So this year our Christmas is looking a bit different. We are focusing more on Christ then in Santa. We celebrate Christmas because it is Christs birthday. So we are not doing Santa at all this year. We are doing 3 presents that represents the 3 gifts give to Christ by the wise men. On Christmas we will sit the kids down and read the story of Christs birth and when the wise men give their gifts we will pause and give the gifts to our kids. So what are the gifts? The first is something that they need (gold) the second is something that they want (frankincense) that something homemade (myrrh).
We also are doing a stocking for Christ. It is white and on Christmas eve we will put in our gifts to Christ in the stocking. Our gifts are not temporal they are ways that we can better ourselves and bring us closer to Him. They are things like pray night and day from now on, or scripture study daily, or stop using unkind words, or not yelling anymore, or keep the house cleaner so that the Spirit can dwell in the house. Those type of things.
We also are doing a 12 days of Christmas secret Santa to a family. That shows the kids that it is not about what we get but what we can give to others and not get recognition for it.
So these are the things that we are doing that I hope are showing the kids what the true meaning of Christmas is.
So why am I doing the Christ and forgetting the Santa? I hear once and it made sense to me that when we focus so much on Santa and not on Christ that when the kids find out that there is not Santa and that it was all just make believe then they have a tendency to also think that Christ also make believe. They never saw Santa and he was supposed to be filled with love, kindness, unselfishness, giving, and every thing else that he represents. Yet he is not real. Christ if also filled with those things and the kids never have seen Him ether so how can Christ be real if Santa is not. I feel like that was a truth when I heard it and it made sense to me. Besides my little Corlie 2 years ago figured out that there was not a Santa and she did it in front of the other kids and so I told them all that it was just a fun game that parents like play. They were ok with that and so the transition to this kind of Christmas was easy for me. : )
Well, I hope that these are some ideas that you can use to help you and your family get back to the true meaning of Christmas. We also read a Christmas devotional everyday here is the link to that. You can start now and still get some great stories in.
1 comment:
All good ideas!
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