Getting in the Christmas Spirit

How does your family approach Christmas? Does everyone sing happy songs, cheerfully greeting each other saying “thanks for a great year and all those lunches you made Mum & Dad!” and “Wow I love this time of year, I have so much energy and joy!”?

Perhaps your family is a little more like mine: everyone is tired, tests are on, reports are being finalised, end of year performances and concerts abound (does anyone else secretly cheer when the end of year school concert is cancelled due to bad weather!?). I often think the Northern Hemisphere does it better, as they aren’t also finishing the school year, and really, there is always something appealing about snow…

So, what to do?

Chances are, you like Christmas. You rejoice that God came to earth as a baby who would be the Saviour of the world. A well-sung carol can fill your heart with praise. Bible readings of the incarnation remind you again of the joy of the season and the reason we celebrate.

However, translating that into a positive family experience takes a bit of thought, when the pressures of finishing school, making meals, buying presents and planning for holiday leave all add up.

Christmas books abound and treasured ones can be found in both secular and Christian offerings. Spend some time in a bookstore reading before you buy and you’ll soon develop a collection your family will love re-reading as the years go on.

But without a doubt, the best thing to read in the lead up to Christmas is the biblical accounts of Jesus’ birth and the promises that lead to him. The Good Book Company has produced some excellent material, including Beginning with God at Christmas for pre-schoolers (designed to go with The Beginner’s Bible), XTB: Christmas Unpacked for early readers, and family advent packs such as Christmas Opened Up. I’m excited to see more high-quality material for Christmas developed in recent years. If you don’t have the energy for anything organised, just grab a kids’ Bible (or a full Bible) and read through the accounts of Jesus’ birth in the days together leading to Christmas.

When our family was very young and we were trying to figure out how to do the lead into Christmas well, there was very little material available. So, we made our own. That’s why we don’t use any pre-produced material although much of it is excellent. We have three sets of Advent material that we work through in various years. They are Genesis to Jesus (covering the background of the Old Testament and the promises leading to Jesus), The Birth of Jesus (from the gospel accounts) and Who is this man? (each bringing out a different aspect of who Jesus is). They’re available free for download and you can find more details here.

Perhaps you personally would also like to read further and reflect this time of year. I always enjoy O Come Though-Long Expected Jesus by Nancy Guthrie. There are new advent materials for adults out now from both Tim Chester and Paul David Tripp. I’m going to try to get my hands on some of those for future years.

Sometimes having music playing is what makes it Christmas in your home. For fun family Christmas music, you can’t beat Colin Buchanan’s King of Christmas album – lively, funny, illustrative and instructive, it always makes the playlist this time of year. For some more mellow reflection, we all love Third Day’s Christmas Offerings and Nathan Tasker’s A Star, A Stable, A Saviour. Perhaps Handel’s Messiah is what works better for you, or a beautifully sung choral group of carols.

Perhaps what really gets you excited is talking to people about why you love Christmas. There are usually a myriad of events to invite people to – carol services, kid’s church options, Christmas services. Perhaps even invite them into your home and show how Christmas is all about Jesus for your family.

There’s no doubt this can be a busy and hectic time of year. Yet, even in the midst of it, it can be a time of reflection, purposeful teaching, and a celebration of God’s wonderful gifts.

We want our families (and ourselves) to remember it’s not about the presents, or the food, or cleaning the house for visitors. It’s not even about time with family, or friends, or the holidays. It’s about Jesus. Jesus. God’s very precious son, sent by our Heavenly Father to fulfil all his promises to humanity. The Word made flesh who made his dwelling among us, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). That is indeed good news of great joy for all people (Luke 2:10). Let’s make sure that news is the highlight in our homes this month.

This was published on Growing Faith yesterday. 

Advent

It is getting closer to December and therefore Christmas will soon be upon us!

I have blogged before about the Advent material that I have written over the years.  There are three different sets now.  This post will give an brief explanation of each, to assist you in choosing whether you would like to use one of them.  

