So, we have done some things different. It has taken us several years to figure out how we want to celebrate Christmas. And we've had to work out some major kinks along the way. (and it's still not perfect) We still put up a tree and hang stockings. We even have Santa and Mrs. Claus salt and pepper shakers. But instead of focusing on toys and presents we focus on the greatest gift that God could ever give us, and that is salvation through His son Jesus.
One idea we use was from a MOPS newsletter I received about keeping Christ the focus by putting up a manger. Below are some pictures of our 1st Century manger (It was probably made from stone, because wood was not an easily accessible resource) So, we made ours look like stone with a little dip in the top for straw. Over the next month when the kids have a good attitude or help out they can earn a piece of straw to put in the manger. We want our manger to be soft for baby Jesus. On Christmas morning when the kids wake up they will find baby Jesus (a doll I have wrapped in swaddling clothes) lying in the manger. They will also have their stocking filled and we will eat cake for breakfast to celebrate! Oh! and presents. Yes, they get presents and will open them Christmas morning.
We are still working out the whole process and so if you have any neat ideas please post them here or on your blog. I would love to read out how you keep the focus on Christ. Because after all it is His birthday!With all this said I wanted to share some stories that really touched my heart and helped me to realize that my kids are getting it. Last night at dinner Davin and Hudson had this conversation:
Davin: Hudson, what do you think Jesus would want for His birthday?
Hudson: A crown.
Davin: Why is that?
Hudson: Because Kings wear crowns, and He is the King.
The other day we asked Hudson "Why did baby Jesus come to Earth?" He responded by quoting a verse he learned at Cubbies, "because all have sinned".
I can't tell you how much that means to me! He is getting it!
Here they are in their Christmas Pajamas. Aren't they cute! One sweet thing that Naomi has been doing is sing part of a Christmas song by Third Day. The only words she knows are "Baby Jesus". But she sings them over and over.
7 comments:
What a neat tradition with the manger! I have also heard of people leaving baby Jesus out of their nativities until Christmas morning...
As for us, we too want to keep the focus on Christ. That is why, in addition to our Christmas tree and stockings, we have "Jesus books", nativities, and "Happy Birthday Jesus" signs. When looking at our Christmas decorations, we want people to know that it is because of HIM that we celebrate Christmas.
One other thing that we have done as a family is to give Jesus the biggest gift of all. We have a stocking for Jesus, and in it, we keep the money that we will give toward the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. At Christmas, we then give Jesus this gift. And it is more than what we spend on everyone else combined. I think this focus helps keep our eyes off of materialism and on Christ. (And someone gave me the neatest ornament last year- It is Santa Claus bowing down in worship to baby Jesus in the manger! What a way to keep the focus where it needs to be!)
Loved this post! So proud of Hudson and Naomi and all that they are learning.
This is definitely an issue that Rich and I have given a great deal of thought. We have always known that Santa Claus would not be a part of our Christmas tradition at all. Our children know about santa, but they also know that he has nothing to do with Christmas.
We don't put a tree up at Christmas time, in fact, we don't decorate at all.
For the first several years, we decided to go with a tradition of giving each of our children 3 gifts just like the 3 gifts that were brought to Jesus. But last year when we did that it felt completely disingenous to me. And I couldn't get past it. It felt to me that I was trying to make something secular fit into something that was supposed to be sacred. So, as you can see, it has taken us many years to figure this one out too.
We have finally decided that none of it really works for us. We have not been able to come to terms with the secular Christmas and make it fit with the sacred. So, we have completely dropped the secular. We celebrate Christmas simply as the birth of Jesus, the greatest gift of all from God.
It gets complicated, because although our children understand what Christmas really is, they easily become confused by all the secular aspects of it. . . and in their little minds, they can have a far more difficult time seperating it all out. Wow, what a struggle that can be for me.
I don't find fault with people who decorate, put up trees, or stockings. I have just not been able to find a comfortable *in between* place. So we decided to completely eliminate all of the secular aspects from our family's celebration of Christmas.
Great post by the way!
Seeing the place all decorated makes me miss home. I miss going and getting a big tree from Big John's. Its hard to get in the right spirit when it is 80 degrees and raining. Love you and miss you guys. Get skype soon so we can talk.
Great post! We also decided when Emma was born not to do Santa with our kids. We have gotten a lot of opposition from a lot of people (mainly family)for our decision. We have been trying to figure out our own family traditions for years as well, I think your manger and cake are excellent ideas! I think it's awesome that Hudson is "getting it"!
Hey Alisia, I don't know if you remember me...Heidi and Tommy Worthey...You probably remember my daughter Chase, she still talks about your cute little girl Naomi...Anyway, I thought I would share some of the ways we celebrate Jesus birthday! We have always done "Santa" with our kids, our boys and then with Chase as well, but they always knew that "Santa" was not what Christmas was about...When Chase was really little we would have a full birthday party for Jesus! We would decorate and invite all Chase friends over for birthday cake! We also always read the first Christmas story out of Luke on Christmas Eve...and we also do the advent candles as a family...we start the sunday after Thanksgiving and it continues thru Christmas day...it has probably been one of the best traditions we have done! We try and find different scripture series to do each year, but Chase enjoyed that when she was Hudson's age and still does! I think your manger idea is great especially getting to put the straw in...that's so neat! Well, I hope you all are doing well and that you will have a very Merry Christmas!
Julia and I were just reading this! Truly awesome... we told her a couple years ago Santa was not real because we didn't want to lie. Although we still have two little ones, we'll let them believe it for a few years until they will understand and tell them the truth and focus on Jesus!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!
Oh how I LOVE the Benavides family. I remember our many conversations about this last year...I wanted to tell you about some "tweaking" we have made. If you remember, we do the three gift thing for the girls, and stockings as well as a santa gift (oh by the way, you should go read my cousin's blog on her conversation with her 4 year old about santa being fake and Jesus being real...) anyway...we always want to make sure that our biggest gift is the gift to our Lord, which is to the Lottie Moon offering. We've done this, but never emphasized it to our children, b/c they were too little to know anyway, until this year. SO...I will make a Christmas card and we will open it first on Christmas morning and it will tell how much God allowed us to give to Lottie Moon. (this was Justin's idea). I love it and I'm so excited to do this for the first time this year :)
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