Keeping Christ in Christmas

Isn’t it ironic that so many of the components of Christmas keep us from focusing on Christ whose birthday we celebrate? What’s cool is that it doesn’t have to be “either or” when it comes to the Christ of Christmas and all the other stuff. As in our daily lives, Christ should be in us, around us and through us. So here are a few of the ways that we have been deliberate in our family to keep Christ in Christmas. Advent begins right after thanksgiving. I have found that this is a very effective way of focusing on Christ in the midst of all the distractions. This tradition is usually celebrated with candles, special calendars, and/or books with weekly or nightly readings. Our kids loved to take turns lighting the candles and as they learned to read, reading the special reading for the week. We usually had the advent calendar with candy so that they could count down the days and each little spot that opened up with candy also had an element of the Christmas story that our kids took turns telling. I collect nativity scenes and this is one of the ways I like to keep the emphasis on Christ. Each child was given a very special nativity set of their own once they got old enough to set it up in their own room and take care of it. All but one of these now occupy a place of honor in their own homes. Colt’s is still in his room at our house. I also have a few unbreakable nativity sets that the children could touch and play with when they were younger. Now our grandchildren have fun acting out with them. Special story times were also a way to keep the focus on Christ and others during Christmas. Every year, at the beginning of advent, we gave our children a special Christmas book. We read these books in the weeks preceding Christmas, as we sat around the fireplace and the tree. Some are religious and some just have a great message of good cheer, but they have created some great memories. One of my favorite things to do during this busy time of year is to regularly set aside a few hours of quiet time to focus on God and His gift of His Son. I snuggle up with my favorite Christmas books and a hot cup of tea. This is one of the most worshipful, rewarding things I do to keep Christ in Christmas. How have you been able to keep the focus on Christ in your family this Christmas?