So this is it. It's Christmas week. All the shopping and baking and singing and partying and wrapping are because of this week. And this week is about one tiny baby. Except many times Christmas week doesn't feel like it's really about that baby. It's an incredibly fun week, and we're thankful he was born so we can enjoy it. But he's not really a big part of our activities except for the hour or so many of us spend at church on Christmas Eve.We've made a big deal with our kids about Christmas being Jesus' birthday. We have a nativity set that doesn't have Jesus attached to the manger, and we don't put Jesus in when we set it up. The kids know it's because he won't be born until Christmas. As Christmas morning gets closer, they check the manger for him (while I remind myself where I hid him). After they are in bed on Christmas Eve, Jesus is miraculously born and laid in the manger. So far he has been the first thing they look for every Christmas morning. I don't know about you, but I personally prefer to have my kids running downstairs to look for baby Jesus than running to see all the stuff that's under the tree.
The other way we've honored Jesus' birthday is by singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus at Christmas breakfast. We put a candle in whatever we're eating... a muffin, a sticky bun... and we sing. Then everyone blows out the candle on Jesus' behalf. It's fun, and it reminds us all why we're celebrating.
But my absolute favorite way to celebrate Jesus' birthday is something we've never done before. In fact, I just read about the idea tonight, and we've already decided to do it this year because it's such a great idea. So tomorrow I'll share with you our very exciting new family tradition that allows us to honor the baby born to change the world.
Previous Posts
Honoring Christmas: a series
Honoring Christmas: the hard work
Honoring Christmas: advent
Honoring Christmas: giving better gifts
Honoring Christmas: the cards are coming
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