Jesus is the reason for the season. Here are activity suggestions to help you and your loved ones stay focused on celebrating the birth of our Savior. Adapt as needed…
A Crib of Kindness
Make a manger out of a box, wood, or other material around your home. Then each time you or your child do a good deed, obeyed or prayed for others, he or she could put a soft piece of cotton in the manger. Talk about how Jesus wants us to do kind things for others because doing so helps soften our hearts to love others.
Character Cards
Create birthday cards for Jesus. As our “gift” to Him, we try to better observe the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23, the quality or attribute most challenging to each of us. For one it might be patience, for another self-control. We brainstorm situations and actions that strengthen our patience, such as waiting for a turn, or self-control in sharing belongings without becoming angry. Then we write or draw these ideas on our cards.
On Christmas Eve, the completed cards are placed in a stocking, to be opened and shared with the family on Christmas morning. Each person is able to celebrate the birthday of Jesus in a personal, tangible way, becoming “doers” of the Word and growing in strength of character.
Gift Opening Day
Gift Opening Day is celebrated on any day prior to Christmas, and it’s the family day on which we open gifts, play games, light candles and sing carols. The meal is a highlight, consisting of food from different cultures — food we’ve never made or possibly tasted.
Having Gift Opening Day encourages us to have our special time as a family together so we can be OK with sharing Christmas Day with others, whether it be through visiting relatives and friends or service to our community.
Names of Jesus
Cut out stars from cardstock paper and write “Jesus is …” on each one. Then
write words that describe Jesus, such as “Savior,” “Emmanuel” and “Prince of Peace.” For our family devotions on Christmas Eve, talk about the different names of Jesus. Creating these stars to decorate our kitchen cabinets was a great way to engage your family and visitors in remembering the character of Jesus.
The Gift of Scripture
This one may be for next Christmas…Ask your family members and those you’ll be with on Christmas to select a scripture verse or passage that means something to them. This can be done throughout the course of the year. On Christmas morning, take turns reading the scriptures and sharing why it was important to us. You’ll find this is a way to include Jesus in the gift-giving, and helps everyone grow a little closer to our Savior.
Stockings Filled With Love
Perhaps someone dear to you or someone in your home has died and will not be around for Chrismtas. Hang up a stocking at Christmastime to help our family honor that persons life. Put in love notes and cherished memories. This gives everyone a way to honor the life that God created and a way to work through feelings of loss.
Ideas for Serving Others This Christmas Season
We’re called to humbly serve other people — not only the poor and sick, but our families, friends and neighbors, too. Sometimes, we’re so busy, though, that it’s hard to come up with ways to help others. Try these lists of quick ways you and your kids can serve people you know: 1) Serving siblings and close friends; 2) Serving your family; 3) To Serve neighbors and your community. If you can’t decide which ideas will work best, print them and cut them into slips. Put the slips of paper into a jar or hat and pull out an idea.
Share Christmas joy
Spread Jesus’ love by helping others and by lifting the spirits of those who might not see a reason to celebrate. Together as a family, visit a nursing home, serve meals at a mission or church, or pack and deliver Christmas baskets for food pantries. Make sure your children know you do this not to earn God’s favor but to love Him by loving others.
These are just a few ideas to help you start your own family traditions. Use them to create times when you shut out the hustle and bustle of the holiday and focus on the “holy day” when love came down from heaven as a tiny baby to dwell among us.
BONUS IDEAS….
Age-Appropriate Christmas Activities
Try these fun-filled, age-appropriate activities that will direct children, and adults, back to the true meaning of the holiday, to focus on Jesus and celebrate Emmanuel, God who is with us.
Ages 0-3
In order to avoid making Christmas a “don’t touch holiday” for little ones, give them fun things they can touch.
Move glass ornaments and lights up to higher branches on the Christmas tree, and help your child make fun decorations for the bottom.
String pieces of colored tissue paper cut into squares onto shoestrings to hang as garland.
Get out the glitter and make paper ornaments.
Mold a nativity scene from clay dough and display in a prominent place. Tell the story of Christmas while you do this.
Decorate cookies and build gingerbread houses together as a family.
Ages 4-7
Help your little ones focus on others this season by making use of those Christmas cards received in the mail. Place the cards in a basket on the dinner table; taking turns each night drawing one out. Then pray together for that person or family.
Also, start a family tradition by picking out a new holiday picture book to read each Christmas Eve. Some ideas to start with are: 10 Minutes to Showtime, by Tricia Goyer, The Crippled Lamb, by Max Lucado, The Stable Where Jesus was Born, by Rhonda Gowler Greene and The Christmas Rose, by William H. Hooks.
Ages 8-12
Ring in an international Christmas by assigning a country to each child. Besides reporting about how that country celebrates the holiday, he or she can prepare a seasonal dish to share, or demonstrate a song or folk dance. Then pray for the people of that culture so that they too might understand the meaning of God’s love.
Ages 13-18
This age group is old enough to go caroling. During each visit allow for a few seasonal songs and readings from the scriptures proclaiming the birth of the newborn king. Besides visiting the neighbors, teens may want to stop by the local convalescent home, hospital, or homeless shelter.
All Ages
Many families choose to celebrate Advent – the days leading up to Christmas Day. There are fun Advent calendars on the market, some with doors that open and play songs, others that hide chocolate candies or other treats.
We’d love to hear your ideas that we can add in the future. Contact us at church@hopephx.com
Traditional – 8am
Contemporary – 9:30am & 11am
Livestream – 8am & 9:30am
