A few weeks ago I was speaking with a little kid, and I asked him what he wanted for Christmas. He immediately lit up, like all kids, and launched into a spirited discussion. What he began to share with me, however, was unexpected and proved to be a moment of enlightenment for me. He started listing for me all the gifts he had received the past two Christmases and what he was looking for this year. One could hardly miss that his list was comprised of high dollar items, but that was not what surprised me. After finishing his list, he did not say a word about what he liked about these “toys” or how he had enjoyed having them. His final remark was “We always get expensive Christmas gifts!” It was hard for me to hide from everyone around that I was choking!
This blog is not an indictment on that boy or his parents. In fact, I highly respect his parents for the structures they have put in place to raise their kids in the admonition of the Lord. It was simply a wake up call for me because he said “it,” but we have all let some of “it” into our lives and into our Christmas! What is “it”? Christmas is more about us than Jesus!
Christmas is one time in the year that we can have a good excuse to spend a lot of money on ourselves! Christmas is the occasion we wait for so that we can splurge and indulge and not feel guilty about it. (Sometimes - we can’t even wait till Christmas! We have to have those things so bad, we get Christmas “early”!)
We may sing a carol or read the Christmas story in order to prove that we are not as selfish, materialistic, and out-of-focus as the rest of the world, but let’s be honest, the first thing on our minds Christmas morning is not the Babe in the manger but that box with My name on it under the tree!
Tragically, our children follow quickly in our footsteps!
After reflecting on these things for some time, this is what I have planned for my family as an attempt to turn our focus back to Christ this Christmas and not so much on the toys, trinkets, gadgets, and clothes.
Before Christmas:
We didn’t buy a lot of gifts for our children. (and it’s not just because Daddy doesn’t have a job right now, although honestly that helped me make the transition!) They each have a stocking, a gift from Mom and Dad, and a gift from each other. That’s it. Some might think we are unfair, unloving, or even slighting our children. Nothing could be further from the truth. Christmas is about the One God gave to us not what all we can get! The truth is by the time we finish visiting family, they will have more toys than they know what to do with. Why should we be just another toy manufacturer? We want to be their teachers. We want them to remember the True Meaning long after they have forgotten, broken, and traded in their toys!
Special Movie Night. Friday nights are designated as “movie night” for me and my children. This Friday happens to be Christmas Eve. It’s a great opportunity to teach. So after the popcorn and cookies are made, we will snuggle on the couch and watch “The Nativity Story.”
Christmas Morning:
Yes, we are going to sing Christmas carols and read the Christmas story from the Bible!
I’m going to take this opportunity to share with the kids about gifts, about grace. I want to communicate to them that really no one in our family should get a gift on Christmas! I know what you’re thinking right now . . . “What?!? How dare you?!? Are you sick??!!” However, if we want to be totally honest, none of us has been entirely nice all year. We have all been naughty at times. We have all sinned. We do not deserve anything at all for Christmas! (I know you don’t like to hear that, but it is true!) However, that is what makes grace amazing! I want to share with my kids that they are receiving gifts this year not because they have been good all year but because Mom and Dad want them to know we love them! Then, I can take them straight to the Gospel and speak about how by grace God gave us His Son, the first and best Christmas gift, because He loved us even while we were sinners!
Christmas Day:
For lunch, we are going to our church, Mountain Community Fellowship, Paintsville, KY, and help deliver Christmas dinners to the shut-in and less fortunate. I am looking forward to this more than anything this Christmas! I hope to instill in my kids that serving others is a greater joy than ripping open presents!
We plan to close the day enjoying a meal with friends. Again, fellowship and community are greater gifts than toys!
These are just a few things we are doing this year to turn Christmas back to Christ! It’s really not hard, expensive, or frustrating to do (as buying a ton of gifts sometimes gets). We could do better and more. I hope that one day Christmas becomes, for our family, totally about others and not at all about us. But we (or really, I) have a ways to go yet to reach that goal!
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