Keeping Christ in Christmas

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. Especially now that I have kids. It makes the season much more magical. The joy and light in a kids eye during Christmas is so contagious.

While Santa does come to our home and we love to do Christmas activities my husband and I have tried to make a conscious effort to maintain Christ in our season of giving and celebrating.

Kids are sponges and starting when they are young to teach them the reasons that we celebrate will help them form a base for the season. It is something they will carry through out their lives. And the best thing? It does not need to be crazy and complicated.

Read the Story of Christ’s birth before opening any gifts Christmas morning:

Before we open any gifts we read the story of His birth. My mother did this with us as well as kids and I wanted to continue doing it with my kids. As kids we also woke up before my parents on Christmas morning and we were allowed to dive into our stockings while they slept in, but once they woke up we read from the Bible and then were allowed to open gifts.

We have a little puzzle book that we have done for the last 2 years just due to our kids age, they are young and I do want to read the story on their level. You can get the book we read Here. It has a piece on every page and you get to see the scene unfold while reading the story of his birth.

Act out the Nativity Scene:

I grew up with 5 siblings and every Christmas Eve we would act out the Nativity scene. Now we only have two little that aren’t at extremely cooperative ages. So instead we have gotten a toy set Nativity scene for them to be able to play with during the season.

This would also possible with stuffed animals, Barbie’s, or even drawing a picture of the Nativity. You can adapt it to your family and the season that you are in. Linked Here is the nativity set we have for the kids.

Candy Cane Analogy:

When decorating your tree, you can tell the kids the analogy of the candy cane. This little story can add a theme of Christ on a staple of Christmas decor. I love that adding things to your kids live that are so important do not need to be crazy and hard to understand.

The story about candy cane is not over complicated and definitely something your little one can know and understand. This is a simple way to help make something seen all over with Christmas décor.

Christ-Centered Music:

Music is a powerful element in life in general. It is something that is important for not just kids, but adults as well. Thankfully there is some wonderful Christmas music that is all about Christ. Everyday I play Christ centered Christmas music for our girls while we cook.

Pentatonix has plenty of covers of Christmas classics that are centered around Jesus. Playing music that is Christ oriented during the Christmas season will help set the atmosphere that this is a time about Jesus. My personal favorite is Mary Did You Know. That song gives me shivers every time I hear it.

Look at Christmas Lights:

This is such a enjoyable Christmas activity, it can spark some wonderful conversations and memories with your kids. Use the action of going and looking at Chrsitmas lights and talk about how Christ is the light of the world. Looking at the lights is a wonderful opening to the topic that this holiday is about Christ and his birth.

You can talk with your kids on their level that Christ is the light of our world and that light can shine through us. Then you can even talk to your kids about how to help share the love and light of Christ during the season!

Have an ongoing Discussion:

My 3 year old daughter asks every time a new song comes on through the radio “ What is this song about?”. This is such a wonderful way to open up the discussion and to keep it going. Every Christmas song that is about Christ I get to have the conversation with Lucy about Jesus and his birth.

We do NOT need to over complicate the ways to involve Christ into this season, just simply talking with your kids is a great way to help them understand things. You children are smart and sponges for information, try just sitting down and talking about keeping Christ in Christmas.

Have the Kids pick out some of their toys to Donate:

This is a wonderful time to share the gift of giving this holiday with your kids. Ask them to collect 5 toys that they are willing to donate to someone in need. Starting the habit of giving around this time of year will help spark a love for helping others and sharing the love of Christ.

I also love this tradition because it also frees up some space in the toy chest for the new things they will get as well as teaching the girls about charity. My husband and I set the example as well by modeling to the girls us going through things and donating some of our things as well.