Each is a set of 24 readings, designed to be used from Dec 1 - 24 (leaving Christmas Day itself free to celebrate in your own way!)   Each day takes no more than 5-10 minutes, although some optional extra activities could take longer.

The Birth of Jesus

This is aimed more at younger children, although still can be used with older ones.  It covers the story of the first Christmas.

Each day has a bible reading, questions to think about, a prayer to say and some optional activities which include a special verse, a picture to draw and sometimes a song to sing (if you have the optional CD:  King of Christmas (Colin Buchanan, 2005). 


Genesis to Jesus

This is possibly better with primary-aged children, although we used it with little ones too.  It covers the story of the Old Testament and then how the promises lead to Jesus.

Each day has a bible reading, questions to think about, a prayer to say and some optional activities which include a special verse, a picture to draw and sometimes a song to sing (if you have the optional CDs:  King of Christmas, Colin Buchanan (Colin Buchanan, 2005) and The King, the Snake and the Promise (Emu Music, 1998).

Who is this Man?

Each reading brings out an aspect of who Jesus is: such as in the image of God, the word become flesh, son of God, creator, unchangeable, light of the world, good shepherd, etc.

We used this last year with our children (aged 12, 10 and 8) and it pushed them all a little bit more.  However we knew people who also used it with much younger children and they also found it helpful.   There are no activities or daily drawing suggestions with this material, but they could be added if wanted.


If you want to see how we have used these three sets of material over the years, reading back through the Advent posts will show you.  We have boxes we open each day, which is a family tradition we now all love - but what goes in the boxes changes over the years.

These three sets of Advent material can all be downloaded via the resources link.

I hope your family enjoys thinking about Jesus over the Christmas season.

Advent

If you are interested in using my advent calendars this year, just hop over to the “Resources” tab to download them. 

As usual, there are 2 options:

• The Birth of Jesus - a set of 25 readings mainly from Luke and Matthew's gospels, so you can spend time thinking about when Jesus was born and what it means for us today.
• Genesis to Jesus - a set of 25 readings covering the unfolding story of the bible and it's fulfilment in Christ.

Each day there is a bible reading, some questions to think about, a prayer, a special verse and some optional extras - something to draw, a song to listen to, a craft to do, etc.

This year our family will be doing The Birth of Jesus.  We are looking forward to it already, it is definitely a tradition we have all come to cherish.  If you would like more details as to how we do Advent, what goes in the little boxes, and how it has changed over time, see previous posts on Advent.

(update from 2017: these have now changed and are only 24 days of readings)

Christmas Books

 Do you find that Christmas sneaks up on you from year to year and so you never have the resources or books on hand that you had planned to when you had great dreams about it in March?

That’s why I planned to post this in March! Oh well. Perhaps there is still time...

Two books we have discovered in recent years may make it to your Christmas reading list.

The first is Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, edited by Nancy Guthrie. Meredith has been talking about her books for some time, and I was pleased to finally get my hands on this in time for Christmas last year.

It is a collection of 22 writings or sermons from authors such as Luther, Spurgeon, Augustine, Piper and Keller and each focuses on a different aspect of the Christmas story.

This was a great way to keep me anchored to the word of God throughout December and helped me focus on Jesus coming as Messiah and Lord. I combined it (accidentally, but with unexpected benefit) with reading through Luke 1-2 in depth at the same time and it was marvellous, there were treasures abounding in every verse.  I plan to do the same this year, starting on December 1.

The second one is for families: The Lion Storyteller Christmas Book by Bob Hartman and Krisztina Kallai Nagy. These are great read aloud stories for children. The book is divided into thirds:

1. These are the accounts of the first Christmas retold in segments. This section is very good and we really enjoyed them, they helped to add more to our own advent readings.

2. This section is a collection of stories explaining where various Christmas traditions have come from - like the tree, the presents, the man delivering presents, etc. These were interesting and fun.

3. The final section is a collection of Christmas tales and legends from around the world. These were fine, but we all preferred the first two sections.

We read it at night and it was a nice end to the day, especially if you read it around the Christmas tree! 

Advent

Christmas is rolling around again (in case you hadn't noticed!)

