Placing Christ at the Center of Christmas

When I broke the news to my children one year that there really wasn’t a Santa Claus, they were aghast! Up to that point, we had never told them there was or wasn’t a Santa: we simply either avoided the issue or played along with their ideas. Now I was in trouble! “Well, what about the cookies we put out?” they wanted to know. “Santa eats the cookies we leave every year, and drinks the milk.” My one word answer, “Dad,” left them horrified. “What about the carrots we left out for the reindeer?” Again, a gasp of disbelief when I responded, “I put them back in the drawer of the fridge.”

After calling Dad at the office to confirm the worst, my daughter said, “Well, Christmas is really about Jesus anyway.” That is the truth! We, as a society, have become so wrapped up in the hype of it all, it is easy to forget the real meaning of Christmas—a tiny Babe born in Bethlehem is the Savior of the world!

Let’s take a few moments to explore ways to make Christmas a special, cherished time for our families. We’ve collected a few ideas to get you started. To submit your ideas for traditions or activities that focus on keeping Christ in Christmas, click the email link at the bottom of the page. We would love to hear from you, and perhaps your submission will appear here!

Christ Centered Holiday Traditions

• Purchase a special “Jesus” Christmas storybook each year to add to your family collection. Read them all during the holiday season. This is especially fun in pajamas with a cup of hot cocoa.

• One family made puppets for each of the main nativity figures. The mother drew simple mitt outlines on which they added features, etc. and colored the clothes using fabric crayons. She ironed them onto white fabric and stitched them together into mitts. They used the puppets to put on a drama retelling the Christmas story for a family get-together.

• One year I let my kids draw all of the main nativity figures on large pieces of butcher paper. We cut them out, I drew a simple stable, and we made our own poster-size nativity scene. We hung it on the wall as our main Christmas decoration that year.

• Attend a Christmas Eve church service as a family.

• Make it a point in your home not to use “Xmas” as a replacement for Christmas. Many people use the term without realizing that in doing so they have just deleted Christ! Consider also avoiding Christmas cards and other items with “Happy Holidays,” “Seasons Greetings,” or other secularized greetings on them. Remember that this is the most widely-celebrated holiday in the year, and thus it provides us with tremendous opportunities to proclaim Christ without straying from the theme of the holiday.

• I had my children each draw part of the manger scene. We scaled the figures to an appropriate size and assembled them to make the nativity scene. I then reproduced the images on our Christmas cards (identifying in small type which figure each child drew, and their ages).

• Have a “Happy Birthday Jesus” party.

• Find a local charity that serves a holiday meal, and assist either by donating food, money, or actually serving at the meal.

• Take your family Christmas caroling through your neighborhood.

• One woman chose a religious theme for her tree decorations each year. One year it was “Names of Christ” so she had a tiny loaf of bread representing the “Bread of Life,” a small blackboard representing “Teacher,” a lily of the valley, a star (Day Star), etc. Another year, all of the ornaments were parts of the nativity—angels, shepherds, stars, gifts of the wise men, etc.

• Shower a person, or family, with small spiritual gifts following the 12 days of Christmas format. On day one, they get one gift; on day two, they get two gifts, and so on. It is really great to keep the recipient guessing who is blessing them with gifts each day.

• One family puts all of their Christmas cards in a box. In the weeks after Christmas, they pull out one card a day and pray for the individual or family that sent the card.

• Gather up all your angel figurines and ornaments, and make an “angelic choir” grouping on a mantle, shelf, or table. Consider using Christmas cards with angel figures are part of the display.

To share your Christmas traditions that help your family keep Christ in Christmas, click here.