Before this Christmas season began, I knew I wanted to do things differently. I was afraid we were falling into the trap of Christmas becoming a gift giving free-for-all. Growing up the only religious experience I connected to Christmas was an occasional visit to Midnight Mass with my Grandpa. I don't really remember doing things for others or focusing on the reason for the season, and I want things to be different for my children.
I decided that we would do an advent calendar that had an activity for each day. Some of the activities were fun, like baking cookies or making a craft, some were simple like reading a Christmas book, and others were focused on giving, like picking out gifts for kids on the angel tree or shopping for your sibling. We also spent a descent amount of time talking about the nativity in our front room and why we have Christmas.
As a result, it's not even Christmas yet, but I feel like we've had a great holiday. We didn't go overboard buying gifts for the kids. The kids learned about the joy of giving to others and made some new connections between Christmas and our savior. Overall I think we're on the right path and I couldn't be happier.
Our family wishes you a very Merry Christmas. We hope you take a moment this season to ponder the greatest gift of all, that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
