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On our honeymoon more than 28 years ago, we were confronted with the question, “should a Christian celebrate Christmas?” Having read and studied both sides of the controversy, we’ve come to the following conclusion. While we acknowledge that Jesus wasn’t actually born in December, it is the time that the world pseudo-recognizes it. And, although the world’s acknowledgment of the Messiah’s birth is nearly choked out by the commercialism of the season, we as Christians desire to use whatever means we can to redeem the time.

Our thoughts are that the best way to accomplish this is to celebrate in a distinctive way, one that helps our children to focus on this wondrous act of God. But how? Here are a couple ideas that have worked in our family.

Reenact the Christmas story. Every year from toddlerhood onward, our children have participated in this amazing account in one form or another. When they were just toddlers they memorized the verses and used the Betty Lukens felts to tell the story to indulgent relatives. As the children got a bit older we began to have them act out the account, originally with our family only. Later we roped in families from our Bible study. Now it has evolved into a multi-church event performed at a local nursing home. Since 1994 we have videotaped these presentations.

Infuse your celebration with symbolic reminders of whose birthday it is. For younger children a natural way is through meals: large shredded wheat cereal can depict the hay in the manger; pocket bread, mozzarella cheese, dates and figs for lunch could replicate a shepherd’s meal, with, of course, shepherd’s crooks (candy canes) for dessert. Last year, we made angel cookies to take with us to the local nursing home for the residents to snack on while we performed our nativity pageant. Directions are available here.

Finally, consider an alternative to the Christmas stocking. This will be hard for those of you with handmade stockings of emotional value, but consider what a stocking represents. It is an obvious link to the most corrupting influence in this holy season, Santa. While the ancient story of a generous old man may have some truth to it, today’s lies of Santa benefit no one except Satan. Only God knows when you’re sleeping, knows when you are awake, and knows your full sin status. As a mother, it would be tempting to wag my finger and threaten about Santa’s gifts. It is far better to point my child to God and to speak of His daily gifts to us, to say nothing of the gift of eternity that Santa could never deliver. F

These are just a few ideas that have worked well for our family through the years. What is critical when planning your family’s holiday is to plan in such a way that will leave no doubts in the minds of your children about what is most important to you on that day.

May God be glorified as you make those decisions.

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A few years ago our teenagers were engaged in the horse breeding business, Haflinger horses to be specific. With traditional red chestnut bodies and flowing snow-white manes and tails, these are horses that elicit positive comments from just about anyone. But just about anyone was not good enough. To continue in the breeding business, our teens knew they needed the endorsement of a judge, one trained specifically to assess haflinger horses.

Likewise, in the home school realm, most states will not accept a parent’s assessment that a child is getting an adequate education. Instead they require us to prove, in most cases via a standardized test, that our children are in fact learning what is required. And honestly, if your child scores high on the standardized tests, doesn’t it mean more to you than that grandma thinks he is a smart little whip?

We naturally crave approval from others, but we treasure the good opinion of an expert. For the next two months, most of us will have multiple occasions to gather with friends and family. We can use those opportunities to seek the approval of those we love, or we can remember that only God’s approval will satisfy. How we dress, what activities we engage in, what conversations we initiate, will largely hinge on whose praise we are seeking.

It is a constant, moment-by-moment struggle to want God’s glory and not our own. But in eternity, when He pronounces “Well done good and faithful servant,” it will be worth the labor.

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