I was hesitant to go ahead with my J is for Jesus post since Ben and Me Blog did it already…but, it is the season of His birth; so what better way than to honor him?!
We try really hard to remember that the TRUE meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the amazing gift of Jesus Christ from our Heavenly Father. Some ways we have found to this are:
1. Limit gifts to 3 per child, Jesus Christ was brought 3 gifts at his birth from the wise men. Make sure your children understand the symbolism of the 3 gifts. Discuss the story, read it from the Bible, have nativity scenes they can play with and see the 3 wisemen, etc..
2. Focus on giving and service. Give whenever possible, toys for tots, angel tree, Salvation Army bell ringer, make/give gifts to family, friends and neighbors. Go Christmas Caroling, visit the sick, etc… Involve the children in these events. This year we are making several batches of cookies to give to a list of people that my children helped make. We have friends with food allergies, so we researched and found recipes that they could eat as well. I’ll post more about this in the near future.
3. Advent Calendars – There are many wonderful ways to celebrate advent, read a scripture a day, read an inspirational story a day, give a gift of service a day, so many to choose from. Check out my Christmas Advent Board on Pinterest. We do several advent activities…this year one of them is the 12 days of Christmas Carols and Ornament Crafts.
Proverbs 3:6 “In all thy ways acknowledge him…”
