Have an Old Fashioned Christmas And Point Them Towards the Savior This Year

       Christmas is one of the very best times of the year in which we can make fabulous memories with our children.  We can participate in activities that so easily point our kids to Christ. It is just a wonderful season for us to take opportune times to share Christ and His attributes with our children.  Although Christmas is a time which fills our lives with the love of Christ, many times we can get terribly busy and rush through the motions of worshipping and serving our Savior.  Concentrate on staying focused on Christ this Christmas. With the help of our Savior and the filling of the Holy Spirit we can accomplish this and stay in tune to “keeping Christ in our celebrations”.

       Below are a few ideas that may encourage you and your children.  Maybe there is something new and different you can do with your children this Christmas.  If so add this activity to your already Christ-centered activities as you celebrate our Savior’s birth this year.

• Early in December read the scriptures that prophesy about Christ’s birth (some are Micah 5:2, Isaiah 40:1-5, Isaiah 9:2, 6-7);  review some of the beautiful Old Testament pictures of Christ and His finished work on the cross( Abraham/Isaac, Noah’s Ark and the Flood, Adam/Eve, Moses and the bronze serpent, Ruth and Boaz, Rahab and the two spies, etc.)
   
• Light a Christmas candle each evening at dinner. Remind your children of Christ’s words: “ I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12.
   
• Visit the nursing home—ask Gail Burris to include you and your children in her plans.
   
• Make a Jesse Tree – decorate a tree associated with Old Testament events—ornaments might include a scroll, a rainbow, photo of a lamp, postcard of a river scene, brightly colored paper for Joseph’s coat, a star, a flame and so on.  The tree’s name comes from the prophecy from Isaiah 11:1:  “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”
   
• Help your children keep a “Praise Journal”.  Have them write about God’s goodness, His greatness and His majesty.
   
• Give a birthday party for Jesus. Have the invited guests bring toys for the needy, warm clothing for the homeless or canned foods for the poor. Let children take part in distributing the gifts.
   
• Encourage your children to give “gifts of service certificates” to neighbors, elderly or needy.  These gifts might include babysitting, a free meal, raking a yard, washing windows, reading to a child, etc.

         Enjoy the Christmas season this year and make those lasting memories with your children as you teach them of our Savior.  Embrace Him, serve Him, and show your children your own love of the Savior.  By opening up and sharing with our children what a true relationship with Christ is all about, we will truly be able to pass on His precepts and truths and raise up a generation that also wants to embrace Him and serve Him.