout the season with your family and friends. Include your
reactions to the news, sermons, Christmas programs, parties, and gifts, as well
as your meditations about Jesus. Let each family member join in and write down
their thoughts and ideas.
·
Invite folks into your home sharing the love of Christ with them.
·
Do your family Christmas shopping at your favorite Christian bookstore.
· Attend your church's Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service as a family to seal the reverence of the celebration of Christ's birth as a valued family tradition.
Love and A Very Merry Christmas to You and
Your Family,
Bren
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