I can hardly believe that Christmas is just around the corner. As we put up our Christmas tree, my hubby said, “Didn’t we just pack this away?” It sure does feel like it. So crazy.
As the season is once again upon us, I am constantly looking for ways to teach my kids that Christmas is not about the presents. Yes, it is wonderful to get new toys etc. But that is not why we celebrate it. It is so easy to say–but so difficult to get in their little hearts, isn’t it?
As a family we try to find creative ways to get the truth about Christmas in their hearts. They are still young–but definitely not too young to get it. We want them to learn from a young age that the best Christmases were not about how big the toy was or how much money mom and dad spent on them.
We want the best memories our children have of Christmas to be about time spent as a family, remembering God’s goodness, and giving back to those less fortunate than themselves.
I was thinking about my most wonderful Christmas memories as a child growing up in South Africa. They were always amazing–spent with lots of family. And, of course, leaving a beer on the table for Santa as a little pick-me-up. Forget the milk–who needs it anyway.
Obviously my family were not Christians at that stage of my life. They just did what every good South African did–spoil Father Christmas (which is what we call him) with an ice cold beer. He sure deserved it, don’t you know.
But here I am with my own children, trying our darndest to teach them the true meaning of Christmas in the craziest, most OTT consumer society in the world.
Whew…it sure is hard.
We try to do lots of fun stuff with our kids at this time of year. We are so not tv watchers in our family. We prefer to choose DVD’s that we approve of for our children to watch. But in December, we make even more of an effort to keep the television off. There is nothing worse than being bombarded by the constant commercials about the next latest and greatest gadgets we just have to have. The kids channels are even worse than the adult channels.
No thanks!
So as December approaches I’m on the hunt for great ways to impart the heart of Christmas to my children.
I thought it would be fun to share some of our family traditions with each other.
What does your family do to make this amazing season special for your family?
I’d love to hear your ideas. What family traditions does your family have? How do you teach your children about the true meaning of Christmas? What makes this time of year extra special for your family?
Who knows–maybe we can steal borrow some fabulous ideas from each other.
Love you all, dear friends.
