These are a few ideas I've gathered from here and there. Not sure who to give credit for most of them. It is very important to me that our family focus is on our Lord at Christmas. Maybe it is too late for some of these this year, but hopefully they can give you a few ideas of things to try in your home.
1. The Christmas Story from Luke 2 - the obvious place to start! Allow young children to act out the Christmas story with a cheap and non-fragile nativity set. Our children get a great bang out of acting out the story with dad as the donkey. One family memorized a verse or two from Luke 2 before allowing the children to choose another figure in the nativity set to set out.
2. Christmas carols - Learn some of the stories behind the carols we sing. Start early in December in singing the carols as a family so that your children can participate in caroling.
3. Caroling - Hands down, caroling is my favorite Christmas activity (even beating all the great food!) Many churches plan caroling to the elderly in the church, which is a great tradition. But it can also be fun to get together with just a few families and carol to some neighbors who may not have a church family. We've been getting together with some friends every year. We each choose a neighbor to sing to and now they ask each year if we are coming to sing. We began with no children but this year the children almost out-numbered the adults, which I think adds to the fun, despite the hassle of getting in and out of car seats!
4. Messiah by Handel - We usually can't wait until December 1 to get the recording out! I've heard of families that use the Messiah as a family devotional. They listen to a short portion then look up the Scripture that the music was based on. Show your children how the movement of the melody notes illustrate the words. For example, listen to the song "Every Valley" and notice how the notes move back and forth on the lyric "crooked" and then stay on a single pitch for the word "straight."
5. Jesse Tree - The idea of a Jesse Tree is taken from "a branch shall come forth out of Jesse" and there is numerous devotionals online. They usually go through the prophecies about Christ and continue through his life and ministry with a Scripture reading for each day in December. You could also make up your own devotionals.
6. Service to others - I think the best way to fight the "gimmies" is to focus on the needs of others. I have great memories of serving Thanksgiving dinner at the Salvation Army and I can recall twice that our family spent Christmas Eve holding a service at the rescue mission. It was amazing to me that there were people who had no better place to go on Christmas Eve then the mission. As a youth, one of my favorite Christmas activities was delivering Angle Tree gifts to prisoner's children in Baltimore. Believe me, going with a group of farm teens to inner city Baltimore is an adventure all it's own!
Last year at one of our family gatherings, my aunt gathered all the materials to put together school kits. We watched a short video showing the children who will receive the kits. All the children then helped to assemble the kits with soap, toothbrush, pencils, crayons, notebook, etc in a draw string bag. I thought it was an easy but good activity for the children to participate in doing something for others.
I know we don't think we need one more thing to do at Christmas. (Or maybe any other time of the year!) But prayerfully read Matthew 25. "When you do it to the least of these, my brethren, you do it unto me". We wonder sometimes how we can "give back" to our Lord, who gave so much for us. This chapter may hold the answer, though it may mean a re-evaluation of our priorities.
(Of course, as a mother of young children, God's first priority for me is going to be in my home! I'm not talking of putting our children in day-care so that we can go out an serve others! There will be stages of life where our place is primarily going to be in the home, even if it means very little interaction with others. But I do believe the Lord will give us opportunities for serve as a family, if we are only willing. There is many needy, lonely, hopeless people that need to be shown God's love through God's people and it can be as simple as visiting an elderly neighbor.)
7. Story Books - Some books are holiday classics! I have to read A Christmas Carol by Dickens, at least the first and last chapter, each year! The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry is another classic. I also love the story of the Richest Family in Church. You may have other favorites. One family wraps up Christmas stories and each evening the children unwrap one book to read. At home one year, we put all the titles of our Christmas books on little slips of paper and pulled out one each evening. We didn't have enough for each day of the month, but some evenings we didn't have time to read a story. Besides picture books and short stories, we read some of the special Christmas chapters in the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It was fun to contrast the Christmas in Farmer Boy with The Long Winter. Stories such as these, where children were delighted with one piece of peppermint candy are great reminders for children in our luxurious society.