If you would like celebrate Advent with your family and would like some material to do so, please feel free to use the ones we use, via the resources tab.

• The Birth of Jesus - a set of 25 readings mainly from Luke and Matthew's gospels, so you can spend time thinking about when Jesus was born and what it means for us today.
• Genesis to Jesus - a set of 25 readings covering the unfolding story of the bible and it's fulfilment in Christ 

Each day there is a bible reading, some questions to think about, a prayer, a special verse and some optional extras - something to draw, a song to listen to, a craft to do, etc.

This year our family will be doing Genesis to Jesus again.  We are looking forward to it already.  After 6 years, Advent is definitely one of those 'unbreakable' family traditions!   If you would like more details as to how we do Advent and what goes in the little boxes, see previous posts on Advent.

Our tree went up yesterday too (a few days earlier than usual).  Good times!


(update from 2017: these readings have now changed and are only 24 days of readings)

'Tis the season

A dear friend told me that my Christmas post sounded tired, or in her words "you are obviously so over it!".   She had a point.  My husband told me the same thing when he read my draft of our family Christmas letter, he said it sounded 'down'.  

I feel I have misrepresented my feelings about Christmas.  I really enjoy Christmas.  I think what I find hard is all the things that Christmas brings with it - end of year concerts, thank you cards, final meetings and dinners.

Having read Jenny's post earlier in the week though, I realised I can chill out more.  I don't have to do anything more for the year - no speaking engagements, important meetings, posts to write, etc.  I have organised presents already, mainly using online ordering (what joy!).  There are still 2 weeks till the kids are on holidays, so I have time to get things done and then time to enjoy with them when holidays start.

As we set up the tree yesterday and started advent today, I am thrilled that about 5 years ago I was not only excited about Christmas, but had time to put into it: hence the advent material, the embroidered Christmas stockings, the tree skirt, etc.  Now, I cannot begin to imagine where I found the time or energy!

Now that it is all set up, it's time to enjoy it.  So this year, when all the busyness of Christmas threatens to cloud over the reason for the season, I might just take myself off to the lounge room, turn on all the sparkly lights on the tree, and give thanks to God for the blessing of Christmas, where Christ came as a baby to save us all from our sins. 

Christmas rolls around again

When you have been blogging for a few years, the year develops a rhythm to it. For the fourth year in a row I find myself pondering a Christmas post. Yet also wondering if I can be bothered! After all, you can all press the button to the left --> the 'Christmas' label.

So, in brief: for those that are interested, our Advent calendar will continue again, now set as a feature of our Christmas tradition.

After two years doing the 'Birth of Jesus' advent material, we are now switching back to the 'Genesis to Jesus' material. After being asked by a number of you dear readers for it, I am now making both available* as a pdf file: Birth of Jesus or Genesis to Jesus.

We continue with the boxes, which include bible verses, but this year there will be very few treats in the boxes. Instead, I am planning more activities related to the stories. When the treats became the highlight, it was hard for all to concentrate for the bible readings.

For those that would like to take a easier option (which I highly recommend!) - better to do something than nothing at all - the Good Book Company is having a 20% off sale for their Christmas resources, including all the material I reviewed last year. I think our older two will do the Christmas Unpacked booklet, might as well keep doing these things while they still love it!

Next week the tree goes up and we start Advent - can you believe it's nearly Christmas!?


* Update from 2017: the resources tab now contains the most-up-to date versions of these materials. 

Christmas part 2 - and a giveaway!

Sometimes preparing anything of your own is just too much at Christmas time. If that's you - think about doing an order from the Good Book Company. They have a number of products that you could use for your family:

1. Advent Calendar Packs* - I bought these to review earlier in the year and they look really good. There is an A3 advent calendar, which contains a picture and bible verse. Each day corresponds with a daily reading/activity in a little booklet which is provided. There are three versions:

- Countdown to the Coming of the King
- The Real Christmas Tree
- Christmas Opened Up


2. Beginning with God at Christmas - I have been doing Beginning with God Book 1 with my 3-year old and we love it. If an advent calendar full of bible readings etc is too old your kids - this could be a winner.


