Monthly Archives: December 2023

A Christmas Dinner to Remember

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is….) Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and www.patlambchristianauthor.com

Train up a child…

A Christmas Dinner to Remember

       I remember when our children were small how I would work so hard in the kitchen to create a “picture book” Christmas dinner.  I admit there were times when I harbored a little resentment because it seemed like the rest of the family was off in the family room or someplace else having fun while I was doing all the work!  Nevertheless, I wanted that perfect Christmas dinner, so I kept going.  By the time it was on the table, I was usually so tired that I hated to think of all the dishes that needed to be cleaned after everyone finished enjoying the food.

         There is a better way!  It was not until the children were grown with children of their own that I learned of it.  It is too bad I didn’t think of it before, but like so many others, I was so steeped in a not-so-good tradition that I didn’t think outside the box.

         When our oldest grandson was in the eighth grade, I received a call from him.  “Nana”, he said, “would you e-mail me your punch recipe?”  Our daughter had planned their Christmas dinner and each person had chosen what he or she could do.  Dylan had chosen to make the punch.  LeAndra had chosen to make the green bean casserole. (LeAndra was in the sixth grade.)  I later received a call from my daughter asking me to make my “really good dressing” for the turkey.  Her dad was asked later to cook the turkey.  Her husband made a pumpkin roll and a pumpkin pie.  I made a couple of other pies.  Our daughter took care of the bread, potatoes, seeing that the table was set properly, and other small chores.  We all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner at her house and no one person was over worked.  After the meal, the children did the dishes.  The afternoon was spent playing board games together.

         There are many benefits to planning family get-togethers this way. Besides the fact that no one person feels martyred, the children are feeling important for the contributions they are making.  They are learning to cook and plan.  Each person involved is learning teamwork.  Self-evaluation is taking place as each decides what he or she can or can’t do.  Family tradition is being formed 

         A key to making this method work is to accept the contributions of each person without negative criticism.  If the green bean casserole isn’t just perfect, who cares?  It is more important to praise the child for effort made than to eat a perfect casserole.  The praise will last far longer than the casserole!  Another point to remember is to fit the task to the capability of the person.  Even a toddler can carry silver to the table or lay napkins on the table.  It is important that every person possible contribute to the dinner.

         As we enjoy our Christmas dinner this year, let us each give thanks for the food and the people, (not the person), who prepared it.  It is so good that we have such a bountiful supply of food available to us and the freedom to enjoy the celebration of our holidays.  Let us remember our troops who are fighting to preserve that freedom.  Most of all, let us be grateful for the greatest gift, Jesus, our Saviour!

Children and Santa

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way, My Thinking Book; Love is…) Books are available on Amazon.com; Barnes & Noble; www.patlambchristianauthor.com

Train up a child

Children and Santa

       For a long time, Santa has been our society’s focal point of Christmas.  He, no doubt, has sold many million dollars worth of toys.  He has produced much laughter.  He has caused the eyes of children to light up.  In reality, he has been the only reason many people observe Christmas.

         What is the current status of Santa?  Our computer-literate generation of children is not easily fooled.  In truth, how many of us grown-ups ever really believed in Santa?  Some children were fooled simply because they believed that their parents would never lie to them.  Others believed because they thought that by believing, they might get more gifts. Many of us could easily see the impossibility of someone flying around the whole world in one night and stopping at each house and going down each chimney.  We felt that it was insulting our intelligence to expect us to believe such a far-out story.  

         Today, we have many fat Santas at malls, department stores, parades, etc.  Do we really think that our children are not intelligent enough to figure out that they are too big to fit in a chimney?  Even a toddler can question why there are so many Santas.  

         A bigger question involves the feelings of a child who truly believes in Santa because he trusts his parents to never lie, and then finds out that the parents did, indeed, lie to him/her.  What happens, then, when the parents tell the child about an invisible Jesus?  For that matter, can the child believe the parents at any time if they deceived them with a Santa?  

         Our children cannot be shielded from Santa.  Our society sees to it that Santa is visible over and over.  It is a situation we must deal with.  We don’t want to rob our children of the fun of Christmas, but, at the same time, we don’t want our children to lose trust in us. A parent cannot avoid making a decision as to how to handle Santa.

         One idea for parents is to tell the children that to pretend there is a Santa is a fun game that is played at Christmastime.  Just as children play pretend in other areas, parents play pretend with the child about Santa. When little girls play pretend “mommy” with dolls, or little boys may play pretend” soldier with army toys, they do not really think they are grown.  It is alright to play pretend as long as children can come back to reality. This stimulates creativity. By letting the children know up front that Santa is a pretend game, future disappointment is eliminated.  It would be a good idea to explain that Santa represents giving and making others happy.  That is something that Jesus wants us to do. 

         Santa will probably be around for a long time to come, but deceiving children should end. We should never lie to children!   

         It is important that we create a pleasing experience for children at Christmas without leaving them with the feeling at a later time that they have been deceived.  Different personalities handle this in different ways.  Ultimately, whatever means is used, children should be left with understamding the real meaning of Christmas.  Children need to understand that Christmas is a celebration of the time that God sent his only son into the world to show His love for us.  

Choosing Gifts for Children

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…) Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and www.patlambchristianauthor.com

Train up a child

Choosing Gifts for Children

            When our children were young, there were some Christmas days that my husband and I would look at each other in bewilderment as we watched our children open their presents, set them aside, and start playing with the cardboard boxes they came in! We had put much time and effort into selecting what we thought was just the right gift, yet they enjoyed the boxes more than what they had contained. It is easy to spend a good deal of money and time and still not come up with the right gift. 

         We all like to see children have fun and be happy on Christmas morning.  It is a temptation to overspend to make sure that the children will not be disappointed.  Sometimes we buy a gift, and then not feeling sure we chose the right gift, we go and buy another gift.  Where does it stop?

         It is great to give a gift that the kids really like and have fun with.  It is even greater if they can have fun and learn something valuable at the same time.

         Money spent on educational toys is money well invested.  It is unfortunate that there are also toys on the market that have little or no learning value and break easily.  Those toys are a waste of money.  Some last only a few minutes.  We, as parents and grandparents, need to use wisdom in deciding whether the toy asked for by a child is really the best purchase.  I have never been excited over Disney creations.  They may be alright but what do they really teach?  I see very little, if any, learning value in them.  Barbie dolls may actually have a negative effect on children.  After all, what kind of goals do we want our children to have?  I was glad when our daughter decided that she did not want to encourage our granddaughter to get excited about Barbie dolls.  Someone gave our granddaughter a Barbie book when she was small.  I was astonished when I read it to her and found what the book was about. Barbie was sad because she wasn’t going to get to model in a show until another model broke her leg, and she got the job after all.  Are we teaching our children to profit by the misfortune of others?

         We need to consider, also, that many toys are made overseas.  We may want to wash or sterilize some before the children play with them.  They may be made in factories that are not sanitary and come on ships a long way.  Someone told me that they worked one Christmas season unpacking toys that came from overseas and a big blue bug flew out of a box.  Everyone was sent out of the room while it was fumigated.  The children who got those toys not only got toys that had had bugs on them, but had also been sprayed with insect killer.  

         Let us keep our emotions under control and carefully think through the selection of gifts for our children.