It’s time for my confession. I love Christmas—the ting of the Salvation Army bell; the outline of Christmas lights on gingerbread looking homes; hot cocoa sipped to songs sung by Frankie and Bing. I even find joy in the occasional outing into an overly-decorated mall, where Santa sits on a huge throne and captures the imagination of the smallest children, and occasionally, the wallets of their parents. Christmas is magical.
At ChristmasChange, we are not trying to steal the magic, joy, and anticipation of Christmas. Frankly, I hope you enjoy the signs of the season as much as I do. But as you see the magical anticipation behind five year old eyes, I hope you take a moment to redirect.
It seems that we understand that this season is special—that it is supposed to be filled with wonder and anticipation. It’s just become so easy to objectify that wonder and anticipation, and it is that objectification that can cause the rub. After all, we could all share stories of Christmas-anticipation wasted on finally-unwrapped sweat socks, underwear, or Ralphie’s proverbial Christmas Story bunny suit. And that’s why we are trying to shift our anticipation to something less disappointing and more permanent.
So, we are asking this question: how should the birth of Messiah, the one who came to bring rescue and redemption, be celebrated? With ribbons and wrapping paper? Maybe in part—but only in part. Let’s celebrate his birth by living like he lived. By bringing hope to those in need.
And, it’s simple. This year, sit down with your family, and explain why Jesus came. Explain his story of rescue and redemption. Then ask, “can we cut our Christmas spending and give a portion of it to those in need?” or, “how can we serve our community this Christmas season, so that the story of rescue and redemption can be shared with those around us?” Then, implement your ideas.
Here are some practical suggestions:
1. Ask the adults in your family to draw the name of one other adult family member. Limit your adult spending to the individual whose name you drew. Then, donate the saved money to a local shelter, charity, or foreign missionary;
2. As a family, pick a night to serve in a local soup kitchen or food project, and ask those you are serving what the Christmas story means to them. Listen, and respond appropriately;
3. As a family, visit another family you know is in need. Pray for them and ask what their needs are. If the need is spiritual, respond appropriately. If the need is physical, consider cutting a bit of your Christmas budget to help meet the physical need.
The Christmas story is about rescue and redemption. It’s about God’s glory being brought humbly to a tiny manger. Let’s live in that glory as we walk ChristmasChange together.
_____________________
Would you mind sharing? What are some things you’ve done in the past to draw focus to Jesus during this holiday season? How have you given to others in order to live the Christmas story of rescue and redemption? Share with us in the comments below.
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There are many ways we can give back during the Christmas seasons – toys for tots, donations to charities, etc., but I often wonder how much is done simply to make Me feel better. Am I truly giving sacrificially? What kind of lesson am I teaching my kids when I buy a $25 or $30 toy for a child in need but can still afford to spend much more on our immediate family? When We do without in order to help someone else, that’s abundant giving.
Great suggestions. We try to not ‘overdo’ gifts at Christmas and just give gifts to the kids and maybe one little thing for each adult.
I’m going to try and implement more of these ideas this year.
Totally agree, Katdish.
I’ve been thinking about how we’re blessed so we can be a blessing. How do we teach that?
I guess it starts with really living it out – not just at Christmas time. Christmas is a good place to start, but maybe we spend this whole next year preparing our children, let them come along side us as we serve, especially with time, especially loving people we wouldn’t naturally love.
Susan, it’s so funny, too, because we choose what our children expect from year to year in regard to receiving gifts and giving gifts. One year we had given big to our children, and they picked the cheapest toy we bought and ignored the others. That same year, a friend gave her son a gift, and when she handed him the socond (before many more) he shouted, “I get another present?!” as if he had no idea he would be getting more. She said it taught her that she was training him otherwise.
Now the issue for me is to backtrack, not only to train our children, but also to train myself. I love getting!!! I love buying!!! I am in a thick habit.
I’m a huge buyer. I love getting people gifts whether for Christmas or birthdays or anything else. But this has really just opened my eyes on how to cut back. I could be giving so much more money to someone who needs it. Brad and I have spread this to his parents and his sister and brother-in-law. We are all cutting back, we are all creating Christmas gifts in order to have that extra money to help out somewhere.
My family has always been “one gift for the adults” to cut back buying. Now I have somewhere to put that extra money!
Another idea that I’ve heard, especially for the grown ups, is to give from what you already have (jewelry, china, art). Most of us just have tons of nice things that we don’t even use.
I loved that idea when you said it Saturday, Amber.
