Christmas

Covering Advent, which begins four Sundays before Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, the Twelve Days of Christmas (Dec. 25-Jan.5), New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Twelfth Night (Jan.5), and Epiphany (Jan. 6). Do you think you can celebrate all those days? I can't, nor do I want to! But I've had fun learning about them and, little-by-little, adding new observances to this time of the year.

If you want to learn about them all (plus St. Nicholas Day on Dec. 6 and St. Lucia Day on Dec. 13), then Martha Zimmerman's book Celebrating the Christian Year is the one you'll need!

Additional RESOURCE BOOKS: Plan to celebrate this holy season in meaningful, Christ-centered ways!

Redeeming the Season: Simple ideas for a Memorable and Meaningful Christmas by Kim Wier & Pam McCune (ISBN 1-58997-302-X)
Celebrate with Joy: Transform your Christmas Season by Sondra Burnett - Ideas for celebrating Advent through Epiphany (ISBN 0-9696469-0-9 Available at joybookcompany.com - a few used copies on Amazon, which is how I got mine.)
Celebrate Jesus! at Christmas by Kimberly Ingalls Reese - Family devotions for Advent through Epiphany (ISBN 0-570-07127-5)
Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration (Contributions by James Dobson, Charles Swindoll, James Montgomery Boice, R.C. Sproul) - A daily Advent Scripture reading plan, with special family activities for the four Sundays of Advent. (ISBN 0-89109-605-1 Should be in Colonial's library.)
The Advent Jesse Tree: Devotions for Children and Adults to prepare for the coming of the Christ Child at Christmas by Dean Meador Lambert - I'll tell you more about the Advent Jesse Tree when I learn more about it! It's still pretty new to me. (ISBN 0-687-00908-1)
Sacred Songs of Christmas: A Family Treasury with CD (Andrea Eberbach, Paine Proffitt, Nicole Wong) - A collection of songs, stories, poems, Scripture passages and art work, all related to celebrating Christ's birth. The musical scores of the songs and hymns are included (many well-known; others were new to me but might be familiar to those of a Lutheran background). This book and CD have a sacred "feel" to them, matching the title of the book. (ISBN 0-7586-07210-0)
The Advent Event! by Janet Wylie - This is more than a book; it is designed to be an interactive experience for families. I am pleased to recommend this resource, not only because my sister-in-law created it, but because it's good! It's been wonderful to hear friends with very high standards and expectations praise The Advent Event! For a preview of how it works, visit www.theadventevent.com and watch a short video featuring the Jeff Wylie family, including our four delightful nieces and nephews. (O.K., I had to do a little bragging!) You can order directly from www.theadventevent.com or you can check Colonial's Children's Ministries web site, www.colonialkids.org, around November 1 and arrange to purchase it at our church.)

If you want to do something new for Advent this year, or observe Advent for the first time and you have young children, I highly recommend Janet Wylie's Advent Event. Other resources can be adapted for young children, but this activity is especially appealing to them just as it is. While older children/adults enjoy it too, I find that preschoolers and early elementary children LOVE it! (And even your one and two-year-olds will likely catch on.) This Advent Event is designed to begin Dec. 1 (rather than the traditional fourth Sunday before Christmas) and end on Dec. 31 with events beyond the birth of Jesus. One drawback is that you do need to try to do it each day. It's not so bad to have to catch up on a couple of days or so, but if you fall too far behind, it might be difficult. Some advantages are that it is simple to use, it need not take long, your young children will be eager and engaged, they will remind you to do it everyday, and you can easily take it with you if you are traveling for part of December. We taped up our string in my parents' living room in Florida and did our Advent Event there. My parents got to experience something they'd never seen before, participate with us, and enjoy seeing their grandsons' enjoyment of it!

Some of our favorite CHRISTMAS "READ-ALOUDS," starting with books for the youngest:

