It's three days before Thanksgiving and it's all I can do to keep myself from putting up my Christmas decorations. In some circles it is social suicide to do so before Turkey day. Maybe it's the snow, but I feel the Christmas spirit comin' on strong!
I love the season, the anticipation, the thoughts towards others, and the general mood that seems to flow through the air. I especially love the united focus on our Savior and His example. I try to keep that focus during the holiday season, but sometimes it can be difficult with kids. A new thing I did last year was the Giving Tree. It was a small tree decorated with only white lights. Every time someone in the family did an act of service or missionary work, they would put a candy cane on the tree. By Christmas day, our tree was filled with candy canes. It was a fun way to help keep the focus on giving to others, and not just receiving gifts.
So, I want to know from you, during the hustle and bustle of Christmas, what do you do to retain the "reason for the season?"
Do you have a special family tradition or memory you could share? Or have you heard about something that someone else has done that you are going to try this year?
You are so right. I think it is the snow this year that puts us in the spirit early. I totally feel the magic in the air around this time. I think it is that everybody seems to be a little more giving, a little more understanding, a little more happy in general. Now if we could just figure out how to cultivate that "magic" and spirit of Christmas the rest of the year. If it makes you feel better, Aaron totally got all of my Christmas decorations down last night for me :) Christmas music, snow outside, what more could I ask for. In my circle, it is not suicide to put up your Christmas stuff. In fact, two of my very closest friends are already decorated!
ReplyDeleteYou know what's funny...I don't even really have a "circle", but doesn't it make me sound so important!
ReplyDeleteMe and my family keep the spirit of Christmas by loving each other and giving through out the year, one of the things we don't do is allow society to push Christmas out of the way..I don't like it when December 25 is over and the next week you go to the stores and they are already pushing another holiday...to me it's wrong...it's like they don't even thank God for the season. That is why me and my family don't push the season we embrace it and it cares us right into the new year.
ReplyDeleteWe have a wrapped gift under the tree every year and on Christmas Eve, we unwrap it to find the baby Jesus from a nativity scene in it, we then all write one thing that we want to do as a gift to Him that upcoming year on slips of paper. We wrap the gift, then the next year when we unwrap it we can take our gifts out and see how we did.
ReplyDeleteWe do a couple of things:
ReplyDeleteThe first one is; we have an advent calendar that we use to count down the days until Christmas. The person who's day it is to open the box, gets out the object hangs it on the calendar, chooses a Christmas song to sing, and we read a scripture for the count down to Christmas. (We usually put a little candy in the box for the individual to share with everyone)
The other thing we have done since I was little is we do the 12 days of Christmas for a family. This is our favorite! As a family we ask the Bishop who in the ward needs help that year. Then we as a family pray about what we can do for them. Every night starting on the 12th we wrap a gift and secretly put it on the doorstep for them to find in the morning. In all the years of doing this we have only been caught twice!