You can even fix it up and make the use of the item TOTALLY different.
My mom likes to adopt a young military family who are stationed in SD and are far away from their families at the Holidays. She invites them over to spend Thanksgiving & Christmas Eve since they don’t have anyone else to spend them with. This year we are going to look for a young couple who are expecting a baby so I can give them all of my baby stuff I no longer need. I am putting together a list of items I want to add to the “Baby Starter Kit” that I don’t have and will be posting it on my blog for anyone who lives in SD that wants to participate. Happy Holidays everyone!
Love this, you guys,….our family/extended family has been proactively trying to bring Christmas back to the basics.
– Waiting to give our big gifts till Jan. 1…not only monetarily saving money but allowing us to focus on His birth on the 25th. Many years we have only done three gifts to symbolize the 3 gifts that were received.
- new tradition which has been a life changing one…bringing meals to refugee families on the 25th.
Just a few…..
Jen,
Refugees? Please share more about this.
This is the first year we’ve really cut back – I read an article in Wondertime magazine last year all about giving home made thoughtful gifts, so all year we’ve been doing that for birthday gifts for extended family. They’ve loved it! Framed artwork from the grandkids is the best thing in the world
For Christmas this year we decided that if gifts we’re giving aren’t handmade by us, they should be by someone, and hopefully can help support a cause at the same time. Whether it’s helping to support starving artists (a cause close to my heart as my brother is one!) or gifts that part of the proceeds go to charity (or to help a friends adoption) I really think those gifts hold more meaning and thoughtfulness than a gift card to Target (though I love Target with all of my heart!)
Even harder to me than deciding what to make or buy for less for family and friends is the giving beyond that to the truly needy.
Deciding how much you would have spent and donating the difference is where we can really change lives, as in, the thirty dollars we saved on our aunt and uncle can actually care for a Compassion Child for a month.
This year my wife, 3 kids, and I are celebrating Christmas ouTside the boX by going to the Philippines to give our Christmas away. In 2007 we spent our summer in the Philippines and were awe struck by the poverty, both in material things and often in the knowledge of Jesus (which is what Christmas is all about as Linus says so well). So, in praying about what we would do this year for Christmas we realized that we would love to do nothing better than give Christmas to people who otherwise wouldn’t have Christmas. You can read more about this at our blog or check out our facebook group, ouTside the boX. We also are inviting others to participate with us by giving, creating Christmas cards, and praying, and we plan to send back photos and videos.
Bryan,
I’m glad you stopped by CC. I’ve been following your story for a couple of years now, for various reasons (we’ve much in common, friend). I’d love for you to share more about how your family will share Christmas with the people in the Philippines–i.e., the work you will be doing, the needs of the people, etc. Let me know if you would like to write something a bit more in depth.
Can you give us the link to ouTside the boX (which I originally read as outside the X-box and laughed out loud)? I’m sure many of us would like to team up with you guys.
Thanks!
ouTside the X-box would be a great statement as well.
As a couple of singing lawyers with many layers (like onions) we should have just started a band, the bumbling barristers.
Here’s a link to the blog post about ouTside the boX and another link to our Facebook group page.
And, yes, I’d be happy to send you a better write up – whatever you think is best. Thank you for your speedy reply! And soon we should swap stories.
Our children decidednear ten years ago now, when our oldest was 5, that since Christmas was Jesus birthday, that the gifts should be to the least of these, not for them.
Each morning at breakfast, for the two weeks up to the 25th, they pick one gift to give from charity catalogues (Compassion, Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision, Partner’s International etc … and then on the 25th, they write down all the gifts selected over those two weeks and hang those tags on the tree as their gift for Jesus.
The excitement builds over the two weeks and the deciding and discussing and choosing makes everyone giddy! Truly, it is so much better to give than to receive.
Christmas Day is the delight of giving all these gifts to Jesus — and we celebrate His birthday with a big breakfast feast, a cake, and a day of games and outdoor fun!
Our children each receive very small, token gifts on New Year’s Day — and the focus of Christmas has entirely been on giving to Him who came to give.
A humble joy to join you in encouraging change that brings deep joy!
All’s grace,
Ann Voskamp
I want to do Ann’s Christmas. That sounds vintage.
I want to do Ann’s Christmas, too! I love the idea of waiting until Jan 1 to do presents- not only for the sales! ha!- but for giving the 25th to Jesus. Sadly, this is the first year we are really cutting back on purpose. I love the idea of teaching the Jesus is about serving, so we are going to serve others this Christmas. As much as we can with a 2 and 4 year old.
