With December just hours away, I find myself thinking more and more about how to make Christmas a special time for the kids. I should probably start thinking about this before November 30, but I’ve never been known to think or plan ahead so why start now, right?
I’ve instituted one major plan with the kids for this holiday season, but other than that I feel like December has snuck up on me. I mentioned the Christmas musical my church is putting on last week – this musical, while great fun and a great ministry, has taken a lot of my mental energy. Starting Saturday I will pretty much live at church until the following Sunday.
So here’s what I need from you, bloggy friends. I need ideas. Christmas tradition ideas. Advent ideas. I want to help the kids focus on the miracle of Christmas and not just the “stuff” of Christmas. We are going to do Elf on a Shelf for fun, but I also want to incorporate some kind of simple, daily exercise that helps them understand why we celebrate.
I need ideas that are simple and won’t take hours to plan ahead of time. Because I simply don’t have that in me. I’m not a crafty gal so if your idea involves extensive use of scissors, glue or glitter, I’ll have to pass. I’m sure it would be beautiful, but it just wouldn’t get done.
What do you all do this time of year to celebrate advent and to help your kids learn, see and experience the glory of the Christmas season. How do you mold their hearts to understand the magnitude of Christ’s birth? What do you do to make the season special and memorable and magical for your family?
I don’t just want to survive Christmas – I want to experience it. I’d love to hear what you all are doing to experience the season. Thanks for sharing!
Share with them the 12 Days of Christmas. As a family you choose a family that needs some uplifting or good cheer or just someone you’d like to share with….then each night for the twelve nights before Christmas you sneak a small gift, cookies, a message of glad tidings, things like that and do a drop and dash….drop, ring the doorbell and dash (run and hide) – the object being to give someone a fun holiday season from an “anonymous” (Your family) source. Then on the 12th day, you can give yourselves up and go sing them holiday carols, or invite them to dinner, or some such thing of your choosing. This is a great thing to do for Elderly neighbors with no close family, or someone who may be struggling to provide for their family or just someone who needs some happiness….and it teaches your kids about serving others while having fun doing so.
Some ideas
Have the kids draw “anonymous” pictures of what Christmas means to them
take a plate of cookies or other treats
a small gift card for a coffee or juice bar
Rake leaves while the neigbor is away and leave a note that says ” the elves were here”