What is Christmas?

As my kids are getting to be at an age where they are starting to understand and ask questions about Christmas, I find that I have to think through my answers before answering them.  Why? Because I wanted it to be purposeful and pointing them to the real reason for the season, Jesus’ birth.  With that in mind, here are 10 things that we did to give us a Christ-centered Christmas. Hopefully you’ll find some of these ideas helpful for your family as well.

1. Study some of the names of Jesus.

As part of our homeschool this week, we looked up some verses in the Bible to find some of the names of God. The boys were so excited to learn these names that they couldn’t wait to share what they learned with Bubba, their dad. After learning that God has a ton more names than what’s listed, Buddy asked if I could give him a list of all of God’s names. We then cut up those names into strips of different colors and made a garland for our Christmas tree.  They got a chance to hang it and enjoy the decorations.

To get a printout of the names of Jesus, click on this link Names of Jesus.

2. Sing Christmas songs.

To get a list of some of our favorite Christmas songs, click my post 12 Classic Christian Christmas Songs.

These songs all reference Jesus.  They are classics and a must have in your music library.  At times it’s neat to see my kids sing or hum the songs with hand motions.

3. Talk about Santa.

We did not major on Santa Clause, but we did touch upon the potential historical St. Nicholas and what legend had to say about him. Afterwards, we made up our own version of Santa Clause delivering gifts on skates. We had a good laugh!  Let your kids use their imagination and hear how Santa would deliver gifts. You can read up on The Legend of the Christmas Stocking by Rick Osborne to learn about Santa’s beginnings.

4. Bible memorization

Another activity that we did was to memorize Bible verses. I’ve listed five verses that you and your kids can memorize. We made up our own hand motions to them so that it’s easier to memorize. If you’re interested in a longer list of verses, check the reference section at the end of post. To get the whole account of the birth of Christ, read the books of Matthew and Luke. BibleGateway.com is a wonderful free Bible resources where you can read the Bible online or find Bible verses by theme.

• Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)

• John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)

• Philippians 2:8-10 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. (NIV)

• Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

• 2 Corinthians 9:15 (KJV) Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

5. Make some candy cane crafts

To see what we did, read my posts, Christmas Craft for Kids: Beaded Candy Canes and Chenille Stem Candy Canes.

6. Find teachable moments

Whether it’s about Santa at the mall or it’s the Christmas shoe boxes that your kids put together for needy children, be on a lookout for those times where you can teach some meaningful lessons.

7. Create memories and traditions together

I know that this is one of the busiest time of the year for people.  There are gifts to purchase, cards to send out, Christmas parties to go to,  etc.  On top of all this, we all have our normal daily grind that we have to go through as well.  It’s chaotic to say the least.  That’s why a couple of years ago, I decided that I cannot do it all and still have energy and time for my family.  So, I make it a point to focus more on my family time and create memories and traditions together. One Christmas tradition that we have is making a birthday cake for Jesus and our kids look forward to it every year.

8. Minimize holiday stress

This is easier said than done.  If we all can minimize our stress, then we could sell millions of books and be well off.  If you’re like me, you are a work in progress.  You have not arrived, but you’re on the road there.  One way that I do this is by recognizing that I will not be able to please everyone with gifts or attending their parties.  It’s hard to say no to Christmas parties, but it’s a stress reliever.

9. Teach children generosity

Teaching your kids about being generous is a life-long lesson.  Not that it takes a life-long time to teach them but the impact is life-long.  Likewise being generous is not seasonal, but in every season of life.  There are many benefits physically and physiologically to being generous.  For example, by helping others, they are able to see that their needs and issues are minuet.  Likewise, helping someone who you don’t expect anything in return builds character and pleases God.

10.  Make a birthday cake for Jesus

We do this every year on Christmas Eve.  Your kids will love making the cake together, singing happy birthday to Jesus, and eating it.  This is a nice way to make Jesus more tangible to your kids. Need some ideas for Jesus’ birthday cake? click Happy Birthday, Jesus.

Resources:

For a longer list of Christmas Bible verses visit this site: 20 Great Bible Verses for Christmas Cards.

Online Bible resources: BibleGateway.com.

To Show Them Jesus