It was HARD for them to pack their Operation Christmas Child shoebox and not get things for themself, but they got it- esp. the 4 year old.
Thanks for this post and all the comments. Great ideas!
Well it’s hard to follow Ann’s fresh yet old and beautiful traditions for Christmas (when can we come, Ann?), but here’s what we do…
Our children each get three small gifts to symbolize the three gifts that were brought to Jesus, but all other “shopping” is done within our home. The find things they know their brother or cousin would love, wrap them up in newspaper and are more excited about that part than the anticipation of their own presents.
I’m so excited to teach them about giving to the needy this year, my special needs kids have a hard time grasping the “abstract” and thinking of families elsewhere not living like they do, I often suggest (half joking and half very much not) to my husband that it’s a great reason to become missionaries ourselves.
For that hands-on understanding of the profound need.
This year they are old enough and doing well enough that it will feel like a whole new and different season for them. Better, for sure.
In the past we’ve had “Santa” come to our home, and I know it’s only because that is how I was raised and had never questioned it. How could I not let my children have that experience, is how I thought. What harm did it do, I used to think. I have learned so much, and realized how much more we get out of the whole season when it has nothing to do with Santa except to talk about how the tradition came about (great history for homeschoolers!
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I hope people can come here to CC and realize that even if they feel far away from this “change” we’re talking about here on this site, that it’s ok. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming, turning the ship towards the right direction is the first step. The rest will come as long as we’re intentional about it.
-Arianne
Like many families, our Christmas celebrating has evolved as we have grown as Christian parents.
Years ago, before our oldest child’s first Christmas, we decided that we would not “do Santa”. We thought this was a great way for us to focus on Christ, but we still gave the children as much as we can afford…well, more than we can afford really.
Then later, as we had more and more children, we noticed that 6 months after Christmas, many of the toys were not even touched since the day we opened it. So we evolved. We decided that they only played with 2 or 3 things anyhow, and Jesus got only 3 gifts…so we would limit our kids to just 3 gifts.
And our family evolved. We adopted 3 more children, bringing our total up to seven children. We decided to give our kids a great big Christmas, that one year. Our adopted children, were adopted out of foster care and when they left their various homes and birth family, much of what was “their’s” was left behind…so we wanted to give them a big Christmas to make up for past disappointments.
After Christmas last year, we evolved yet again. We realize that much of our money is wasted on toys that they kids don’t really play with…and Christ is not as prominent in our home as we want…as much as He has been in the past.
So, after Christmas last year, we decided to change the focus. We always did small birthdays, with maybe 1 gift….why not give them a bigger birthday, but smaller Christmas?
So this year, our Christmas budget for each child will be $50 a piece. We are making a purposeful decision to give more this year, to organizations that help the “least of these”. My goal is to begin keeping up with how much our family gives each season and then try to outgive ourselves every year hereafter!
Since our kids are pretty young still, we’ve tried to manage expectations about gifts. The general rule is: Christmas gifts are family gifts. Things everyone can play together. Birthdays are for individual things.
At Christmas time, we focus on family and Jesse Tree. Telling that gospel story over and over again so that the gifts are just secondary. The children love lighting the candles every night and it’s a great review for all of us about how God wove His story.
I wrote a lot about this last December, The link is here. http://shelaughsatthedays.blogspot.com/2008/11/why-we-don-do-conventional-christmas.html
We don’t exchange gifts. We never have so my children don’t expect it. Christmas is the Birthday of Jesus, as Ann said. We give him a gift.
One of the things my MIL started doing was to send the kids a bit of money to spend on a present for Jesus. She has them write it down and her plan is to show them when they are older all the ways they have given in the past by making a book with all the letters they wrote to her in it.
Great ideas, all…
We opted out of “Santa” as well. The personal compromise to assuage the “Mommy-guilt” of not letting them have the fun is, we still have stockings. The kids love it, and they honestly don’t care who brought them. I fill them with things like toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, bubble bath, socks, undies… but in a special theme like Disney Princesses. Plus a bit of candy. It’s all stuff I would have bought anyway, but it’s more special because it has the character-du-jour stamped all over it.
Gifts… my goal this year is that the girls will get a gift to share, either a dollhouse or a wagon, and something small for each. Individual gifts will come from extended family.