3. XTB: Christmas Unpacked - An activity book for 7-10 year olds in the lead up to Christmas.






*I have one of each Advent Calendar Pack to giveaway. So if it's all too hard this year, and you'd like some help - email me and go in the draw for me for me to post you a pack (with your address and if you have a preference for which of the three). In order for it to arrive by Wednesday 1st (hopefully!) - it's limited to Australian readers. Entries close noon Monday 29th.

My only request is that you let me know how it went, so I can review it properly for next year!!

Update - all packs have been won - congrats to Christine, Jenny and Emily.

My references to the Good Book Company in this post are all to the Australian store - but they also have a UK and US store.

Christmas

Does Christmas sneak up on you each year?

(This is an edited repost from last year - because Christmas has indeed snuck up on me!)

In one week, we will be putting up the tree and starting our advent material. Some longer term readers may recall what we have done in previous years (see Advent posts if you would like to know).

We want to teach the kids that Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas, and to use every chance we have to do so. We have found that 25 readings/activities in December have been a great way to teach about Jesus as well as making it exciting to do so.

• This year's readings (like last year) are focusing on the events around the birth of Jesus. We have 25 readings mainly from Luke and Matthew's gospels, so we can really spend time thinking about when Jesus was born and what it means for us today. Each day there is a bible reading, some questions to think about, a special verse and some optional extras - something to draw, a song to listen to, a craft to do, etc.

• We still use the boxes - they are a big hit and have now become a family tradition

• In each box there is a verse for each of our 3 children. The verse in full is written out for Mr 7, then a simplified version for Miss 5 which she should be able to remember bits of, and the same for Miss 3.

• They will also get a special treat each day in the box, which will be a selection of little trinkets I got from Koorong (bouncy balls, erasers, stickers, etc), bubbles, Christmas decorations, craft or some candy/chocolate. I do this to make it FUN. We want Christmas to be fun and learning about Jesus to be fun too.

If you are interested, you have a week to do it. I am happy to share my material with anyone, just send me an email.

Now I am looking forward to December 1!

Another nativity

Thanks to the recommendation from a friend, I found this great little book at Koorong, which makes a Christmas nativity scene, has the Christmas story and also has 12 pop-out Christmas cards.

We made it up to replace the toilet roll nativity, which was looking a little worse for wear.

Mr 6 especially liked being able to use the cards as the ones he wanted to send.




It looks pretty good, and the whole book only cost $5.

Kids Craft Ideas - Christmas

As we are now approaching school holidays with at least two weeks of holidays till Christmas, perhaps you would like some simple craft ideas.

Here are two crafts we had fun making last year, which were very easy and fitted my craft preferences of no glue and no paint!

The easiest by far were the paper-plate angels (a simple cut out and attached at the back with a staple).



We also attempted a nativity scene with toilet roll people - the kids liked this one so much it still has pride of place this year! Again, very simple - a few staples, bits of fabric, rubber bands, some pop sticks and a texta.


Joseph, Mary & Jesus


The angels



Shepherds (looking astonished) and a sheep.



3 Wise Men.


This year I am also saving toilet rolls, I am going to attempt bon-bons this year...

Christmas Books for Children

We have a number of Christmas books that we enjoy reading this time of year, from the very simple baby and toddler ones, to the more detailed nativity stories.

A very simple one for young ones (0-2) is Joy to the World: A Christmas Counting Book. Counting backwards 10-1 with verse, it covers a simplified story of the nativity (although it's not very accurate!)





Again, for younger ones (0-4) is Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star, by Christine Harder Tangvald. This lovely book uses the rhyme of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but rewords it all to fit the Christmas story. A nice one to read and also to sing.







A beautiful retelling of the nativity story is The Nativity, by Leena Lane and published by ABC books. It is surprisingly accurate, with lovely illustrations. Good for 3-5 year olds.






Two other books, not Christian specifically, but about nativity plays themselves are:

The Nativity Play, Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen. A story of a children's group putting on a nativity play and all the fun that ensues.








