The true reason we celebrate Christmas is to remember that Jesus loves us so much that He came down to this earth as a little baby to live among us! His birth is the beginning of the wonderful story of His life here on earth and how He died to pay for our sins.
Sadly, the commercialism and busyness of this holiday can so easily distract us from the real reason for the season.
We need to be intentional to keep our focus on Jesus and to help our children keep this focus as well.
Start by asking the Lord to help you keep your focus on HIM this Christmas!
Here are some suggestions to help you and your children keep this focus…
12 ways to keep your focus on JESUS this Christmas
1. Have a nativity scene in a central place in your home
Decorate your home with Christ in mind and talk about the Christmas story whenever the opportunity arises. (when the children are little, it’s best to have a non-breakable one so they can touch and enjoy!) We usually have two set up, one is specifically for the children to play with.
2. Use an Advent calendar this Christmas
Here’s a free Advent calendar that uses Bible verses for each day.
Or consider an Advent Calendar Activity book that offers fun activities to center our thoughts on Jesus each day!
You can also buy Advent Calendars that include a nativity set for children to play with!
3. Watch “The Nativity Story” with your children
4. Hang a Christmas stocking for Jesus
Let your children fill it with notes for Jesus. Let them be creative – it can be notes about how they love Him, or how they want to serve Him next year, or whatever they like.
5. Do a unit study on the story of Jesus birth
Intoxicated on Life with Luke & Trisha offers a free unit study called Homeschooling Through the Nativity that is full of great ideas and activities to help keep the focus on Jesus. (The study is designed to complete in either 5 or 10 days).
6. Put a gift under the Christmas tree for Jesus every year
You can give to a worthy cause and put a picture of it in a gift box under the tree.
Or write out what you plan to do as a family to serve the Lord that year and put that in a gift box under the tree. It’s a great way to help children understand how we can show Jesus their love for Him in a tangible way. And it also reminds us that it’s really Jesus’ birthday that we’re celebrating!
7. Do something to bless someone else this Christmas: a needy family, the homeless, or someone overseas.
Discuss how Jesus lived to be a blessing and we can too! Talk about how you can serve someone and be Jesus’ hands and feet as a family. If your children are older, go and serve a meal at the homeless shelter. Check out the Angel Tree ministry, or Union Gospel Mission, World Vision, or Compassion ministries. Or go to Feed My Starving Children and put together bags of food for starving children in other countries. Talk about being the hands and feet of Jesus, and how He’s working through you to bless others.
8. Make a birthday cake for Jesus as part of your Christmas celebration. Your kids can help with making it!
www.frugalcouponliving.com has some great ideas for this!
9. Memorize the Christmas story together from Luke 2:1-20
For younger children, only memorize a small portion of this. If memorizing is too much, just read the Christmas story on Christmas morning.
10. Have family devotions each day in the few weeks before Christmas, discussing the Names of Jesus and who HE is!
Download this FREE devotional Who is Jesus? A Devotional Study of the Names of Jesus to guide your family devotions for December.
11. Attend church on Christmas Eve or Christmas day
12. On Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day, have family devotions specifically focused on the Christmas story and how much Jesus loves us and how we can show our love for Him.
Are you feeling overwhelmed with homeschooling and managing all there is to do during the Christmas Season?
Check out this post: 7 Tips for Homeschooling Through the Holidays
May the Lord bless your family and your Christmas together this year!
Merry CHRISTmas!
(this post has some affiliate links)
I’d love to hear how you’ve made Jesus more the focus at Christmas in your family! Please share below…
