The holiday season is here and now children are looking forward to an amazing Christmas celebration with family and friends. But this comes with a lot of thinking for parents on what to do.
So here are ideas on how you can keep the celebration simple and perfect.
- Restoring a little sanity to your Christmas schedule will help you restore a little sanctity to the season, too. Make sure you actually set aside time to relax as a family and refocus on Christ (who is the reason why you are celebrating) each day. If you have young children, safeguard their emotional stamina by scheduling half-day activities with family and friends, and keep the remainder of the day for some low-key “Family” time
- Every child eagerly anticipates the gifts they will receive at Christmas, but gifts can easily become a youngster’s main focus of the season. Try to keep everyone focused on the special activities that celebrate Jesus’ birth through activities like singing together, going to carol services and so on.
- Read the Nativity story from the Bible, or watch a thoughtful movie about the Nativity together. Afterward, surprise the kids with a box of simple props that allow them to dress like Biblical characters, then have them act out the events around Jesus’ birth. Use tea towels for headgear, secured with an elastic headband, bathrobes and perhaps a jewellery box or a gift-wrapped box to represent the gifts of the wise men. To fuel the kids’ enthusiasm, make sure you take part as well!
- This may be the year to urge your family to skip the gift exchange and take a new approach to gift giving. When you come together for your Christmas celebration, bring gifts of money as an offering to Jesus, plus “gift catalogues” or wish lists from your favourite charities. Spend part of the evening “shopping” together by reviewing the catalogues and choosing how you will spend your offering.
- Prepare one last surprise for the season could be a gift to your children or the plans for the new year.
Source: Focus Family.