Wow! Christmas sure came and went this year. It truly is my favorite time of the year, and I can't help but feel a little sadness on Christmas Eve knowing that all that anticipation is about to peak and then whoosh out much more quickly than it built up. I love the music, the scents, the wonder, the joy more and more people emit during December than any other part of the year. I love the sights, the sounds, the FOOD! But with each passing year I become more and more excited about the "Christ" part of Christmas; as I truly consider the reason my family celebrates I realize there's no need for sadness at all. All that anticipation for Christmas morning is fun, but Christ is more than just the baby in the manger. I believe He truly LIVES and I know that he is in the heart of each member of my family. So this year I started what I hope will become our favorite Christmas tradition...more on that in a bit!
We do Santa in our home...I have no issue with it. I don't think I'm lying to my kids, I don't think it's overshadowing the meaning of the holiday we dearly cherish. Santa memories are among my favorite childhood recollections, and my husband agrees. We grew up with Santa traditions and grew out of them with age appropriateness with no lasting scars or misgivings. I think the key is balance in how we approach Christmastime and what we emphasize as parents throughout not only the season, but the entire year. So we talk about Santa as well as the true Saint Nicholas, we took our kids to "see" him this year, and we only whip out "Santa is watching" when all else fails, haha. They enjoy the wonder and the magic of the jolly elf and his reindeer and when they truly want to "know" they'll ask and we'll answer. But Santa isn't our favorite tradition, it's just one we perpetuate.
To "keep Christ in Christmas" we do several things. We only listen to traditional Christmas songs in the car yet a variety of Christmas music at home. Madi really enjoys singing
Angels We Have Heard on High and Darrin likes
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. We have a Fisher-Price nativity set that we put out little by little the first week of advent and the kids play with it all month long. On Christmas Eve we act out the nativity using the play set while Daddy reads from Luke and Matthew. We talk a lot about giving and helping others and emphasize the importance of generosity throughout the year. We read stories highlighting the reason we celebrate Christmas, and any time we mention the big guy in red, we also talk about the baby in the manger.
This year, though, we added something more intentional to our traditions. Someone shared with me the idea of having a manger to add straw to throughout advent to encourage the kids in their good behavior and stay Christ-focused. So before Thanksgiving I got on the phone with Grandpa Dan and he was able to build us a rough manger to use this year. Each day in December (though we sometimes forgot) at the end of the day we'd reflect on our choices and talk about what we did that showed kindness and respect for others. For each kind act, we added a handful of straw to the manger and explained how we were preparing the manger for baby Jesus; we paralleled this into how we need to behave all the time to keep our hearts "clean" and prepare "room" for Jesus since we want Him living there. This was a great new tradition I plan to continue--the kids would get so excited to add hay to the little manger! And this beautiful idea leads me to my favorite new tradition...
The kids are excited to come downstairs on Christmas morning. It may be selfish, but Josh and I have always closed the no-longer-used baby gate at the top of the stairs to prevent the kids from heading down without us on Christmas morning; we ALWAYS go down as a family. This time we barricaded the entry to the family room and Santa's bounty and forced the family to travel to the living room and the manger. The little ones were more than willing to comply--they wanted to see baby Jesus! I had swaddled a doll in an old white pillowcase and laid it in the manger. The looks of wonder on our kids' little faces when they saw the manger were priceless! We gathered in the living room and oohed and aahed at the baby and we read the book
The Crippled Lamb by
Max Lucado. Then we sang
"Happy Birthday" to baby Jesus and I had each child think of a gift they could give Him--their hearts, obeying mommy and daddy, being kind, etc. I couldn't do more than that for threat of my own tears! It was a beautiful moment, one I'll always cherish. I worried that the kids would be so excited to see what Santa brought that they wouldn't pay attention or would fuss and squirm, but they were so happy to share in a special time that started our Christmas morning off right by focusing us on our Lord. I knew immediately that this activity would continue as a Christmas tradition in our home. I look forward to adding to it and seeing how it evolves each year! Madi was only disappointed that there wasn't a "real" baby Jesus in the manger instead of one of her dolls (which she pointed out immediately, lol); whether she means an actual baby or a doll specific to being the designated baby Jesus I'm not certain--probably the live one!
I love the idea of traditions and memories; I love the aspect of teaching something important and sharing special moments as a family. Traditions provide a thread that connects generations, though things don't always have to be done "just so" to be special. We also attended our church's Christmas program as a family and our children were part of the live nativity on stage during the Christmas Eve service. Whether or not these activities become tradition remains to be seen--but they made for great moments and memories!
