Only 59 More Shopping Days Until Christmas

Okay so I am not trying to be like Hobby Lobby and start advertising Christmas before Halloween is over or anything, buuuuttt I felt this necessary. Advent is quickly approaching and it seems to sneak up on me every year. It starts the Sunday after Thanksgiving so we are still wrapped up in the fun of turkey, football, trying to save five bucks on a toaster and putting up Christmas decorations that we forget to celebrate the first Sunday of Advent.

What is Advent? Is it a time to shower our homes with all things Christmassy? Is it a time for Christmas parties and Christmas wish lists? The way I see it Advent is similar to Lent. It is a time to prepare our hearts for one of the most amazing miracles that has ever taken place in the history of the world. God's one and only son was born in a barn to a virgin who said yes. It is truly miraculous. How do we celebrate this beautiful gift? With presents, excess, presents and more excess. We forget to step back and look at what God gave us, love in its simplest form. Through a newborn baby surrounded by animals in a manger.

Now I may not make a ton of friends with this post but I feel like I should be true to who I am. I love the Christmas season as much as the next guy, but I will NOT allow my kids to believe that Christmas is all about presents, Santa and being good because the little Elf is watching. I want my kids to love and cherish Christmas for the real reason. We don't need to candy coat it with presents and elves, Christmas is a miracle and children LOVE to hear the story of baby Jesus. Have you ever seen how enamored children  become when they see baby Jesus in the manger? They love him! When my 23 year old cousin Tabitha was 4 she told my mom "Aunt Kathy I need to borrow your Mary and your Baby Jesus I will bring them back on Tuesday". She loved to carry around those little figurines.Why did she love them so? Because God put a place in her heart that was only made for Him. It wasn't made for Santa or presents it was made to yearn for Him. In her purest little form she loved Jesus for who He was.

Does this mean I don't celebrate the secular Christmas in my house? No, I would never give up the secret to my kids, but I don't encourage it much. I figure they get enough information about Santa at school and on TV. At home we focus on the true meaning of Christmas.  If my kids are going to behave well because of someone they can't see I want that someone to be God. I want them to make choices because it is the right thing to do not because the Elf might go tell Santa. Children have a difficult time discerning what is real from imaginary. I worry that when find out the truth about Santa they might believe we have been tricking them about God all along too. Wouldn't that be sad?

So what can we do to encourage them this Christmas Season? We can take full advantage of Advent as a time to prepare our hearts and homes for the coming of Jesus.  Last year we made a Jesse Tree. A Jesse Tree is a type of Advent calendar but instead of getting a candy each day the family reads a bible story together and makes an ornament for the tree. The stories begin with Adam and Eve and go through the entire bible until Jesus is born. It is a fabulous way to teach your children the stories of Salvation History. It might also be a good way to learn the stories yourself as well. :)
 Last year during Advent my two year old could tell you all about Adam and Eve and how they did not obey God, the story of Jacob and his jealous brothers, even Abraham and Isaac. The girls loved working on the Jesse Tree Ornaments each day.  You can buy Jesse Tree ornaments on Etsy and other sites that are cutesy, but I liked that it became a family craft together.   It gave us something to do together each evening. I simply printed the ornaments, one set for each child. Then we decorated them in different ways each day: coloring, painting, stickers and hung them on the tree. Here is a link to a free Jesse Tree printable, it also explains the tradition in more detail.
Jesse Tree. I pray that you and your family will enjoy growing closer to God through His beautiful word this Advent season.