Since Bennett wasn’t even six months old last Christmas, this is the first year I feel like we can do some fun things during this holiday season that he might actually get a little excited about. He’s still young so he doesn’t really understand what is happening, but I want to start some fun traditions that will feel exciting that he can look back on one day and feel like this time was really special.
For several personal reasons, I don’t want to do the Santa route. I want to make sure that our main focus during this season is on the birth of Christ and to use some fun traditions to remind us how exciting His birth is.
I won’t lie, my sister is super fun and creative and I’m stealing a lot of ideas from her.
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7 Magical Christmas Traditions to Do with Your Kids to Keep the Focus on Christ
1. Go to a bookstore and buy a new book.
This year, David and I brought Bennett to Barnes and Noble to let him pick out two Christmas books, one for each house. (Although this year we snagged two each.) Each year I plan to pull out these books at the same time as our decorations so it will be more exciting that they only come out for a short time during the year.
These are the books I helped Bennett pick out this year.
The Story of Christmas by Patricia A Pingry
The Christmas Blessing by Erin Guendelsberger
2. The Giving Manger
This is a sweet way to help keep the focus on Christ and giving to others this season. The Giving Manger is a small wooden manger you can display in your home and every time one of your children does a kind deed or an act of service, they get to place a piece of straw in the manger. A sweet way to motivate the kids to keep their focus on giving to others.
3. The Jesse Tree
The Jesse Tree is a different take on the advent calendar. Rather than opening up a small cardboard window and getting chocolate or a toy each day, you open up a new ornament that symbolizes a story from Jesus’s life on earth. The meaning of The Jesse Tree comes from Isaiah 11:1
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
Jesus is descended from the line of Jesse and is the Branch that came up from the family tree of Jesse. So to honor that, The Jesse Tree is a fun way to remind your kids of God’s promises and the life of Jesus.
Get creative with what type of tree you use! You can go in your backyard and pick out a small tree to put on a table, use a branch, make a felt tree, or even use your Christmas tree. You can make the ornaments or buy them. Some even come with a devotional and story about what each ornament means for each day.
I was going to do this with Bennett this year but thought it might be a little old for him, so I’ll probably start it in a year or two. (I have not purchased this myself, but this is the one I was going to purchase.)
4. The Shepherd on the Search
This is one that I am starting this year and I’m so excited about it! It’s a friendlier version of the Elf on the Shelf. Instead of having a naughty elf watching over you and doing things he shouldn’t each day, The Shepherd on the Search is a friendly shepherd that is on his way to Bethlehem to see the birth of Christ and he is hiding in a new spot in the house each day. The stuffed shepherd comes with a storybook, and I also snagged the devotional that goes with it for each day. I might also have the shepherd bring Bennett something small each day. It’s a fun way to get the kids excited to find the shepherd and a way to talk about the coming of Christ.
The Shepherd on the Search and Story Book
The Shepherd on the Search Devotional
The Shepherd on the Search Activity Book
5. Decorate Christmas Cookies
I know this isn’t very original, but you could find a way to make it centered around Christ’s birth. You could use only cookie cutters that are a symbol in the story of His birth and talk about the meaning behind each symbol and why it is important during this season.
6. Matching Christmas PJs
I love the idea of helping out a small business and buying matching Christmas pajamas from them. There are a few small businesses that have faith-based themes for their pajamas and they’re really cute! I’m going to have our Shepherd on the Search bring matching Mommy and me pjs for Bennett to find one morning.
I thought these were cute!
7. The Donkey in the Living Room Nativity Set
This is another cute way to tell the story of the birth of Christ. Each day your kids get to unwrap a piece of the nativity set and hear a story about Jesus’s birth from their point of view. This looks so fun and geared more towards younger children, but fun for the whole family as a neat tradition.
The Donkey in the Living Room Nativity Set
Those are my favorites that I’ve found! I hope you enjoy them and it helps you discover new ways to put Christ at the forefront of this season!
