This evening during dinner my wife asked me what my favorite Christmas traditions were growing up. As I sat and pondered, thinking back at all of the things we did year in and year out, I realized that I really miss a lot of what went on when I was younger. Sure, opening presents was fun, but there were so many other things that came to mind.
One of my favorite traditions was on Christmas Eve night. My brother and I would watch The Santa Claus (Tim Allen) then play some video games until we fell asleep. I really miss those times. You probably have memories like that as well.
For me, Christmas time was more about family and presents than it was about the birth of Jesus. In fact, I don’t know how much I thought about Christ at all during Christmas growing up. So, how can you have great traditions with your family while still keeping the focus on Christ? I believe there are 3 ways you can do this.
1. Rethink what you do in light of why you celebrate Christmas in the first place.
If your family is anything like mine, Christmas involves running around to house after house. You barely have time to think let alone rethink what you do in light of the real meaning of Christmas. But this is easier than you might think. It simply means talking about Christmas as if it really is the day that we celebrate the birth of Jesus. If you are talking about the real meaning of Christmas, more ideas will come to your mind on how to keep Him as the focus. Your kids will truly understand what Christmas is about.
2. Conclude Christmas Eve with reading the story of Jesus’ birth as a family.
Maybe you already go to a Christmas Eve church service or maybe you spend the day visiting family. Either way, taking the time to read the story of Jesus’ birth as a family will mean much more to your kids than simply going to a church service. Don’t get me wrong, that is a great thing to do, but I believe your kids will remember the times you read from Scripture together more than they will remember going to a service.
Instead of simply reading the account, get the whole family involved and have everyone be a character and read their parts.
3. Have the adults open a present from the kids first.
If possible, have each of your children get one present for both you and your spouse. Have mom take them out to shop for dad and vice versa. Then on Christmas morning when you all gather together to open presents, have them get the present they picked out and open it. This will show them in a real, tangible way that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
By doing these three things, I believe you will show your family the real focus of Christmas. They will look back at their Christmas traditions and think of both their family and their faith. You’ll start a legacy because it is likely that they will do the same thing.
Question: How have you kept Christ as the focus in your Christmas traditions?
