How to Keep Jesus in Christmas for Kids
The holiday season becomes a busy whirlwind of parties, shopping, wrapping, buying, baking, and running here and there. It has become all too simple to barely even remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. That we call it CHRIST-mas for a reason! Let’s dive into some ways you can learn How to Keep Jesus in Christmas for Kids in what feels like the busiest time of the year.
The Meaning of Christmas and How It Gets Lost
Christmas is a beautiful, fun, and magical time of the year. It is filled with holiday parties, lots of gift-giving and receiving, decorating, and indulging. With all the places to run to and things to buy it’s really easy to let the real thing we are celebrating take a back seat.
Celebrating Jesus’ birth may have been at the top of your seasonal celebration list years ago, but now it may be clouded by making sure you buy gifts for all your kid’s teachers, making sure you bake enough goodies for all the neighbors, decorating the house to the 9’s so it feels magical for your kids, and finding them every last thing on their list at the best price you can, not to mention hiding and wrapping it all.
Motherhood takes hold and the to-do list is seemingly endless this time of year and you probably, like most of us, have trouble doing it all and trying to do it all perfectly.
But you know what the really funny thing is? None of that really matters. You don’t have to keep up with everybody, remember every acquaintance, and spread yourself too thin. What is most important is celebrating Jesus’ birth with your family.
Enjoying the lights, the sweets, and the traditions is wonderful but so is learning how to tie the best gift of the holiday in– God sending his son to earth.
So how can you indulge and enjoy the merriment of the season and still learn how to keep Jesus in Christmas for kids?
Well, let’s dive into 14 ideas you can utilize year after year to keep Christ in Christmas in your home.
How to Keep Jesus in Christmas for Kids
1. Set Up a Nativity Scene
This is so simple but not nearly as commonplace as it used to be. Place a nativity set in your home as a visual reminder of Jesus’ birth. You can even use it when reading the Christmas story. My favorite is having a Nativity toy set. My kids just love it and it’s durable!
2. Read the Christmas Story from the Bible
On Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, gather the family to read Luke 2:1-20 or Matthew 1:18-25 BEFORE diving into their gifts. It’s a beautiful way to reflect on the true meaning of the holiday and practice a bit a patience.
3. Attend a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Service
Make church a central part of your celebration. The music, candlelight, and message can help everyone focus on Jesus amidst the holiday bustle.
4. Sing or Listen to Christ-Centered Christmas Carols
One great thing about Christmas is that most of the songs are still about the true meaning of the season. While all the decor has pretty much been replaced with Santa, snowmen, and reindeer, most of the Christmas songs are still Christ-centered!
Incorporate hymns like “O Holy Night”, “Away in a Manger”, or “Silent Night” into your Christmas playlist or family sing-alongs around the tree.
5. Bake a Birthday Cake for Jesus
While baking cookies for the neighbors is fun and it’s important to teach that giving is just as fun as receiving during Christmas, baking something to symbolize baby Jesus’ birth is great too! This is a really fun activity for kids. Sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus, and use it as an opportunity to talk about His gift to the world.
6. Create and Use an Advent Wreath
An advent wreath doesn’t hang on your door, although it often looks similar to a door wreath. An advent wreath features 5 candles (4 around the wreath and one in the middle). Each candle represents a certain word that ties together with a part of the story of Jesus and verses also go along with each.
You light one candle each week and read the accompanying text and songs to learn the story of hope, faith, joy, peace, and purity. Learn how to take time to reflect on the Christmas story once a week for 4 weeks before Christmas with your own Advent wreath.
7. Give to Others
Honor Jesus by showing love to others through acts of kindness. This is a very important lesson to teach to your children because it is so easy for them to get caught up in wanting more at Christmas and only think about receiving. Volunteer, donate to a charity, or participate in a toy drive to embody His teachings about giving.
8. Incorporate Daily Devotions
Use an Advent calendar or devotional book to spend a few moments each day focusing on Jesus. This Devotions Book for Kids is short, meaningful, fun, spans a range of ages, and has dates listed in it so that the ones in December tie in with Christmas.
9. Decorate with Christ-focused themes
While there is absolutely nothing wrong with decorating with elves and candy canes also include symbols like angels, stars, and the nativity in your decorations. Consider a banner with the phrase “Jesus is the reason for the season” as a visual reminder in your home.
10. Watch Some Christ-Centered Christmas Movies
Films like Elf and Home Alone are fun traditions to watch, but include some movies like The Nativity Story, some episodes of The Chosen, or look up animated children’s movies about Jesus’ birth on YouTube. These can help bring the story of Christmas to life.
11. Teach Kids the Symbols of Christmas
Did you know that each of the symbols that we use in our Christmas decorating and traditions can be tied to the story of Jesus? Use items like candy canes, evergreen trees, and stars and explain how they connect to the story of Christ and the message of salvation.
12. Read Children’s Christmas Stories
If you don’t have them already, buy some various versions of The Christmas Story for different ages. Other cute books also incorporate the birth of Christ into the story like The Animals’ Christmas Eve.
13. Host a Birthday Party for Jesus
Gather family or friends for a celebration focused on Jesus. This is the perfect time to bring out Jesus’ birthday cake, do some Christmas crafts, and play some holiday games! Have fun celebrating the most important birthday of the season!
14. Give a Secret Santa Gift
In honor of the gift that God gave to the world, give a gift without expecting anything in return! Pick an unsuspecting neighbor and leave them a gift at their door marked “from your Secret Santa.” Let your kids select someone they think might need some extra gifts this year or someone who seems lonely.
By keeping Jesus at the heart of your Christmas traditions, you can help your family focus on what truly matters and celebrate the incredible gift of God’s love while still having fun and making memories that last.