You may be able to find some good stories at the library but, of course, use caution! It is important to me that stories do not portray a materialistic view of Christmas but instead focus on giving. We only own four Christmas books, so far, and I think they all fit this criteria. They are The Christmas Kitten by James Herriot, The Grinch that Stole Christmas by Dr Suess, The Mitten Tree by Candace Christiansen, and Miracle in a Shoe Box by Franklin Graham (which I can never read without tears!)
And one more thought on Christmas stories...many Christmas books add fictional characters to the Luke 2 story. When I taught Bible Released Time to public school students, I always had a student who wanted to add to "my" version of the Christmas story with their own story of a little drummer boy or a small angle who got lost, etc. At times, I had a hard time convincing them that their story wasn't found in the Bible! These stories may be innocent but make sure that your child knows the truth of the Biblical account!
Do you have any favorite Christmas stories you could recommend? What Christmas traditions does your family enjoy to focus your attention on our Lord?
Denim jumper with a reversible bucket hat.
Plaid jumper.
Dress to match daughter's favorite dress.
And daughter's favorite - a flannel night shirt.
From our home to yours...
Have you any room for Jesus,
These are a few ideas I've gathered from here and there. Not sure who to give credit for most of them. It is very important to me that our family focus is on our Lord at Christmas. Maybe it is too late for some of these this year, but hopefully they can give you a few ideas of things to try in your home.
I've really fallen off on sharing bread recipes, but I just had to share our favorite sticky buns! My mom made these every Christmas morning, but, of course, they are treats any time of the year!Roll out half the dough. Spread with melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar.
Roll up jelly roll style.
Slice in about 2 inch slices.
Place in greased pans.
Pour goo over the top. Allow to raise until doubled. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
While still warm, dump rolls onto a cookie sheet. This makes two 9x13 pans or four 9x9 pans. Goo - 2 cup brown sugar 1 cup water 4 T molasses 4 T butter Boil for one minute. Pour over rolls before raising. Variations - If you like nuts, sprinkle chopped nuts into the greased pans before placing rolls. If you prefer cinnamon rolls (not sticky buns) omit the goo. After baking you may add your favorite caramel icing. These rolls our awesome and truly the best I've tasted. (Though if you think you have a better recipe, I'd be glad to accept any rolls to do a taste test!) But sometimes, I just don't have the time this recipe requires.
In chilled bowl, beat egg yolks with electric hand mixer for several seconds. Add sugar and continue to mix for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add milk, heavy cream and nutmeg and beat until well mixed. Place bowl in refrigerator until ready to serve. (These steps can be done up to a day ahead.)
Immediately before serving, place egg white in a second bowl and beat with electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold whites into the yolk/milk mixture. Gently whisk until eggnog is smooth.
Serve immediately. Garnish with a little sprinkle of nutmeg.
This makes about 10 servings but you can easily make a smaller batch.
You may have guessed by now that I like checklists! Maybe because I wish I were more organized and always think there should be a tool to help me out! I have found that I'm far more productive if I write things down on paper instead of cluttering up my brain with lots of "can't forget" items.
Shape dough into 1/2 inch rolls.
Cut each strip into pieces about 1/2 inch long. Arrange on ungreased cookie sheeet.
Make a small ball of dough. Flatten the ball onto the cookie sheet for a bear head.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool for one minute before removing from cookie sheet.
Stir jam and spread on dough. Roll up dough starting from the long side. Pinch edges to seal. Cover and chill for 1 hour, turning dough occasionally. Slice dough into 1/2 inch slices.
Bake on cookie sheet for 12 minutes at 375 degrees.
Frosting:
I thought I'd share a few of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes! It certainly would not be complete without my aunt's gingerbread boys!
Roll 1/2 inch thick. Cut. If you prefer a crispy cookie, roll out 1/4 inch thick.
I like to add chocolate chips or M&Ms for buttons before baking. I'm into simple decorations! And it is easy for children to help! If you prefer, you can decorate with icing after the cookies cool.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Unless you roll them out thinly then only bake for 8 minutes.
