"How Many Days Til Christmas, Mommy?!"

Every mom hears that question again and again! When my kids were little (and bugging me 15 times a day with "how long til Christmas" questions,) we came up with a project that has turned into a tradition.

Cut strips of paper (red and green is great, but white printer paper works), then link them together. If it's 24 days til Christmas, you need 24 strips. Number the strips, then make them into a chain. Each day have one of your kids take one link off.

Without asking, even the youngest kids have an idea of how long it is til the big day.

Here's to a calmer Christmas!

Ideas for Celebrating Christmas

Here are some of our favorite ideas that we have either done in our home with our family and friends or heard of and would love to try! Do you have any to add to the list?

• Act out the Christmas Story, or at least read the Christmas story with the family.
• We buy a family ornament and buy each of the kids an ornament they like.
• Take a picture of kids serving. Make an ornament out of it. Great reminders each year.
• Decorate someone’s house that is not able to do for themselves.
• Secretly send a gift every day until Christmas to a special family (example: one piece of the manger scene at a time until all pieces have been sent).
• Participate in Samaritan’s Purse or Angel Tree projects.
• Present for Jesus – the first thing under the tree is a beautiful box. It is Jesus’ present. After Christmas morning, we sit as a family and write a gift we each want to give Jesus that year. Then we read them together the next Christmas. A gift to Jesus might be to spend more time with Him, be more kind to our siblings, commit to work on a character trait, etc.
• Instead of making Christmas cookies, on Christmas Eve we bake a birthday cake for Jesus. Christmas morning, Daddy reads the Christmas story and then we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and blow out the candles. We explain to the kids that the presents we receive that day are blessings from God, because He has blessed us throughout the year.

Christmas Perfection

Perfection is a mom disease. It has many faces: Clean house perfection, perfectly behaved children, and expecting perfection from our husbands. I usually struggle with this perfection illness most at Christmas. The house should be perfectly decorated, always clean, children dressed in their yuletide best, beautiful smells and dishes should flow from my kitchen, and my husband should joyfully help put up the tree and lights.

Just the thought of it all makes my head spin. I think I’ve mellowed a little in the past few years. Somehow when the kids were small and I had more control over what they ate and wore, the pressure was greater. People expected them to look sweet, right?

Whatever stage you’re in as a mom, before we hit the chaos of December, let’s take some time to put into our schedules the most important things and plan our time according to those priorities:

1. Who do you want to visit this Christmas? Is there an elderly neighbor or family member that you really want your children to know?
2. What do you want to do as a family (that would be enjoyable for all of you)
3. How do you want to present the real meaning of Christmas to your children this year?
4. In what ways can you use the holidays to strengthen relationships with your spouse, children and other family and friends?
5. Is there a family tradition that your kids look forward to each year?

Here are some things to cut that can calm the Christmas Holiday:

1. You don’t have to unpack every box. Contents of unopened boxes will seem new next year!
2. Make one obvious spot in your house the focal point for decorating: maybe a fireplace, your front door, a staircase, or garland and lights around a mirror.
3. Decide on three gifts or fewer for your children – Jesus only received 3 gifts (gold, frankincense and myrrh) so our kids don’t need more than that. When I limit myself, my gifts are usually more thoughtful.
4. Make time to spend with God. Pray for His direction in your days this Christmas. When I can’t make sense of my days, He always has a way of putting them together much better than I dreamed.

If we live by the “Less is More” principal, we’ll find that we have more time to do the things that matter most.

Enjoying this Christmas Season!
Sharon