Over the last 6 years, our family has slowly been developing some Christmas traditions. I'm looking forward to many more over the coming years Lord-willing. I was first challenged by Treasuring God in Your Traditions when I read this book. And was actually a free download here last month. It's definitely worth your time to read! Here are some of our Christmas traditions that work for our family. (as every family should do what works for them, these are just some of our preferences) The point is do whatever will help treasure Christ above all else, and remind them to keep Him at the center throughout this busy season. What a challenge it is to keep the right perspective in these busy days! I have a hard enough time being Christ-focused with daily responsibilities, but adding more to my plate this month, challenges me to remember WHO we are serving, not caught up in the activity. The doctrine of the incarnation should radically change how we live and how we apply the Gospel in our lives as well as our children's!
So here's some of our favorite things:
- Advent - "Advent is what we call the season leading up to Christmas. At Christmas we celebrate the fulfillment of the promises God made—that he would give a way to draw near to him." Piper We have used different types of countdowns and readings. Right now, our kids are little so we keep it simple. But we have used the reading here by Thriving Family. We hope to incorporate this book as they get older. We also have an advent wreath that we light each Sunday that helps us countdown until Christmas.
- Scripture- We like to memorize Scripture together. This year we are memorizing Luke 2...and actually may need to review next year....since this is the stage we are in. But there's lots more that we hope to do as a family that talk about the incarnation. Philippians 2 is another favorite. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Praying for God's Word to take root in our children's lives and their eyes will be opened to the glorious Gospel!
- Giving-Our church usually takes on a project to give to those in need that we are able to join in on. We've participated in Operation Christmas Child and adopting a missionary family. This year, we are going to go sing to our shut-ins in the Nursing Home and take them some gifts. We want to teach our kids how to give to those who aren't able to give in return. We also like to take goodies (which we have spent time baking together) and Christmas cards to our neighbors.
- Special Ornament- We love to buy a special ornament either for each child or that commemorates a memory from the year...thinking about hanging a NICU diaper for Isaac's 1st Christmas ornament.
- Books! - We love to read and have acquired several fun books over the years. We have The Plan, by Sinclair Ferguson, The Gift, God's Gift of Christmas, plus The Candy Cane Parable, The Pine Tree Parable, and many more! Of course some books, we have to tweak just a tad to fit our family, but we love them. Esther and I just got done reading The Quiet Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott.
- Fruit- We are just starting this tradition this year. Evidently, it was one for Stephen growing up. He always received an apple and orange in his stocking. We were struck by stories from Grandparents this past week who were excited to receive an apple or orange for Christmas. It especially made an impression on Esther who considers it an everyday staple, so we are incorporating that into our Christmas breakfast.
- Nativity Sets- We have several of these around our house. They help us remember WHO it is we are celebrating...and why was Jesus' birth so miraculous. It's one more way to evoke more Gospel conversations. We have this set as well as this interactive nativity.
- Gifts from us- We usually do a family gift that includes making a memory, and will reap lasting benefits. We do 3 smaller gifts - adapting from the 3 gifts (we know of :) that Jesus received. It keeps it simple for us. We LOVE giving to our kids, so it keeps us (well, me) in check of keeping it simple. And we keep reminding all of us in this gift giving...and receiving season that people are more important than things and JESUS is the only one that will bring true joy and satisfaction. So let's look to Him! Thanks be to Him for his unspeakable Gift!
"Only God can bequeath God to our children. But he uses means. He uses God-centered traditions and Bible-saturated family patterns and grace-laden heirlooms. Only God can give our children a taste for the sweetness of God. Only God can awaken them to his worth. But year in and year out there are traditions that show them: God is our Treasure." Piper
