Sharing The Christmas Story
Finding the meaning about December 25th takes intentional thought and planning amid the culture of giving and receiving. It requires that we, as parents, decide what our December month will look like, or the culture will decide for us.
Our family wants to keep the birth of Christ as central as we can throughout this month for our daughter, who is 2 1/2. Some of the ways that we are striving for this are through a nightly Advent devotional, a Fisher Price Little People manger scene that she can play with, singing Christmas carols, reading about Christmas in the manger, and sharing the story of the birth of Jesus with her.
When I look at the above list, they all seem pretty easy and safe...until that last one. Share the story of the birth of Jesus with her. Exactly what should that include? When do I do this? How often? Asking yourself these questions may help to ensure you include the basic truths that are relevant to the story, and that you feel comfortable with what you're sharing.
For those of you who are interested, I'm providing some points of application to consider when sharing this story with little ones. First, determine a time in the day that would be most beneficial for your children to hear and listen to you sharing the story about the birth of baby Jesus. Start early in December, and share the story over and over throughout the month. Children learn through repetition.
Second, plan the content you wish to include. Use words your child can understand, and keep it appropriate for their age level.
Third, incorporate basic truths throughout your storytelling that you want your child to understand and believe.
Fourth, repeat the story often to your child. Soon, your son or daughter will be telling the Christmas story to you after hearing it so much!
A fun craft idea for you and your children may be to create a Christmas story book together. You can include parts of the story on each page, and your kids could illustrate it. This would be a great keepsake and fun tradition for years to come!
What are you doing this holiday season to keep your family focused on the meaning of Christmas?