Last year was the first year I bought gifts from the charity catalogs… all of our friends and extended family got cards with a note “In honor of our family & friends, we have donated…”. It was incredibly well received. I plan to continue that. This year, I’ve added a small gift to each card, which is a small Bible study for the advent period.
Our girls’ cousins we don’t give gifts to, but we do allow our girls to choose an inexpensive gift to be from them, and they make homemade cards for their grandparents. Friends and neighbors will get homemade goodies and a visit
Since we’ve just moved into the area, that could be a good way to meet new people, too 
We do buy gifts for each other and for our parents and siblings, but have scaled back the spending considerably over the years and that will likely continue.
I do like the idea of a ‘family gift’ being for both of us and the kids all together, especially if it were something that could encourage us to spend more time together
Each year my family (siblings, spouses, children, grandchildren; there are close to 54 of us now…) gathers for an annual celebration and we draw names for a gft exchange; a tradition from when we were growing up. This year I am hosting the event and I suggested to everyone that we “re-gift” rather than do an outright purchase , “worn and old” versus ” shiney and new”. I thought it was a perfect way of giving of ourselves, something of sentimental value…I have talked with a few family members and there is some serious and sincere thought going into the selection of gifts….makes my heart happy!!! We shall see in a couple of weeks the gifts that surface and and until then, am praying real hard it is not my brothers dirty socks!
blessings all!
I do think some of the craziness is cultural. When I met my husband , his family didn’t do the Santa thing. I was so relieved.
In our home we’ve given the “best gift ” from us, and some token things from Santa. We don’t do wish lists etc. And the Catholic school and church encourages and invites participation in varied projects and charities which we’ve joined in. The season of Advent is an opportunity to express our thanks for grace and mercy, but it seems increasingly difficult to feel this when the stores start bombarding us with the needless endless “stuff” earlier and earlier.
This is so inspiring, what you are doing, and I hope that perhaps a downshift and reset of values and intentions due to economic hardships will open more eyes and hearts to what it really is about.
Actually, last year we eliminated the whole Santa thing, as the kids are older. And our extended family and friends have been switching to homemade or less expensive .
Wow. I am so blown away by all the radical Christmas cheer!
I am so glad I have the opportunity to glean from this wonderful threshing floor of ideas. With two little ones at 8 months and 4 yrs, there is room to create a lifetime of memorable Christmas.
I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from readers who want Christmas to be different. I will be linking to this post in my Christmas response.
Jesus is probably jumping up and down, so happy anticipating all the gifts He’ll receive this year!
I’m happy to have stumbled here, via Ann’s tweet!
Thanks, Ann & Seth!
We have been transitioning from a worldly Christmas to a Christ centered one for years. Every year we draw a little closer to the goal. One thing that helped me as a mom was to give my family a survey. I ask them silly questions & serious ones. I ask about traditions that they cherish, too. By doing this I have been able to cut out so much of the pomp and circumstance! I had no idea how many “things” I fretted and stressed over that I thought were important to my family to celebrate Christmas that they had no stake in. Goes to show kids that kids can guide parents too!
We put a huge focus on giving during the Christmas season (well, all year long really). This year we are participating in Operation Christmas child, Angel Tree Ministries, and my husband and daughter are going to Mexico with Hands of Mercy in December. Our goal has always been to give more than we receive.
We exchange small meaningful gifts on Christmas Day. We’ve never done Santa. We put out the Nativity on the first night of Advent, but Jesus and the Three Wise Men are missing. Jesus gets wrapped up and placed under the tree. When we open that gift on Christmas morning we stop everything, sing Away in the Manger, and read the Christmas story. The Wise Men travel all over the house during December. The children have fun looking for them everyday. They arrive at the Nativity on Epiphany and the children find a stocking stuffer type gift. That is the official end of our holiday season.
We love Christmas!
Lots of thought-provoking ideas here, and I’m glad to have found this website. I like that everything is relative to your situation, as well. For us, Christmas has always been a challenge. My husband and I don’t have kids, but there are the extended family relations: parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. The challenge for us is twofold: we are the only Christians in the lot, and we live VERY “frugally” shall we say? Our combined income does not come close to what one person would make. You can imagine the financial strain a commercial Christmas places on us. Every year, we want so much to focus on the Truth of Christmas, and the joy which comes only from it. Then, the societal expectations and family expectations just come banging on our door. And then, last year, both my Mom and Dad died, and we were in mourning during the Christmas season…
What happened was that we only observed Christmas very quietly, through special Advent and Christmas devotions, and church services. It ended up being really good.
