3 Simple Ways to Celebrate Jesus at Christmas

This past Sunday was our Children's Christmas Program at Church.  Mr. K was a shepherd, Miss A was an angel and Miss R got to be Baby Jesus.  It was a cute program where some our church's confirmation students walked through the snow and were lead to the manger.  The program reminded us all to walk with God and that He shows us the way.  My Farmer and I work hard to teach our children about Jesus and to have our family walk with Him.  I thought I'd share three simple ways we focus on Jesus every Christmas at our house.

• Three Gifts - Jesus received three gifts from the Wise Men after His birth, so we honor this by giving all of our children three gifts.  We give them one article of clothing, one book and one toy or activity.  Besides doing this for our kids, I also practice this for our nieces and nephews, and our kids for their birthdays.  It is an easy way to think through gifts, not go overboard, and to keep in mind why we're getting gifts in the first place.

Mr. K opening his three gifts last year at Christmas

• Kid-Friendly Nativity - When My Farmer and I were first married I got a beautiful Willow Tree Nativity set but shortly after we had kids, we started keeping that nativity set stored away and have gotten a kid-friendly nativity set that the kids can play with.  Rather than telling our kids everyday not to touch the nativity, we encourage our kids to play with the nativity to learn more about Jesus's birth story.  We have also given kid-friendly nativity sets to our godchildren once they become toddler age, similar to this one from Fisher-Price:

• Celebrate Jesus's Birthday - Celebrate Christmas the same way you would celebrate anyone else's birthday.  For us, that means starting our day with Birthday Waffles and singing Happy Birthday.  Bring in those birthday traditions into your Christmas traditions to help everyone focus on the reason for the season.

We start our Christmas morning with Birthday Waffles
and singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, complete with a candle

So how do you celebrate Jesus at Christmas?  I'd love to learn some more ideas.  Be sure to Comment for a Cause and to remember the Reason for the Season this year.