Christmas
Since when did I stop loving Christmas? Oh yeah, when the point of Christmas got lost on me. When the focus became about presents and "Who got more?" and "Which party are we going to?" or "Why weren't we invited to that one?" Blah!
So this year, I really tried to pull back on parties and presents. Way back. And zero-in on the true meaning. Jesus' birthday. So we celebrated each day leading up to Christmas on an advent calendar, reading verses about His birth and singing Christmas carols, and then opening each little door to reveal some little ornament related to Jesus and His precious gift to us. His life. We made a birthday cake on Christmas Eve for Him and then sang Happy Birthday to Him on His day, blowing out His candle and dividing up the cake for dessert after the Christmas meal. We got each of the kids one bigger gift and a couple smaller ones, focusing on the true Gift of Christmas so that the gift-opening wasn't a jaded wreck, like it was last year. We put the emphasis where it needed to be. I hope we can fine-tune it even more next year. Get away from the commercialized monster it's become and pull even closer toward the true reason for the day. All about Him.
So this year, I really tried to pull back on parties and presents. Way back. And zero-in on the true meaning. Jesus' birthday. So we celebrated each day leading up to Christmas on an advent calendar, reading verses about His birth and singing Christmas carols, and then opening each little door to reveal some little ornament related to Jesus and His precious gift to us. His life. We made a birthday cake on Christmas Eve for Him and then sang Happy Birthday to Him on His day, blowing out His candle and dividing up the cake for dessert after the Christmas meal. We got each of the kids one bigger gift and a couple smaller ones, focusing on the true Gift of Christmas so that the gift-opening wasn't a jaded wreck, like it was last year. We put the emphasis where it needed to be. I hope we can fine-tune it even more next year. Get away from the commercialized monster it's become and pull even closer toward the true reason for the day. All about Him.
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