First Christmas

Christmas is my favorite time of year. Same for Hubby. We love the lights, the tree, the family time, the music, the food and most importantly the reason we're celebrating - remembering Jesus birth.

CB learning about baby Jesus with his (chewable) nativity set.

It's added a whole new layer of joy to our lives to experience Christmas through the eyes of CB this year. Not only do we understand the impact a child can make on one's life, we take to heart the impact Jesus made when he came to earth. 

Though CB is still pretty young to understand, it definitely got Hubby and I talking about what focus we want our family to have during Christmas. We want our kids to truly understand the importance and meaning behind Christmas - not just the retail/marketing version.

Watching CB open up a gift and see the excitement he got out of something so simple like the wrapping paper - made me realize that it's not about the material stuff. It never should be. And thankfully, Hubby and my parents did a great job in raising us with that mindset. But how to make sure that translates to our kids? Keep it simple and keep the focus on the true meaning of Christmas - not the material aspect.

CB unwrapping one of his first presents.

 So what do we do for Christmas traditions at our house?

• Limit gift costs and giving to a reasonable amount
• Take time to give a "birthday" gift to Jesus - by supporting Christian organizations with year-end financial gifts. And place a tangible gift box or envelope under the tree labeled for "Jesus", to represent his birthday gift
• Read the true Christmas story (Luke 2) before even lifting a finger to open presents

Some other fun things we have for traditions include:

• Listening to Christmas music while setting up Christmas decorations 
• Driving around town to see Christmas lights on houses
• Eating pizza on Christmas Eve and potato cheese soup on Christmas day
• Celebrating Christmas (Bible reading and presents) on Christmas Eve
• Spending Christmas day as a family, relaxing

Hubby and CB watching cartoons on Christmas morning.

What do you do for traditions? Obviously with only one kid, and one on the way, we're still fine tuning our traditions. But no matter what, we want to make sure the message of Christmas comes out loud and clear:

"A Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." - Luke 2:11