Photo by Gareth Harper on Unsplash
Yearly traditions bring continuity to a constantly changing world. Surround your family with familiar sights, sounds, and tastes at Christmas. Let the echoes of past generations refresh, refuel, and reassure your souls. Below are some ideas that can give a sense of stability and cohesiveness. This Christmas, pick one or two to incorporate into your HOLY-day celebration.
A
ATTEND a Christmas Eve candlelight service, a Christmas play or a cantata concert with your family.
AS you eat candy canes, explain their Christmas symbolism to your children. Decorate your Christmas tree with candy canes.
APPRECIATE the Pinoy practice of an early countdown to Christmas by planning ahead of time so your family can focus on the essentials as special dates get closer.
B
BUY or make a nativity scene to set up in your home. As different family members place the figures inside the display, have someone read the Christmas story from the Bible, or sing carols connected with the figures.
C
CREATE a Christmas memory book that includes photos and written entries by each family member listing their dreams for the future, and praise items and prayer requests. COMMIT to praying for each person during the year ahead.
CUSTOMIZE plain gift wrapping paper by decorating it with the Christmas symbols you find most meaningful, or by stamping it with letters spelling the names of Jesus.
D
DECORATE the tree on the same day each year while listening to the same Christ-centered Christmas music.
DISCUSS the colors of Christmas, such as red for the blood Jesus shed and green for the gift of everlasting life. Use Christmas colors to decorate your home.
E
ENCOURAGE and thank people who have blessed you or your family in some way by sending them cards telling them they’ve been like angels to you. Make a coupon book to give to someone offering to be an angel yourself by helping with a specific task you know that person needs done.
F
FILL a basket with old Christmas photos or cards, and set them on your coffee table. At the beginning of December make hot chocolate and pour it into brightly colored Christmas mugs. Add little marshmallows and sprinkles, and give to each member of the family. Reminisce about the past and relish the coming holidays. Thank God for each card giver.
G
GIVE each child a Christmas ornament each year that reflects his (or her) interests. When that child marries, give him (or her) the collection as a wedding gift.
GIVE a family member a gag gift. The following year, have that person wrap the same gift and give it to another family member. Do this year after year. It will be fun to see who gets the prize each year.
H
HAVE one special ornament that is hung first each year. Discuss its symbolism in relation to spiritual matters.
I
IN addition to your regular Christmas tree, create a “giving tree”. The giving tree can be canned goods stacked in the shape of a tree, to donate to a church drive or favorite charity. Or it can be a tree that’s decorated with goodie bags which you hand out to neighborhood carolers.
J
JOIN hearts in spirit even though your family may not be together physically for the holidays. Send every family member a particular kind of food which everyone can eat on Christmas eve. Though miles separate you, you are sharing the same food and the peace of Christmas. Take photos of your first bites!
K
KEEP a small gift-wrapped box – that has a hole on the top – by your nativity scene. At the end of each day ask family members to drop their spare change into the box as a gift to Jesus. The Sunday before Christmas take your special offering to church and give as a birthday present to Jesus.
L
LINE your sidewalk or driveway with luminaries on Christmas Eve. Use brown paper bags filled with two inches of sand and a votive candle set in the center. Look up verses that speak about Jesus being the Light.
M
MAKE placing the angel or the star on the top of the tree the highlight of the tree-decorating festivities. Read a verse that speaks about it. MAKE special cookies that you only prepare at Christmas. MAKE wreaths together, personalizing each one.
MEMORIZE Luke 2:1-20 one verse a day.
N
NURTURE a delight for books! Start a tradition of buying a book each year that is focused on Christmas. Every December, pull them all out and have a special time each day for reading and rereading them!
O
OFFER to run holiday errands for a homebound person. OFFER to wrap presents for them, or host a gift-wrapping tea party for friends!
ORGANIZE a “baking day” among family, relatives or friends. Remember to take pictures! Or, OPEN your home for a weekend or weekday “cookie swap” and set these aside for your mail carrier, sanitation workers or village security.