Wombat Divine, Mem Fox. Told with Australian animals in the parts, a story about a wombat who wanted to be in the nativity play, but the right part could not be found for him.









And none of them mention Santa!


PS. We quite like Slinki Malinki's Christmas Crackers as well...



Which Christmas books do your family like?

Advent

Well, here we are again - Christmas is coming up fast and so we need to start our advent calendar next week. Some longer term readers may recall what we have done in previous years.

We want to teach the kids that Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas, and to use every chance we have to do so. We have found that 25 readings/activities in December have been a great way to teach about Jesus as well as making it exciting to do so.

We started out having a cardboard Christmas tree with numbers attached to it, which each had a verse on the back, which matched up with the special verses in the Advent Tree material in Disciplines of a Godly Family, by Kent and Barbara Hughes. You can see pictures and details in this post.

Last year, I got more detailed with little numbered boxes each containing a bible verse and a special treat, still using a form of the Advent Tree, although quite edited by me. More photos & details are here.

Fast forward to this year!

• We are still going with the boxes - they were a big hit last year - and they can fit enough in them (but not too much!)

• I have written my own material this year - for the last three years we have done a biblical theology of Christmas, a 'Genesis to Jesus' if you will (as mentioned above). This year, we are focusing on the events around the birth of Jesus. We have 25 readings mainly from Luke and Matthew's gospels, so we can really spend time thinking about when Jesus was born and what it means for us today. Each day there is a bible reading, some questions to think about, a special verse and some optional extras - something to draw, a song to listen to, a craft to do, etc.

• In each box there is a verse for each of our 3 children. The verse in full is written out for Mr 6 (a confident reader), then a simplified version for Miss 4 which she should be able to remember bits of, and the same for Miss 2 - she will remember nothing, but we have to include her!).

• They will also get a special treat each day, which will be a selection of little trinkets I got from Koorong (bouncy balls, erasers, stickers, etc), bubbles, Christmas decorations and some candy/chocolate. I do this to make it FUN. We want Christmas to be fun and learning about Jesus to be fun too.

Now I am really looking forward to December 1!

Santa - yes or no?

As it is coming up to Christmas, some issues that we conveniently ignore at other times of the year rear their head again. And, for us, this year it is Santa. We decided when we had our first child 5 years ago that Santa would not be part of our Christmas celebrations. 

Our reasoning was mainly that:

• We felt it was lying, pure and simple. I know that sounds a bit harsh, but that was our conclusion. We instill the idea in our children that they must always tell the truth, so we must do the same.
• We didn't like the idea itself - that there is an all-present, all-knowing being (other than God), who judges you purely on your merit, and if you are good you are rewarded with presents. It runs against the entire message of God's grace in the gospel.
• And practically (and somewhat selfishly!) - why should this pretend person get all the credit for knowing exactly what you wanted for Christmas and getting it for you? No-one loves you more on earth than your parents, who long to give you good gifts.

So, for the last five years, we have managed to avoid most references to him and ignore him in the shops. And, when we told our extended family of the decision not to have Santa, they were supportive, even if they may not have agreed. (As an aside, both Husband and I were raised with having Santa at Christmas, and yes, we enjoyed it). However, this is the first year we have a child at school and it is no longer avoidable. Santa is everywhere and the subject of the song for the class Christmas concert. 

 So, for the first time, we are having questions or comments from our 5 year old about Santa: 

1. "Santa lives in the North Pole doesn't he?' 

2. 'Santa comes at Christmas time and brings lots of presents", etc. 

I wondered at first about how to answer, but decided to go the honest and open path, and so said: 

1. Well, no. Santa isn't real, he's pretend, so he doesn't really live in the North Pole. But in the pretend story about him he does. (and then went on to explain how Thomas the Tank Engine is not real, even though in the story he lives on the Island of Sodor; and how the Wiggles don't really live in Wiggles World, but with their families). 

2. No, Santa doesn't bring you presents, Mummy and Daddy (and other family members) buy you presents so that we can all celebrate Jesus' birthday together. 

