1. Decorating a gingerbread house (not building one - been there done that and I won't do that again)
2. Making, baking and decorating sugar cookies (We do this for most holidays since it is easy enough for all kids to participate in)
3. Make a cake and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus (It is his birthday afterall. My kids asked what Jesus' favorite color was and what his favorite kind of cake would be. I told them I'm sure he'll like any flavor and color cake we make.)
4. Make treats for friends, neighbors, teachers, and family to give as gifts (We've made cookies in a jar, pretzels dipped in chocolate, cookies, brownies, etc)
5. Drive around and look at Christmas lights (We get bundled up in our car with coats & blankets and have hot cocoa to drink as we drive around in local neighborhoods or walk through Naples in Long Beach).
6. Go see or perform in Christmas performances (The last two years, Victoria has been in Christmas Joy, so we've gotten to see her perform at our church).
7. Decorate the Christmas tree together while listening to Christmas music even with toddlers (There is sometimes broken ornaments and I often have to rearrange ornaments, but the kids LOVE decorating.)
8. Make an Advent wreath (This year was our first time doing that with our church. We decorated a green wreath with ornaments, pinecones, and ribbon. We placed candles into the candle holders which were attached to the wreath and lit one for the first week. We sang songs together and meditated on scripture.)
9. Watch Christmas movies together (old ones and new ones too- Still my favorite is "It's a Wonderful Life")
10. Read books together about Christmas (I like "The Crippled Lamb" by Max Lucado)
11. Have the kids help put up the Nativity scene decorations (One year they put on a play at home about the birth of Christ. Victoria was Mary and Nicholas was Joseph. I think Ben, Allan and I were wise men and Lizzie played baby Jesus if she cooperated.)
12. Buy gifts for family or friends that have a missional purpose (Our church has been doing a missional marketplace the last 2 or 3 years. They have all kinds of gifts that you can buy and the profit goes to specific missionaries around the world. We bought coffee and homemade jam this year. And we bought and wrapped a toy for a foster child. I was able to explain the needs of other people in the U.S. and other countries to my children)
These are some traditions for Christmas that our family will continue to do. I want to find more ideas that I can do with my family where we can really focus on the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Christ. I have in the past gotten sucked into the gift giving event that Christmas has become and I don't want that for myself or my family. Yes, we buy gifts for my kids and yes Santa comes to visit. But my fondest memories of Christmas are not of the toys that I received, but the time I've spent with my family and friends celebrating Jesus' birth. Email, comment or facebook me if you have any fun Christmas traditions.
 |
| Benjamin, Victoria and Audrey (Victoria's friend) decorated this gingerbread house. We had to place the houses up high away from little fingers. |
 |
| Nicholas rolling out the dough for sugar cookies. |
 |
| Benjamin loved picking out fun Christmas cookie shapes. |
 |
| As you can see, Victoria's cookie making station is very clean. She was such a great big sister helping the little ones roll and cut out their cookie shapes. |
 |
| Here Lizzie is decorating her cookies with frosting and sprinkles. If you look closely, you'll see a mountain of sprinkles. |
 |
| Victoria and her friends from the Christmas Joy performance. |
 |
| Our first Advent wreath in antipation of Christmas, the birth of Christ. |
