Unwrapping the Christmas Story

Angie reading to the boys 3 years ago.

You guys know I'm obsessed with the 25-Wrapped-Christmas-Books tradition that I mentioned in my last post. Taking turns reading pages in books that remind us that God loves us so much that He took on human flesh, is a powerful way to spend chilly winter evenings. Some people have asked for recommendations on where to start. So, here's a quick How-To.

First, skim through all your children's books and pull out anything that looks Christmasy. Count those up and look to your local library for the remainder of the 25 books you'll need. It's also fun to add a new book or two to your collection each season though a bookstore or gift from a friend or family member. We're up to over 20 Christmas books in our house now, but we probably only had a dozen or so when we started.

Pro Tip: If you think you might want to do this again in future years, find a separate place on the bookshelf to keep all your Christmas books during the year. It will make finding them again super simple next November when you want to wrap them up, AND it will take them out of the normal reading rotation so they'll be special each December. 

Then you just wrap them, number them, and stack them. I number them so that I can mix up the kinds of books: short vs. long, funny vs. serious, and I save some of my favorites for Christmas and Christmas Eve. Pro Tip #2: if you check some out from the library, put them in the first couple weeks, so you can return them before they're due.

Here are 10 suggestions of titles to look for wherever you buy or checkout books to start off your collection:

A precious and comical depiction of bedtime that any mother can relate to, well, except maybe the manger part... 

Beautiful illustrations and the straightforward birth of Jesus story from Luke 2. 

I always save this one for our very last book. I really don't know why I love it so much, maybe the veterinarian in me can't resist all the animals, but this is a Little Golden Book classic and it's my favorite every year!

We got this one used, and the noise button was broken, a Christmas miracle!

You really can't go wrong with any Usborne book.

It's short, it rhymes, and it reminds us of the important lesson that not all gifts are found under the tree.

h

This one is hilarious and brilliantly touching. Highly recommend! 

We think of these legends pretty much every time we enjoy candy canes now. 

A sweet simple story about a polar bear family and the Northern Lights.

A brand new one by an author we cannot get enough of, Matthew Paul Turner. So excited for his profound poetry set to Gillian Gamble's gorgeous artwork!

I'd love to hear your favorites too. We're always looking to grow our stash of great accounts of the birth of Jesus!

"You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” -Luke 2:12

Putting Christ in Christmas for Kids

Kids adore Christmas. What's not to love: presents, shiny breakable decorations, sugar to rival Halloween, extra family togetherness, presents, possibly snow, Santa, bright lights, surprises, did I mention presents? 

It doesn't take much effort to make Christmas time special for little ones, the world has filled the season with magic. But it does take some intentionality to make sure our kids don't get carried away in all the festivities (read: presents) and miss the true meaning of Christ's birth.

Here are 10 activities our family loves that help us focus on the true reason for this miraculous season.

1. 25 Wrapped Christmas Books

I'm starting with one of my favorites in case you don't make it all the way through this list. 3 years ago, I saw someone else post a stack of wrapped Christmas books on November 30th, and I was mesmerized. Now, every year, I wrap a collection of Christmas books (both ours and the library's) and number them in order, one for each day of December until Christmas Day. If you missed it, our kids love presents, so each night in December, they unwrap a book and we take turns reading pages together as a family. It's not flawless, there are distractions, even tantrums, but for the most part it's a cozy family time where we repeat the story of Jesus birth over and over. Here are some ideas for how to start this one if you'd like to join us.

2. The Fisher Price Little People Nativity

Like most of you, we probably have a dozen nativities. They're beautiful and meaningful, and oh so fragile. The Little People Nativity Set is amazing. It's wonderfully chewable, and not the least bit breakable or chokeable. Perfect for letting the tiny ones, and older kids, dive right into the action of the manger scene. 

3. A Star From Afar

Another sturdy and safe nativity set we love is the Star From Afar game. An alternative to Elf on a Shelf, this is a great way to talk about how the Wise Men followed the star to find Jesus. Each day parents hide the star, once the kids find the Star, they move the 3 Wise Men to where the Star was hidden, repeating until Christmas Eve. The night before Christmas, you place the Star on top of the the nativity stable and on Christmas morning the three Wise Men reach the nativity scene and find their king, baby Jesus! 

Disclaimer: that's how you're supposed to play, but we usually read through the accompanying book and just take turns hiding and seeking the star.

4. Veggietales St. Nicholas

There are about one million Christmas movies out there, but by far my favorite for explaining where the idea of Santa Clause came from and how he's related to Jesus in a child-appropriate way is St. Nicholas, a Story of Joyful Giving by Veggietales. We watch it over and over all Christmas season and the highest praise I can give any kids' movie is that I don't get the least bit tired of it. 

5. Graham Cracker Nativity

You can pretty much make anything out of graham crackers if you add frosting and candy, so why not get creative and try your hand at a gingerbread manger scene?

6. Birthday Cake for Jesus

A super simple activity to remind everyone what you're celebrating on Christmas Day is to make a birthday cake for Jesus. Because who doesn't need more calories this time of year?!

7. Caroling in a Local Nursing Home

Obviously with COVID this won't fly, but making Christmas cards for residents in a local nursing home or patients in a hospital could be a great alternative way to spread some Christmas cheer this December while we wait for times of being able to visit and sing hymns and Christmas classics to the elderly to be safe and welcomed again. 

8. To Give is Better Than to Receive

This isn't an easy lesson to teach little ones, but that doesn't mean it's not worth trying. Shopping together with your kids for folks who might not have as many presents under the tree as them is a great way to help them learn the joy of giving. Places you can often find wish lists to shop for locals are nursing homes, foster care organizations, Angel Tree Prison Fellowship, and your church. Letting the kids join you to buy clothes, toys, or Christmas meals, doesn't makes the shopping more peaceful, but it could lead to valuable conversations about serving others and create memories of giving together as a family.

9. The Greatest Gift

One of my favorite authors Ann Voskamp has 2 gorgeous versions of interactive family advent books complete with ornaments, activities, and printouts: Unwrapping the Greatest Gift - Family Christmas Celebration and The Wonder of the Greatest Gift - An Interactive Family Celebration of Advent

10. Neighborhood Christmas Open House

This one isn't explicitly about the story of Jesus' birth, but loving our neighbors is much of what Jesus came to earth to teach us, so I think I can squeeze it onto this list. Last year, we decided to invite everyone from our street, and some others from around the neighborhood, over for a Christmas celebration. Everybody brought something to share and every single person met someone new, including us! Possibly the most introverted person there declared it would be a new annual event on our street. COVID is trying to destroy this fledgling tradition before it even picks up any steam, but I'm thinking maybe we'll bundle up and have a fire pit in the middle of the cul-de-sac with socially distanced s'mores and hot cocoa...

However we do it, I'm sure we won't regret sharing the story of God's most indescribable gift of His Son, with our own sons and daughters each year.

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" - 2 Corinthians 9:15