At the same time, we do LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all the fun, nostalgic Christmas-y things. Yep, I like Santa, lights, old movies, and all the decorations. BUT… we only like them to look at and enjoy. We do not even really understand the point of Christmas presents, to tell you the truth. Why do people (most of whom have all they could want or need) receive gifts when it is Jesus who deserves the gift? He deserves the gift of our unending gratitude. And, I like the idea of giving to the least of these as well.
So this year, we are giving ONE present to all those in the extended family, because we fell into the trap again. But… we are also enclosing a thoughtfully and prayerfully written note to all the adults, explaining what we believe, and why it is important for us to make our Christmas ALL about Christ. Next year, we will give to charities in the receiver’s name. And we are giving to charities this year, as well. Finally, in an effort to subdue the Christmas greed and madness that we see in our extended families, we purchased one book as a gift for each recipient.
This is a wonderful site, and we will be checking it frequently for encouragement and insight. Thank you, and God bless! And have a truly Merry Christmas!
When my son was little (he just turned 21), each year he would have to pick some big toys that were in good to excellent condition from his room (as an only child he had plenty). He would wrap them (with a little help of course), and we would drive to the neighborhood closest to ours that was primarily low income. We would knock on the door of a random house and ask where there would be a home that had children and not a lot of money..they always knew of one particular house like that. We would take the toys there and drop them off, wishing them a Merry Christmas.. Aside from learning to give, it taught my son not to hoard his stuff or become too attached to it.. but mostly it gave him compassion.
I have been both convicted and inspired by this article and the comments here. I adore Christmas…all the trimmings and the magic…and the trappings. I admit it.
I love to give and to receive gifts. But at the same time, I long for (and often preach about) the magic that should come from focusing our celebration squarely where it belongs…on Jesus Christ.
This longing was intensified as we were shopping for our Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes. It bothered me when I realized how difficult it was for my kids to shop for someone else without begging for treats for themselves.
And I was horrified to realize that I was steering my kids toward less expensive selections for the shoeboxes. Not because we were severely cash strapped, but because I didn’t think it made sense to put a $9.00 Star Wars guy in the shoebox. In fact, I am horrified to share that here.
I need to go spend some time in prayer (and in discussions with my hubby) about what these changes might look like for our family.
We have done the “3 gifts” thing before and it has worked well. But I LOVE Jen’s idea of waiting until Jan 1st to exchange gifts! We don’t put much emphasis on Santa…although we do the Elf on the Shelf thing. That’s a bit of a conflict, huh?
Kimba,
I share your trepidation. Here is a question (and only a question): when we shop for toys for tots, are we teaching our children that the toys are the important part of Christmas? Are we creating in others the very materialism that drives Christmas? Just a question that I’m personally struggling through.
We are changing little by little each year. A difficult task when you are part of a larger family who very much loves the whole ‘gift’ giving. So, this year, I am taking stress out of gift giving and all the parents will get personalized calendars. A personal touch, inexpensive, creative, useful, and recyclable! Something to look forward to each year. We also observe Advent, and spend the 4 Sundays leading to Christmas to focus our hearts on Jesus. This year we are including people from our larger family to be part of this intimate time of food, sharing, and Jesus to see how Christmas is more to us than just gifts. We’re a little strapped for cash ourselves, so gift giving will be very limited in our home, but are going through toys to find things to give away. But I have been inspired to give of our time someplace, something I thought would be difficult to do with 2 little ones, but am now seeing, it’s necessary to have them give too, and be immersed in this way of living, otherwise, the ‘other’ way will consume them.
Wow… to be able to do Christmas the way Ann does….
We (my family and I) have become so spoiled. We do not do TONS of stuff…. but I stress over it for weeks always wondering if I did enough… or got enough for everyone. I am an older mom … and I have six. Our oldest is married…. youngest is 6.
Couple of years ago we started saying only 3 gifts… cause that is what the wise men brought to Jesus.
This year… we will do the same… but we are also collecting money in our jar… to buy something for the children out of the World Vision Catalog. We also take baked goods to our elderly neighbors and sing Christmas carols….
We also read several advent books the weeks leading up to Christmas…
blessings,
Teena
oh reading back over the comments …. I love Karen’s idea of giving charity gifts and the little cards sent saying …. “In honor of our family & friends, we have donated…” Our youth pastor just TONIGHT was telling me that is what he is doing this year with all family.
