Ways to Keep Christ in Christmas
Activities and Ideas for Celebrating the Birth of Jesus With Kids
Sep 18, 2009
Christian families during the holiday season can get overwhelmed by the secularization and commercialization of Christmas. During what should be a holy celebration of Christ's birth, they are too busy with shopping, decorating, and baking to observe the true meaning of Christmas – and young kids often know a lot more about Santa Claus than they do the story of the first Christmas.
Parents interested in better keeping Christ in Christmas can institute some of the following traditions to have a spiritual Christmas with their children this year.
Read the Christmas Story from the Bible
Even if kids are too young to understand the language, it's important to read the Christmas story right from the Bible. Preschoolers might enjoy dressing up and re-enacting the nativity afterward.
Reading the Christmas story written in Luke or Matthew is the best way to combat messages that miss the true meaning of Christmas. Movies and books tell kids that Christmas is about love, hope, or helping others - and it is, but without Christ it is not Christmas.
Focusing on Christ with Religious Stocking Stuffers
Whether under the tree or in the stocking, parents can give meaningful spiritual gifts in addition to toys for Christmas like:
- Framed picture of Christ for their room
- Religious or symbolic jewelry
- Christian printable coloring sheets or coloring book
- Children's picture book about the nativity
Giving gifts designed to remind children about the birth of Christ can help parents to have a religious Christmas with their kids.
Hang a Christmas Stocking for Christ on the Mantle
Most families have a Christmas stocking for every member of the family to be filled with gifts from Santa. In addition, parents could hang up a white stocking for Christ, and on Christmas Eve every member of the family could insert a piece of paper listing their gift to Christ this year. Examples might be being nicer to others, praying more often, or using cleaner language.
Focus on Christ during Christmas with Christian Picture Books
Christian bookstores carry many books adapted for youngsters with the Christmas story. Of course parents should read the books with their kids, but children flipping through the books on their own will learn a lot and generate questions by looking at the pictures.
Fighting Commercialism at Christmas
Much of the emphasis during the holidays is on candy and gifts rather than on celebrating Christ's birthday. Some things parents can do to combat this attitude are:
- Give "donation" gifts, using the money for a gift to donate in their behalf to a good cause
- Do a good deed together as a family like volunteering at a soup kitchen or sponsoring a child from a third world country
- Limit the number of gifts for each person to reduce greediness
- Limit the dollar amount on family gifts, or make it a rule that all gifts must homemade
Anything parents can do to put the focus on Jesus at Christmas rather than on tangible things helps kids to understand the Christian holiday of Christmas.
Celebrating a Christian Christmas is sometimes hard, but not impossible. Have a religious Christmas this year by creating new family traditions during the holiday season that help kids absorb the real meaning of Christmas.
Readers might also be interested in Focusing on Christ at Easter with Kids.
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