Making It Meaningful: Day After Thanksgiving Gift

From now until Christmas, Jen and I are going to be sharing some ideas of things we do in our families to help keep Christ central during this season.  We've entitled the series:  Making It Meaningful.  We hope you are encouraged, inspired and we would LOVE to hear your ideas for making this holiday about the Gift we were given when God himself came down to earth as a humble baby.

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The first tradition I'm going to share is one Matt and I started a couple of years ago.  Chirstmas officially starts for us the day after Thanksgiving.  We pick out a tree and decorate it.  Matt hangs the lights outside.  We get out the Nativity and Christmas houses and all the other gobs of decor we've collected over the years and our house turns into a Winter Wonderland.  AND WE LOVE IT!  :)


We decided in the midst of the excitement that it would be so fun to get the boys excited with a collective gift that points to the true meaning of Christmas.  The first year we got a Nativity book with magnetic figures that could be moved around so that they could act out the story as we read.  Each page featured a different scene from the story.  Last year we got this Nativity video and love it.  (It's narrated by Andy Griffith... how can you not love that?)  It also features the Little Drummer Boy at the end, which I'm not a fan of, but I'm learning that very few Bible videos are completely accurate and it provides good opportunity for discussion of what the Bible really says and I think helps show kids the importance of using discernment at an early age.  

Other ideas include puzzles, advent calendars, books, Fisher Price Nativity set (We actually have this and the boys love, love, love it!  And you can probably get it for a lot less at a local Christian bookstore), sticker sets, and any other fun thing that can point your kids to Christ.   

At the end of each season, their Christmas toys are packed up with the rest of the decor.  Each year we'll bring out the old stuff and add something new to the pile.  It's been one of my favorite Christmas traditions so far and I thought I'd share today so that you have time to start it in your own home this weekend if you'd like!  :)


What are some of your favorite Christ-centered Christmas traditions?





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