As Christian parents, we most likely want to ensure our children know and understand the true meaning of Christmas outside of the Christmas tree, lights and gifts. These days it’s so easy for us to get distracted and carried away by all the activities going on around Christmas time that we forget the real meaning behind Christmas which is Jesus Christ. He is the reason for the season, the reason we are able to celebrate at all. Of course celebrating christmas in full blast with the christmas trees, santa claus, gifts, christmas lights etc is not bad because hey, I love all of that lol. But in the midst of it all, we need to be careful not to lose the true meaning of christmas.
My daughter loves christmas and has been asking how far away it is for the past couple of months. I love that she is excited about christmas, but at the same time I know she is really excited because of the gifts she will get and then all the christmas lights. I however have been teaching her christmas is not only about that, as a family, we want our kids to really see Christ in the center of everything they do and be content with a life of Christ. We want them to know that the whole point of the season is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and the only way to do that is to be very intentional as a family and display Christ to them. In this post, I will share a few Ideas to put Christ back in Christmas and teach your kids what Christmas is really all about.
Make a birthday cake for Jesus
First, make a cake to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. I think this is especially great if your kids love to bake, you can simply have them help you out with it, decorate it and cut it on behalf on Jesus. My daughter loves cakes and wants to have cakes to celebrate birthdays even when the celebrant is in a different location so this is definitely a win for her to cut a cake for Jesus.
Keep Christ at the center
In the midst of all the christmas festivity, its important to always keep Christ at the center. There are several ways to do that while also keeping it fun and engaging for kids. I will discuss some in detail below. A few ways are: listening to christian christmas songs, acting out nativity stories, reading Christian books about christmas, reading the birth of Christ and discussing it etc.
Start new family traditions
You can start some new family traditions that you uphold and participate in together. This is also a great way to keep everyone unified. These traditions can be very simple or as grand as you like. One tradition we have as a family is going to see christmas lights on christmas day or christmas eve. It’s a great way to spend quality time together while also talking about Christ when everyone is having a great time.
Participate in giving to others
Giving to others is a major way to teach your kids the real meaning of Christmas. Sometimes they think christmas is all about receiving gifts, but when you give to others, you show them that its also about giving to others and helping others celebrate Christ. I wrote a post a few weeks ago on some simple ways to give back as a family this holiday season. Feel free to check it out to get some amazing ideas on giving. You could choose to participate in a charity such as angel tree, toys for tots, operation christmas child etc.
Watch bible stories about nativity
There are several videos on nativity you could watch as a family at this time of the year. Check out a few in this link. Make it a fun movie night where you have people act out various parts of the bible on the birth of Christ and stories surround it. You could also watch other nativity videos on YouTube such as superbook or cartons for younger kids to understand.
Spend time with family
Spend some quality time not only with yourselves, but also with family and friends especially during the holidays. You could choose to volunteer somewhere together, gather at your home, host a family dinner etc. It does not even have to be going from house to house, and hey it could even be virtual!
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Talk about the birth of Christ with them
Pull out your bible and have a devotion around the birth of Christ and the whole essence of Christ. You can even act it out for them to see it. Use the time to talk to them about Jesus’ parents and others that were involved.
Share the love of Christ
Christmas is really all about love because Christ is love. Share the love of Jesus to others by finding ways to not only give to them but also show love. It could be as simple as helping someone, saying thank you, getting a drink for someone, saying I love you etc. This not only teaches them about Christmas, but also about Jesus and how he was all about showing love to the world that God sent him to die for our sins so we could be called his family.
Listen to Christmas songs
I love christmas songs and hymns, they just bring out the joy in your heart especially when its about Jesus and his love for us. Kids love to sing and this makes it a great way to teach kids the true meaning of Christmas in a fun way. You can find a lot of songs on youtube, spotify, amazon music and on the radio during that time of the year.
Attend a nativity play
You could also attend a live nativity play and watch as real people act out scenes surrounding the birth of Jesus.
Attend Christmas services
We love to go to church on Christmas day as a family. It’s a great way to really celebrate the birth of Jesus and involve your children. Its sort of like going for his birthday celebration but inside the church. A lot of churches have some sort of Christmas program going on in December. You can check out church websites or social media to find one. Maybe even involve your kids by having them also invite their friends to church.
Advent calendar
I plan to try this out this year. You can buy an advent calendar or you could also choose to create one as a family. I have seen a lot that hide toys or little treats or notes on each day. For a Christ centered one, you could find one that relates to the birth of Jesus using poems, pictures, etc.
Make a christmas calendar
You can create a christmas calendar and customize it by writing down a name of family members, friends, teachers, neighbors etc and then pray together as a family for that person on their scheduled day. This is also a great way to teach children the importance of not only praying for themselves but also praying for others. It really helps to build gratitude in kids for their own lives when they can take some time to pray for those in need. Here is a post I wrote on ways to teach your children gratitude plus activities and books for them.
Read a bible scripture each day
You can also use the christmas calendar for this. Write out several bible scriptures, put them on the calendar and then read it each day as a family while also explaining it to your kids. You can focus the scriptures on verses that relate to the birth of Jesus Christ.
Write a letter to Jesus
Personally, I love writing so this is fun for me. Grab your kids and have them write little notes or letters to Jesus showing their gratitude or simply expressing themselves. Your younger kids could just color on paper as their way of writing to Jesus. It does not need to be super structured or anything, just fun and sincere.
Slow down
Christmas can be such a busy season and you feel like you have to attend every party or occasion you are invited to. Take some time to slow down from everything and enjoy some quality time together as a family. It takes out of the joy of Christmas when you have to drive to so many places or be involved in so many things that you hardly stop to breathe and show gratitude to Jesus. Obviously spending time with family and friends is great, but try not to allow others control your schedule based on their plans, learn to set boundaries and make the best decision for you and your family. Its important to spend time as a family rather than always trying to accommodate everyone else and burning out.
Christ-Centered Christmas Books
There are several Christ centered christmas books to help your children understand the real meaning of christmas. Here are a few great Christ centered christmas books for your kids. These books will certainly help bring home the message of the birth of Christ to your kids.
God Gave Us Christmas (God Gave Us Series) by Lisa Tawn Bergren
Unwrapping the Greatest Gift: A Family Celebration of Christmas
Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale by Martin Waddell
One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham
The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats
‘Twas the Evening of Christmas
Little Star by Anthony DeStefano
The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walberg
Pray about it
Ultimately, If you want your kids to know and understand the true meaning of Christmas for themselves, it starts with Jesus Christ. Take some time to Pray and ask God to help you teach your children because there is no perfect way or standard way. Let God guide you to the way that is perfect for you and your family.
There you have it! What are some of the ways you are teaching your kids the True Meaning of Christmas? Comment below and feel free to share this with others!