P
PRAY! Prayer chains are a good idea for a large extended family, neighborhood, or your Bible study group. Make an Advent prayer chain for each household, writing prayer concerns on colored strips of construction paper. Members write the same concern on pieces of paper so that each night prayers are being raised for specific concerns. Join the chains together and rejoice in being faithful in prayer for someone you care about.
Q
QUIET your hearts at the end of the day by turning off the television, putting on some soft Christmas music, and turning off the other room lights. Sit and enjoy a warm drink, watch the pretty Christmas tree lights, and savor each other’s company.
R
REACH out to people who are seeking Christ today as the wise men did when He was first born. Invite people who would otherwise be alone on Christmas to share in your celebrations. Sing Christmas carols for nursing homes, orphanages or homes for the aged.
READ Christmas bedtime stories during December.
RECORD a cheerful, Christ-centered greeting on your cell phone. RECORD the family singing Christmas carols. Send a copy to grandparents who live far away or save it for the family archives.
RECYCLE your Christmas cards by cutting out figures of Mary, Joseph, shepherds, etc. and using them to produce a puppet show, or making new Christmas cards.
REMEMBER the Christmas star by going outside to study the stars together, visiting a planetarium, stringing lights on your windows or the outside of your house, and placing a star atop your Christmas tree.
S
SPEND some time in prayer, thanking God for the freedom to worship Him and interceding for people in other parts of the world who aren’t free. Pray for every person your family knows who doesn’t yet have a relationship with Christ.
SERVE the same breakfast menu every Christmas morning.
T
TAKE a family photo in front of the tree each year. TAKE your family for a drive through a highly decorated area of the city and look at the lights one night.
U
UNLIKE most games, anyone who plays “Angels & Mortals” is a winner. The rules are simple: put each one’s name on a slip of paper and then place the names in a bowl. Each person draws a name and becomes that person’s “secret angel.” Over the course of the holiday season, each “angel” must secretly do nice things for his (or her) “mortal.” At the end of the holidays have a reveal party and tell each other who your “mortal” was. In addition to being great fun, this game gives a sense of just how thankful we should be for the unseen things real angels do for us each day.
USE family photos to make personalized tree ornaments, or a Christmas meal table centerpiece.
V
VARY gift giving this year by giving three gifts to your children to honor the three gifts of the wise men to the Christ child—gold, frankincense and myrrh. Match the gifts to the special meaning of each gift. Gold was a gift of honor and was very valuable. Your “gold” gift can be one that is a very special “wish” type of gift. Frankincense was a fragrance that served a practical purpose. Your “frankincense” gift can be one that makes life more pleasant, but has a practical bent. Myrrh was a substance that had medicinal value for the people of the Middle East. It was a gift of something that was needed. Your myrrh gift can be something that the person really needs, such as basic items.
W
WAIT until Christmas morning to place baby Jesus in the manger. Or set out your nativity set and leave the baby Jesus wrapped. On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, before other presents are opened, let your littlest one unwrap the baby Jesus as you talk about God’s gift to us—His Son.
WALK around your neighborhood singing Christmas carols together while praying for the families that live within each lot.
WATCH a Christmas video together like “It’s a Wonderful Life” or “A Christmas Carol.”
X
XMAS, the familiar abbreviation for Christmas, originated with the Greeks. X is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ, Xristos.
Y
YOUR child will surely enjoy having you start a collection — stamp, coin, etc. — for him (or her). Add to that collection each year during Christmas and other special occasions.
Z
ZERO in on the proper focus of Christmas by placing a nativity scene under the tree instead of the usual presents.
Gigi Angeles-Ramos is blessed to be a fulltime homemaker to husband Jan for 27 years now, and a homeschooling mom to son Gio and former homeschooler, daughter Jia. Gigi’s life verse is Psalm 23, and 31 years since coming to know the Good Shepherd, her “cup overflows” — testifying “Truly, God is good!”
