Christmas Traditions

Christmas traditions are really important to my family and me. We recognize Christmas as Jesus Christ's birth. He was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life here on earth. He was both God and Man and He died on the cross for our sins. We believe that He died for EVERYONE and that if you believe in Him, you will be saved and spend eternity in heaven. 

I really want to insure that my children are very aware of the fact that Christmas should not be centered around receiving gifts from Santa Clause. Sure, everyone enjoys receiving gifts, but that is not the "reason for the season." Jesus taught while He was here on earth that it is better to give that to receive. 

Here are some of our Christmas traditions that we try to do every year at Christmas time. Some of these are new traditions that I will be implementing this year, and I thought that maybe some of you would gain some inspiration to share these with your own families this year. 

1. Christmas Cards and Photos

    I have not been really consistent about sending out Christmas cards, but I am going to be mailing them out this year. I am also going to write a family update about each of our 4 family members to include in the card. Since COVID-19 many of you probably haven't seen your families as much as you normally would have, and the little update on the children would be perfect to add to the cards. 

  

  The family photographs are important, too. I really enjoy receiving Christmas card pictures, and I always keep them. It's fun to pull them all out on rainy afternoons and look through them to see how much the children have grown.  

    When choosing clothing for your Christmas card pictures, I like to go with the traditional Christmas colors such as red. I also tend to wear more formal attire in our Christmas card pictures. This is totally your preference, but I have included a few of our pictures for reference. One of our local photographers, Jamie Howell of Just My Style Photography snapped these shots on her property last year. 

                  

2. Writing Letters of Gratefulness to the local newspaper.

    

    My husband is the Publisher of 3 newspapers. Every year at Christmas children from all three of the counties he serves, send in their letters of gratefulness or their letters to Santa. Every single letter is typed just as it is written and published in the newspapers. We added the letters of gratefulness and he receives more of them than he does the letters to Santa. 

    It is interesting to see what your children are actually grateful for and what they would like to do to bless someone else. 

3. Baking for the Neighbors

    I make a list of every "neighbor" that I have and then I calendar a Saturday, where I do nothing but bake- Cinnamon rolls, Unbaked cookies, fudge, date cookies, etc. I bake all day and then I package up the goodies and deliver them to my neighbors. It is a wonderful way to say, "Merry Christmas!" 

    My children go with me when I am making the deliveries and I get them to get out the car and actually make the drop off of the goodies. It helps them to understand that it is better to give than to receive.

4. Christmas Eve Dinner with my parents. 

    My parents and I began this tradition several years ago. My 2 sisters married 2 brothers and they usually are having Christmas festivities at their in-laws home on Christmas Eve. My mother and I try to make the dinner really fun for my children. Last Christmas Eve, we each made our own pizzas.  The boys enjoyed picking their personal toppings for their pizzas. We finished it off with homemade Christmas candy for dessert.

    Then, right before bed we read the story of Jesus' birth. 

5. Christmas Pajamas

    I love Christmas pajamas. I actually found these at Burke's Outlet. Typically, Old Navy, Children's Place, and Target have matching family pajamas, but I couldn't convince my husband to wear them. Maybe you will have better luck with your spouse! 

 

5. Birthday Party for Jesus

    Christmas morning is spent with just the four of us- my husband and I, and our two boys. I started this tradition last year. I ordered a birthday cake from a local bakery, When It Really Matters By Natalie Sudduth. I explained to her what I wanted and she executed my vision perfectly. (We did not eat the Nativity scene). The stable served as the cake. 

 

We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and enjoyed birthday cake for breakfast. We explained to the boys the significance of Christ's birth and how vital it is that we remember the reason for the season. 

    It is my personal duty as a Christian mother to teach my children about Jesus Christ, His miraculous birth, His death, and His resurrection. At the end of my life, I want my children to know and believe that I did everything in my power to point them to Jesus. 

    I hope these Christmas traditions inspire you to start these new traditions or maybe begin again with older traditions that you might have given up on. I hope you remember the reason for the season and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas.