Christmas is such a joyous time of year. It's filled with wonder and excitement—especially for kids.
However, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the holidays, parents are sometimes challenged to keep the focus on the true meaning of the season—the celebration of Jesus' birth.
Well we're here to help.
Below you will find a few simple, yet effective ways to celebrate Christmas as a family that will bring the focus back to Jesus. Consider these five ways to celebrate Christmas with your family and children.
1. Sing Christmas songs.
Play Christmas music and sing along.
Play the music while driving in the car or after dinner for a family sing-a-long.
Make up your own Christmas songs by using tunes to familiar songs. For example, to the tune "Mary Had a Little Lamb," sing: "Jesus was a baby boy, baby boy, baby boy. Jesus was a baby boy, a special baby boy."
2. Play with a nonbreakable manger scene.
Choose a manger scene with figures that do not pose a choking hazard for preschoolers.
Encourage your child to look at and handle the figures.
Name the figures as your child is playing with the scene.
Pray, thanking God for Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
3. Make Christmas giftwrapping paper.
Use plain shelf paper or large grocery sacks to make gift wrap paper.
Purchase Christmas stamps and washable stamp pads at your local craft or discount store.
Buy stamps that depict the Christian symbols of Christmas such as a star, an angel, or an Advent wreath.
Guide your child to press the stamp on the pad and then onto the paper or sacks. White paper lunch bags can be used to make gift bags.
When stamping an angel design, tell your child, "An angel told the shepherds that Baby Jesus was born."
4. Make an edible Christmas tree.
Gather the following ingredients: sugar ice-cream cones, green frosting, candy-coated chocolate pieces and marshmallows.
Place a cone upside down on a plate. Guide your child to cover the cone with green frosting, using a plastic knife. Decorate the cone with the chocolate pieces, then top each cone with a marshmallow.
Talk about the beautiful colors on the Christmas tree. Say: "I'm glad we can have fun at Christmas. At Christmastime we think about the special gift God gave us: Jesus."
Make an additional edible tree to give to a neighbor or elderly friend.
5. Play the Christmas story.
Let your family dress up in robes and play out the story.
Use a shoe box for the manger and a doll for Baby Jesus.