Something that has truly touched our hearts… back in Oct. we had the Children of the World International Choir come to our church. Fifteen children aging from 7-10 performed. These children come from orphans & proverty. It was life changing. My children sat there listening, worshipping and some crying. My 12 yr old daughter will never be the same. She prays for them each night… she wants to give and raise money for *clean water*….
“For the Children of the World… every single little boy and girl… red or yellow black or white… they are precious in the Father’s eyes…”
just wanted to share.
You can go to http://www.worldhelp.net and click on “Children of the World”
What great ideas here, I’m taking lots of notes lol!
For Christmas we like to either make, bake or buy presents for friends and relatives from the World Vision alternative Christmas gift Catalog.
For the Children… They each recieve one special gift and two small stocking filler type gifts. Each gift is inexpensive and something meaningful.
Each of the girls also makes up their own shoe box for Samaritan’s purse appeal.
For Christmas cards…the children make cards for their friends with a little excerpt of scripture inside, for the adult relatives and friends we buy our cards from charity shops.
We don’t eat extravagantly at Christmas but we do eat traditional type roast dinner with Christmas pudding. One thing we try to do is invite someone we know who is alone to our table, to be a part of our family for the day. When the children get a little older I think we might take them carol singing to the old people’s homes around our area.
Christmas is centered around the liturgy of the church for us. Advent is when we begin and the epiphany is when we end our contemplation and celebration of the season.
We have family traditions that tie in with the feast days of the season which the children really enjoy to be a part of as they learn the spiritual meaning behind the Christmastime rituals.
To Seth,
I really liked your thought-provoking response to a comment: what are we teaching the kids when we are doing the Toys for Tots, etc. It is a real conundrum, trying to decide what to do and what the motives are for us doing it. I think it’s valuable for so many reasons to give to each of those shoebox and toys organizations, but we do have to consider how and why we’re doing it, and what message we are giving the young people.
It is so inspiring and delightful to read everyone’s comments and to know there is a growing community of people who are committed to making a real, positive, and significant change for a blessed, Christian Christmas. Thank you all for sharing!
to add to that … I remember as a child my father decided we would forgo our wish list and lavish upon my classmate who’s family didn’t celebrate the holiday.
I felt so guilty afterward when she expressed pain, that of course she wasn’t allowed to keep the toys, and that we had insulted her parent’s beliefs with intrusion and projection, and then because I got presents anyway, there was a disconnect in the giving and sacrifice .
I have carried the idea that time is a better gift. It can be a better 2 way street.
We begin our celebration with Saint Nicholas’ Day on December 6th. This is the day for stockings and a small spiritually themed gift. That leaves Christmas (December 25th) free to be spent in Church and giving a gift (World Vision, etc.) to the Christ Child without losing the excitement and wonder children usually experience Christmas morning. Since my husband is from Eastern Europe, we also observe January 6th, so we literally have the 12 Days of Christmas. Last year, an orange appeared in a special spot each day of the 12, and my son wonders whether they will come again this year. On the 6th of January, the wisemen have been known to leave a USEFUL gift in exchange for their camels being well taken care of the night before as they stopped over on their journey to Bethlehem. (we leave ‘camel food’, that is grass, out–it is a very important event to pick the grass the evening of Jan. 5th!)
I have, for several years now, tried to create a distinction between advent and christmas … letting advent be the time of preparation, of longing, of watching for the ways Messiah is born into our lives. We generally decorate very slowly, starting with just an advent wreath and candles, and slowly adding greenery and more candles/lights, until eventually the ornaments are all hung and everything is festive. We go slowly with the carols and music too. It’s always really added to the richness of the season. But! Now we live in Hong Kong and I am more homesick than I’ve ever been in my life … and so I’m loving all the decorations and tackiness and crass commercialism more than I ever thought possible. sigh, traditions go deep, don’t they?
As for gifts, etc., we do all homemade. We do love the fancy food that the holidays bring, so our “rule” is that any fancy extra stuff we buy (cheese, wine, chocolates, etc) has to be for occasions of hospitality. We try to keep it simple though, just having people over for dinner more often–not big parties. Small, frequent gatherings over yummy food … that’s the way life should be.
Just found this blog, and can’t wait to spend some time reading through comments and ideas. One thing that we are doing is a family Jesse Tree with nightly family devotions. We hope that becomes a treasured, Christ-centered memory of Christmas. Posted about it here: http://radicchis.blogspot.com/2009/12/jesse-tree-is-complete.html