Christmas is Jesus's Birthday, and that is the most important thing, and that IS what it's about. Jesus being born to save us from our sins by dying on the cross. Big sister slams the back of her body against the wall, sticks her arms straight out beside her and says "look mom, I'm Jesus when the mean people killed him!" , and she closes her eyes and sticks out her tongue. *crickets in the background* Seriously, only my kids!
So anyway- we are having an actual birthday party for Jesus, and I'm hoping it will stick and become a tradition. Cake, candles (with his age, 2044!), balloons, prayers, the story of his birth, and church. Not to mention all of the stories, songs, nativity toys and talks with our girl's about the real reason for the season.
Gifts? Yes we buy gifts. Yes we budget an amount for our children. Do we go into debt for Christmas gifts? No. Do we not pay ________ to buy a Christmas gift? No. Do we dig into savings to buy Christmas gifts? No. Do we open a new credit account for Christmas? No way, Jose. Do we spend so much on Christmas gifts that we can't afford gas to get across town(or anywhere)? No. Do we stress over gifts? No. Will our children ever be getting Ipads, Iphones, LCD tv's, cars or whatever the newest insanely priced overrated fads for Christmas? No. We buy what we can comfortably afford. Big or small. Expensive or not. Do we enjoy getting gifts? Yes! Do we enjoy shopping and wrapping and everything that goes along with it? Yes!
Do we give? YES! The second most important thing we make sure we instill in our children is giving to those in need, especially around the holidays. We start with Bernardo, our compassion sponsored child and his family. We take a couple names off of angel trees, and we buy for families we personally know who are struggling that year- and we let the holy spirit guide us if we are to give to other ministries/families. Our girls really enjoy helping pick out/wrap other people's gifts, and we all look forward to the letter we get in mid spring from Bernardo stating what he was able to buy with our gift. Last year he was able to buy a dresser, three pairs of pants, and new shoes!
We love Christmas lights. We love mangers. We love caroling. Baking. Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, the old Santa Claus movie with the winter warlock. We love Santa (gasp!).
Yes- Santa. The orphan who dedicated his life to giving & helping those in need. Yes- we know that Santa & Jesus's birth are not related. But whether we like it or not- Santa is all around us this time of year, so we do tell our children what a great man Santa was. We do let them sit on Santa's lap. We do let them believe. We do not make Christmas about Santa. As a metter of fact- I think Santa's name isn't even mentioned in our home on Christmas day. Not because I don't let it be- we just don't sit around talking about Santa- we are too busy with the birthday party. I love a blog I read the other night while googling about the negative and sometimes "holier than thou" attitudes many Christians have towards Santa:
"I never grew up feeling like Santa & Jesus's birth were mutually exclusive.
I don't feel like Santa means commercialism or consumerism.
Yes, manufacturers, toy stores, etc have manipulated the Santa image to sell products.
I do believe parents have used Santa to manipulate (read here scare) their children into good behavior.
I think sometimes Children may have a wrong view of Santa--like he'll bring them whatever they want. But that's not their fault. They have not been taught who Santa is. "
I could not have put it better myself. If Santa takes away from Christmas in your home, or if Christmas is about Santa to your family, or if you can't tell your children anything about Santa in fear of it taking away from Jesus Christ...that is your/our fault. Christmas is what WE make it. Christmas for my children is going to be about what I teach them about, what they see their Dad and I acting out. What example we set for them and what we instill in them from this Christmas out. Santa will only take away from the birth of Jesus if you allow it too, there is a happy medium. There is a balance. (please note: this is my opinion, and I do not care/judge if you dont do santa!)
What is Christmas like in your home?
1 comments:
I am a new blog follower (thanks for following me...which is how I found you). :) I totally agree and we are doing a birthday cake for Jesus too.
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