Making Memories during Christmas

Christmas...it's such a blessed time of year!

Last year during Christmas time, LJ was 2 years old. Suddenly Christmas started to have meaning. She realized that there were gifts to open and special songs to sing. Of course the word Christmas was a little blurred. Every time she saw a picture of Santa Claus, she called him "Christmas". I found this very odd as we don't emphasize Santa.

Sooo...this year I was on a mission. I wanted to share the true meaning of Christmas...the babe in the manger that came that very first Christmas day.

We started by memorizing Matthew 1:21 together as a family. I love this verse because it emphasizes not only was Jesus born, but that He came to save us from our sins. This was the perfect verse to use with a 3 1/2 year old!

On December 1, we started Advent. The word advent means arrival. It's emphasis is on preparing our hearts for when Jesus comes back again. For the Advent season, from 1st-24th, we focused on the story of Jesus. Each day we read a passage and focused on one part of the Christmas story. We used a fantastic curriculum called Truth in the Tinsel.

We loved it! It was perfectly geared for preschoolers. We will be using it in coming years for sure! We did some crafts and sang some Christmas carols together, too. Every Sunday we also had a time where we lit a candle and were reminded of some simple truths: hope, peace, joy, love and Christ.

A larger version I used in Chapel.

I designed and made some felt pieces for our Advent lessons. I am still working on finishing the Advent calendar part. My inspiration came from a stained glass type look. I can't wait to finish the background and use it next year.

Here is the template I designed. Click here if you'd like a copy.

LJ loved learning the true story of Christmas! It was so neat to hear her talk about baby John, Mary and baby Jesus. In fact, after our first lesson about Jesus being the light of the world, she kept running to the door and saying "Jesus is here!" Every noise outside must mean that Jesus is here! It was so precious to my heart! What a reminder that He could come at any time...that we should be awaiting his arrival!

A friend of mine also wrote some lyrics to the ever famous "Jingle Bells". We sang it in Chapel and I couldn't stop singing it! Our family has enjoyed singing every night of Advent. It was such a blessing to hear such truth being sung around the table! Thanks Karin!

Lastly, we started a tradition of giving a family gift Christmas Eve and matching pajamas for the kids. We bought the book Song of the Stars by Sally Llyod-Jones! What a beautiful book about the coming of Jesus as the babe in the manger! It is wonderfully written. All of the animals echo that "it is time" and use the different names of Jesus!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season!