The reason for the season

(You will need to stop my playlist in the sidebar to hear this)

Once again as the Christmas season approaches I am asking myself how to cut back and focus...on HIM and the very reason we even celebrate. I want to simplify even more and enjoy my family more and truly celebrate Jesus! I don't want to get caught up in the hustle and bustle that the world does during this season.

Things we do to focus on Jesus~

~Operation Christmas Child - My children love helping put together some shoe boxes. It is a great way to help them focus on others.

~We always make a coffee cake for our Christmas breakfast and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.

~We like to read the Christmas story aloud to the kids before any gifts are opened.

~Last year I gave the kids each a portion of the Christmas story from Luke to memorize and they all recited their verses. (They are already asking what their verses will be this year so they can start memorizing them! I guess I better get busy and pick them quickly so they have plenty of time to work on them.)

~The Glorious Coming - A Jesse Tree Advent Celebration -Anyone who has ever done "Resurrection Eggs" would love this. There is a daily reading of scripture and then you hang a little ornament on the tree.

~What God Wants for Christmas--An Interactive Kid- Friendly Nativity - My sweet friend Rachal gave this to us last year and it was quite the hit with all the children.

~We have written letters to Jesus telling Him what our gift is to Him for that year. This may be a goal such as being more patient with a sibling, spending more time in prayer, or it may be cutting something out of our lives that we know isn't helping in our walk with Him. After we write these we put them in envelopes and put them on the Christmas tree and open them on Christmas morning. We read them and keep the letters to remind us of the goal we are working towards for that year.

Things we do to focus on family~

~Walk through Christmas Tree Lane- Take hot chocolate from home or stop by AM PM and grab some, this keeps your hands nice and toasty! (For those who don't live around here this is a neighborhood that goes all out with Christmas lights and decorations)

~Play lots of Christmas music!

~Make a list of Christmas movies and have "movie" nights with popcorn! Yum!

~Read lots of books that focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Some of our favorites are...
~The Crippled Lamb
~Mary's First Christmas
~The Tale of Three Trees
~The Shepherd's Christmas
~Most Marvelous Gift
~The Small One

~Have a baking day! - The girls and I always look forward to this. We make lots of goodies and love to make up plates to give to our sweet family and friends. Duane looks forward to eating the fruit of our labor! Last year we didn't get to this and we all really missed it.

I would love to hear what things others have done to focus on family and the Lord during this season. Every year Duane and I talk about what we can do to simplify even more so we can enjoy the season and not get caught up in the commercialism that is everywhere.

I pray we all truly celebrate Jesus this season and keep Christ the center of Christmas!
He is the reason for the season!