 

And for those of you who think we are little too harsh, can I add that: 

1. We love Christmas in our family - we have a fun advent calendar, we put up the tree together, all of us have special stockings that I have made, we cook lots of yummy food, we celebrate with family and friends and generally have a great time. I don't think anyone is 'missing out' here without Santa. 

2. We try to help them to realise that some other people like to pretend that Santa is real and we don't want to spoil it for them. 

3. I know a lot of Christians who do choose to have Santa in their homes and that is fine with me. As long as Jesus is the at centre, everything else is peripherial anyway!

Advent Calendar

Finished the planned advent calendar, just in time!!

I did decide to re-create something different to last year, which I discussed previously.

Thinking about how to make the one I use more fun for the kids, with things to open, etc, I decided on a box creation. A store in Central Markets has all these cute little noodle shaped boxes, and in lots of colours, so it was easy to set up. I just stuck a number on each.


The more important thing was deciding what to actually do with the calendar. In the end, I made up my own, using the one by Kent and Barbara Hughes, in Disciplines of a Godly Family, as a base.

I have changed a number of the readings, questions and prayers, but the general format stayed the same.

So, I have now created a booklet with all 25 days in it, each containing bible verses (NIrV), a special verse, questions, a prayer and an idea of what to draw in a picture. We will draw a picture each day, and put it up on the wall near the boxes.

I felt there was a challenge to make it appealing to 2 levels of children, one who is reading well  (5) and another who has not even started yet (age 3).

In the end, I selected a 'special verse' as the Hughes did for each day for Mr 5, and then summarised it into a phrase or short sentence for Miss 3.

A print out of each is in the box, as well as a treat of some kind (balloons, bubbles, and a whole lot of Christian knick-knack things from Koorong - stickers, bouncy balls, erasers, etc)

I have had fun doing it, and since I really only started on Saturday, it has not taken long at all.

In theory, I am happy to share the booklet with others, however, I am concerned about breaching some sort of copyright with regard to the Hughes' calendar. I have acknowledged them as the main source on it, but I want to be careful.

I am looking forward to doing this with the kids, especially as we are getting more and more Santa-drivel from school!

*****

They looked cute stacked too, until they all fell down!

Advent calendars/Jesse tree

Do any of you do one of these - I mean a distinctly Christian version, not something where the kids get a chocolate each day and nothing else!

For the last two years, I have done a version of Kent & Barbara Hughes' in Disciplines of a Godly Family. Overall it has been good, but has been a bit advanced for the stage my children are at. Having said that, A could probably follow most of it this year and read along with the readings, but I have been thinking about re-writing it a bit, or finding another version. I found one at http://www.cresourcei.org/jesse.html which I still have to look into in some depth.

I am wondering whether anyone else out there has one or does one that they like? It's only a week until it is supposed to start and so time is running out!

I suspect as a backup I will go with the Hughes' version again, and take detailed notes as to ideas or changes as we do it, with the hope of actually thinking about in in January, rather than next November, again!

Nicole commented that she would like to see what I do for the actual tree, so I have now attached some photos. I made a very simple one two years ago - 2 large white pieces of cardboard stuck together, a tree drawn on it and then ribbons fed through it via punched out holes. The ribbons hold up the numbers/bible verses which are printed on the computer on business cards. An opened paperclip attaches them to the ribbons. Hopefully this is clear when you look at the photos (mocked up for tonight, so yes I know most of the numbers are missing!). I fix it to the wall and it's done.



This is a simple option, which appealed to me as I don't mind if the children play with it and wreck it - it's easily fixed and all the verses etc are on the computer and easily reprinted. As they all get older I may make a nicer one, but I want to keep the appeal for my son, so I don't want it looking too 'girly'.

For each of the days, there is an extended reading as well as a verse for the day, the verse is what is printed on each of the cards. There is also a suggestion as to what you can make for a craft. We have just drawn a picture each day and pinned them up in a big line around the wall, near the tree itself.

For the first year, we are really competing with Santa (thanks to Mr 5 now being at school), so a friend suggested we make this as appealing as possible - perhaps I will figure out a way to attach little parcels as well, or make a pocket type as others have done. However they have really enjoyed it for the last two years.