Baby's First Nativity by Singer Muff (A sturdy board book with handle, this is my favorite for the little ones! Biblically accurate with ideas for engaging young listeners)
My Birthday, Jesus' Birthday! by Holly Davis (This story compares the details surrounding a young girl's birth with the details surrounding Jesus' birth. A sure winner with kids, hitting on their two favorite days - Christmas and their birthdays! A great time to tell your children the stories surrounding their births too. We still enjoy reading this one, with sons now nine and six years old.)
A Christmas Story by Brian Wildsmith (If you're not familiar with Wildsmith's art, this is a great introduction! We really like this book as it reminds us of our own "Journey to Bethlehem" each December at Salem Baptist Church in Apex. I love how Wildsmith tells so much of the story with his illustrations alone, especially through the windows of his buildings. Check this out at the public library well ahead of the Christmas season. Maybe Colonial will have it soon so check there too.)
The Legend of the Three Trees by Catherine McCafferty (There are several renditions of this folk tale, appropriate at both Christmas and Easter. Colonial has at least two other books that tell this same story, The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt and A Story of Three Trees by Steven Robinson I own a simplified version by McCafferty - large board book with soft cover and an accompanying DVD, but I like the other two better.)
The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg (In a charming story with a charming setting, your children will learn how Christmas candy can be used to tell the story of Jesus! At www.scripturecandy.com, you can purchase attractive book marks with "The Candy Cane Story" to help you and your children spread the good news. There are several other books in Colonial's library that tell the candy cane story too.)
The Legend of the Christmas Stocking by Rick Osborne (In a story within a story, we learn about the historical person, Saint Nicholas, while our hearts are warmed by the generosity of a boy toward his family.)
The Legend of the Christmas Tree by Rick Osborne (Join the merriment of this family acquiring their Christmas tree and learn a little Church tradition on how trees and decorations have been used to teach Christianity. You may glean some ideas for creating special traditions for obtaining and decorating your own tree.)
The Living Nativity by David & Helen Haidle (A young boy helps St. Francis of Assisi surprise the villagers with the first living nativity. You'll probably need to request this book through inter-library loan or purchase it used from Amazon if you want to read it. This is one I plan to buy. Maybe Colonial will purchase it too.)
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski (A very touching, sometimes humorous story with a lovely ending. This is a personal favorite of mine and a good one to read sometime after your nativity pieces are all set out. Public library and Colonial.)
Silent Night, Holy Night: The Story Behind our Favorite Christmas Carol by Myrna Strasser (The title is self-explanatory, written by a descendant of the family who made this carol famous. Includes ideas for caroling.)
The Very First Christmas by Paul L. Meier (Good for young ones and "growing-up" ones, interjecting facts that even we adults may not know. This book gives you the full Christmas story, based on the gospel of Luke. Lovely, full-page illustrations by Francisco Ordaz.)
One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham (In this Christmas story, you'll find a summary of God's redemptive plan as recorded in the Bible, from Creation through the Resurrection of Jesus. Stunning illustrations by Richard Jesse Watson. Look closely into the lion's eyes on page 49 to see what he's looking at. I would buy this book for the art alone, but the story is excellent as well. Colonial and probably the public library too.)
Lastly, if your children seem obsessed with Santa Claus, you may want to consider reading Santa's Favorite Story by Hisako Aoki, depending on how you have decided to handle the "Santa issue." In this book Santa explains to the forest animals that Christmas doesn't have anything to do with him. He then tells them the story of Jesus' birth and God's gift of love on that first Christmas. He does still deliver presents on Christmas Eve, although that is a very minor part of the book. If you read this story, ask your children to listen for the mistake Santa makes in his telling of the Bible story. Apparently Santa has become forgetful in his old age. :-)
And many other books in Colonial's library.

Additional Resources for the Christmas season

Little People Deluxe Christmas Story (Nativity Set) from Fisher-Price (This used to be available online only. I'm told it's now in Christian Book Stores such as Lifeway. My boys still play with this set! Shhhh. . . . .)
Playmobil also has a Nativity Set. Last year I saw it at Science Safari. I've seen it at Target already this year.
What God wants for Christmas: An interactive Kid-Friendly Nativity by FamilyLife Publishing. Comes with a storybook and instructions for creative ways to use this set. Six figures, each in its own gift box, help to tell the story. The seventh box contains a surprise, revealing what God wants for Christmas. Should be available in Christian bookstores, but you can also check it out at www.WhatGodWantsForChristmas.com. This site also has instructions for creating a scavenger hunt with your set's pieces and other ideas. In case you already have an older set, the set I purchased last year had a couple of design improvements.

Are you already feeling overwhelmed? Yes, even trying to simplify Christmas and make it more Christ-centered can be stressful! It does not help that probably you, your husband, your parents, in-laws, siblings, children and everyone else have such strong, often contradictory, feelings and expectations regarding this particular season. To borrow from an old hymn, "take it to the Lord in prayer!" Ask the Lord to show you what He would have you to do. He will! Don't be legalistic about things. (I'm giving you permission, in case you need it.) If you decide you want to do a weekly Advent activity, but Sunday doesn't work for your family, then pick another day of the week. If you want to have a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas, but you know the atmosphere will not be right with the Grandparents, then have an early or late Christmas/Birthday Celebration for Jesus on a different date with just your family or with like-minded friends. Changes do not come easy, so start slowly and do a little more each year as the Lord leads you. As you become more confident in your observances and celebrations, invite others to share in your joyful times but refrain from criticizing those more "worldly" ways of celebrating. Pick one or two special things you want to do this year as a family (i.e. visit a Living Nativity, go caroling at a nursing home, donate toys to a children's hospital, make a few Christmas cards for special friends/family), then plan a few family times throughout the month where, by candlelight and tree lights, you read a good Christmas book, sing a couple of Christmas carols or praise songs, and talk to Jesus as a family. If that's not comfortable, you can have a few moments of silence where each one prays quietly. If it doesn't go perfectly, that's O.K. Your kids will probably think it was great! The important thing is to start and to keep trying, enjoying the process, not just looking for that "perfect" performance. Another tip I'll offer is to cut some things out altogether. I have found that "less is more," especially in December. For several years I did not send out one Christmas card. It's not that I didn't want to, but something had to go. My Decembers went much better! I do very little Christmas baking, often none at all. But I do other things that are more meaningful for our family. We have several things that have become our family's traditions. Those go on the calendar first, even if they are just nights at home as a family. In fact, we have some of our best times as a family in the month of December, so I am careful to guard our time, often declining invitations for adult-only or women's-only parties and activities. I'll only have my kids at home for a few more short years! So, for me, being with them during this special time of year is the better choice.