Monthly Archives: December 2017

A Memorable Christmas Eve

Christmas gifts, parenting, Raising kids, , ,

Train up a child…

 

A Memorable Christmas Eve

 

In many homes Christmas Eve finds family members frantically scampering around wrapping last minute gifts, cooking something scrumptious for Christmas dinner the next day, or even arguing about things that are not going according to the “picture-perfect” home. Some have the custom of opening one gift or all gifts on Christmas Eve. Where are the thoughts about the one whose birthday we are celebrating??

What good things will children remember about Christmas Eve? They will remember traditions, smells, lights, gentle words spoken, or things that happen out of the ordinary.

Wise parents will plan some time on Christmas Eve for traditions. Many older folks will remember going to the local church or school for a Christmas program on Christmas Eve and watching children sing songs or read poems about Jesus and then receiving gifts and a big bag of candy with an orange and apple in it. Now, many churches have a candlelight communion or midnight mass on Christmas Eve. It is a wonderful tradition to spend this time to remember the reason for the season.

Quite often parents are so exhausted with last minute details that they can’t wait to get to bed. The children usually do not feel this way and are wide awake in anticipation of Santa. As long as the children know that Santa is a game we play at Christmas, this is not a bad thing. We should never lie to our children, but simply pretend with them. When our children and grandchildren were still in the Santa stage, someone would sneak outside and ring some sleigh bells beneath their bedroom windows. At our house, Santa always liked raisin pie. On one occasion our grandson grabbed a whole raisin pie and went running outside to give it to Santa. We still laugh about that time. That was an “out of the ordinary” time to remember.

Lights are so nice at Christmas, the time when days are the shortest. Children will remember lots of lights. Some children like to bring sleeping bags and sleep around the Christmas tree, so they can enjoy going to sleep with the pretty lights. They will try to see who can stay awake the longest to see their dad or mom sneak in and fill the stockings. Milk and cookies (at our house it was milk and raisin pie) will be out for Santa. One “out of the ordinary” thing we remember was the year our children pretended to be asleep and waited for their stockings to be filled; then, they put up stockings for mom and dad and filled them! We were certainly surprised the next morning to find that we had stockings as well as the children. What a nice memory!

Each family creates its own traditions and memories on Christmas Eve. In keeping with the spirit of the season, the evening should always be pleasant and include a time for remembering the birth of Christ that made it all possible. Reading the Christmas story from the second chapter of the book of Luke in the Bible should be read on Christmas Eve or Christmas day. The overall goal is to leave pleasant memories with the children with the teaching of the true meaning of Christmas.

A Christmas Quiz for Children

parenting, Raising kids

 

 

Train up a child…

 

A Christmas Quiz for Children

 

Recently it has come to light that many college students do not know the basic facts about Christmas. We need to make sure that our children know certain things, so they can enjoy the season confidently in the reason for its celebration.

Following are some basic questions that one could ask children to determine their knowledge of this important holiday.

  • Why do we celebrate Christmas? (It is the date set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus.)
  • Who is Jesus? (The son of God) (John 3:16 is appropriate to explain this question.)
  • Where was Jesus born? (In Bethlehem of Judea)
  • Who was Jesus’ mother? (The virgin Mary)
  • Who was Jesus’ earthly father? (Joseph)
  • Why was Jesus born in a stable? (There was no room in the inn.)
  • Why was there no room in the inn? (The government had ordered everyone to go to be counted in a census for tax purposes.)
  • What is a manger? (It is a feeding trough for animals.)
  • What were shepherds? (The people who watched the sheep)
  • What did the angel say when it appeared to the shepherds? (Fear not, for I bring you good news.)
  • What did the shepherds do after the angel left them? (They went to Bethlehem to see Jesus.)
  • When did the wise men go to see Jesus? (About two years after he was born)
  • How did the wise men find Jesus? (They followed a star.)
  • What did the wise men bring Jesus? (Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Frankincense and myrrh are saps from two different trees. When burned, they give off a nice fragrance. Myrrh was used for embalming the dead.)
  • From where did the wise men come? (The Bible only tells us that they came from the east.)
  • Who did the wise men stop and see on the way to see Jesus? (King Herod)
  • What did Herod tell the wise men to do when they found Jesus? (To come back and tell him where they found Jesus)
  • Did the wise men go back to Herod? (No)
  • Where did Joseph take Mary and Jesus after the wise men came to visit? (Egypt. He was warned in a dream to take them away.)

 

These are basic facts about Christmas that all children should know. Hopefully,  if they are asked about these things, they will know the correct answers. Further, knowing the facts will help them understand the real meaning of Christmas.

Children Need Help with Gift-giving

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Train up a child…

 

Children need help with Gift Giving

 

There is so very much emphasis on the excitement of children at Christmastime and the need to make sure that children get the things they desire to make them happy. In fact, some have even said that Christmas is for children. Truth is, Christmas is a time to recognize the birth of our Savior and it is for everyone, but we can’t help but want to make sure that children enjoy this very special time.

It is more important for children to experience the joy of giving than it is for them to enjoy the experience of getting, and the giving can make them happier than the receiving. Some may think that this is not possible, but if we look closely with our mind’s eye, we can see that we quite often remember the gifts we gave more than the gifts we received. It is the same with children. Children, however, need help in their planning and giving. This requires time, patience, and resourcefulness.

We need to take the time to help children make a gift list. This list should include parents, teachers, grandparents, and other special people in their lives. It takes time, also, to help the children discover resources they have available such as money or materials for making gifts. After this is done, we help the children make or purchase gifts.

It is not easy to be patient with children when we, ourselves, are so busy trying to prepare gifts for others. Time spent making a plaster of Paris handprint, a jar of brownie mix, or a jar of soup mix takes a little time that we may not feel we have available. Making such gifts, however, provides a time of bonding and learning and is well worth the time involved. Many ideas are available on the Internet, and just looking up those ideas is a learning experience for children.

Children learn to be resourceful and at the same time are learning to manage their money as they work to provide gifts for the ones they love. It is difficult for children to find anything to purchase with the limited funds they have. It is nice when adults help out with this problem. Some places provide a “Holiday Store” for children. The children go to the store with an adult and a list of names for whom they will purchase gifts. The list also indicates the amount of money the child has to spend. Items that have been provided by adults are available in the store, and they are priced very low so that the children can afford them. Some items are only twenty-five cents. Those on hand who volunteer to work in the store help the children count and figure how much money each thing costs and how much change they will get in return.

Who among us does not have some treasure from the past given to us by our children? This year I hung, once again, a wreath made of plastic bags by our youngest son when he was in elementary school. It provides another year of remembering his love for me. I still have ornaments made of play-doh that go on the Christmas tree. They are still feeling the joy of giving as they see their mom still being happy at having received those gifts.   Christmas truly is a time to remember that it is better to give than to receive.