Christmas Preparations

Here in mismatched sock land where clean laundry is piled high and the house is a disaster we have made time to prepare for one special birthday.  In our house we don't do Santa Claus (not saying you can't) we have a birthday party for Jesus.

This week we've been counting down the days till his birthday by doing crafts.  I found a lot of my crafts on-line.  Bible Story Printables is probably my favorite site for finding great crafts and free templates.  A couple favorites are the Names of Jesus Ornaments and the Nativity Pop Up Cards.  You can follow the links and do them too if you'd like.

Today we made origami boxes and filled them with pictures of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh and talked about the gifts the wise men brought to our Lord. There in even a video tutorial on how to make the boxes.  The kids LOVED that.  So now our tree has boxes under it with the Gifts of the Wise Men.

I like to spend time remembering and getting excited about our Lord's birth.  It is truly the greatest gift any of us could have.  I want my kids to realize that presents under a tree pale in compassion to the joy of salvation and eternal life with Christ.

We still get our kids gifts, but on a way SMALLER scale.  They get tons of gifts for their birthdays, but for Christmas from us they get one main gift and then some stocking-stuffers.  I like to get them movies or books that promote their relationship with Jesus.  Some movies we like to put in stockings are Paws and Tales, Auto B Good or Torchlighters about missionaries and Christians that have left a legacy.  For my older daughter we have also done American Girl Movies or horse movies that are Dove approved.

Christmas morning in our home we wake up and go on a hunt for numbered cards that tell the story of Jesus's birth.  It starts with the angel appearing to marry and the sixth card has the wise men bringing Jesus gifts and worshiping him. The last card is usually near the cake.  We light 3 candles for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and sing happy birthday to Jesus.  We then eat cake and open our gifts and relax the rest of the day.

What things do you do to keep Christ in your Christmas preparations?
I hope you enjoy the links and find things to help you guide your children closer to the Lord and enjoy this advent season.

 

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