A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 24-learn a carol

"Like the wise men from the east, we too must travel a great distancein order to come unto Christ, the Light of the World. No matter--He waits for us "with open arms" (Mormon 6:17). May Christmas cause us deeper contemplation and deeper determination to complete that journey, the journey of journeys--in order to experience that resplendent rendezvous."
~Elder Neal A Maxwell, "The Christmas Scene," 12

Activity: Learn a Christmas hymn (or primary song) to sing as a family. My favorite Christmas primary Christmas song is "Stars Were Gleaming."

Scripture: On the eve of Christ’s birth, the prophet Nephi prayed in behalf of his people who were about to be slain by the wicked. Read the Lord’s response and the fulfillment of the prophet Samuel’s prophecy in 3 Nephi 1:9-22.

Luke 2:7, Matt 2:1-2

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 23-sandaled feet

"If we are to have the very best Christmas ever, we must listen for the sound of sandaled feet. We must reach out for the Carpenter’s hand. With every step we take in His footsteps, we abandon a doubt and gain a truth.

It was said of Jesus of Nazareth that He “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”7 Do we have the determination to do likewise? One line of holy writ contains a tribute to our Lord and Savior, of whom it was said, He “went about doing good … ; for God was with him.”8

My prayer is that at this Christmas season and all the Christmastimes to come, we may follow in His footsteps. Then each Christmas will be the best Christmas ever."

LDS First Presidency Christmas Message, December 2008, found here.

Activity:

Scripture: Read Matthew’s account of the Savior’s birth in Matthew 1:18-25; Matthew 2.

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 21-forgive someone

Activity: Forgive and make amends with someone. Talk with your children about someone who might have recently hurt them--in ways small or large--and help them think how to make amends. Better yet, help them think of someone they have hurt, and how they can make amends.

"[The Savior] came into the world to be the Lamb of God, to pay the price of all of the sins of His Father’s children in mortality so that all might be forgiven. In the Christmas season we feel a greater desire to remember and ponder the Savior’s words. He warned us that we cannot be forgiven unless we forgive others (see Matthew 6:14–15). That is often hard to do, so you will need to pray for help. This help to forgive will come most often when you are allowed to see that you have given as much or more hurt than you have received.

When you act on that answer to your prayer for strength to forgive, you will feel a burden lifted from your shoulders. Carrying a grudge is a heavy burden. As you forgive, you will feel the joy of being forgiven. At this Christmastime you can give and receive the gift of forgiveness. The feeling of happiness that will come will be a glimpse of what we can feel at home together in the eternal home for which we yearn."

~From "Home for Christmas," by President Henry B. Eyring, Ensign, Dec. 2009, 2–7

Scripture: Read Luke’s account of the Savior’s birth and childhood in Luke 2

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 20-testimonies

Activity: Watch the above video clip and take turns bearing your testimonies to one another.

Scripture: Read about Mary’s and Elisabeth’s experiences before Christ’s birth in Luke 1.

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 19-act of kindness

Activity: Sit down together with The Friend and do the "I Spy" activity, "In the Giving Spirit," page 20-21. (online version found HERE.) People in the picture are spreading Christmas cheer in many different ways. Can you find and circle each one? What other acts of kindness can you find?

Think of one act of kindness you can perform tomorrow.

Scripture: Read Mark’s account of the Savior’s baptism and ministry in Mark 1:1—2:13.

Matthew 7:12, 3 Nephi 14:12

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 18

"Manger Scene," Carl Bloch
My very favorite Christmas painting.

Activity: The Christmas Story picture strip, found here.

Make the craft, then as a parent or older sister or brother reads the verses of scripture, a younger child can show each picture. (See Luke 1:26–31; Luke 2:1–20; Matt. 2:1–12.) Or you can tell the story of Jesus Christ’s birth by looking at the pictures and telling the story in your own words.

Scripture: Read the Prophet Joseph Smith’s testimony of the Savior in Doctrine & Covenants 76:19-24, 40-42.

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 17

"Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Friends are remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than in things. To catch the real meaning of the 'Spirit of Christmas,' we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the 'Spirit of Christ.' "
~from the LDS First Presidency Christmas Message, December 2008, full message here.

Activity: Attend a live nativity together. If that isn't possible, make easy gingerbread houses.

Scripture: The Lamanite prophet Samuel prophesied to the wicked Nephites about Christ’s birth and death in Helaman 14.

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 16-chenille snowflakes

Activity: Relax, slow down and enjoy some craft time with your children! Doing Christmas projects with my kids is my favorite thing to do in December. We love to bake cookies, decorate gingerbread houses, paint wooden reindeer with googly eyes, and on and on...Here is an easy, kid-friendly activity at Chocolate on My Cranium. My kids are going to love this!

Scripture: King Benjamin testified of the coming of the Savior in Mosiah 3:1-12, 20-21.

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 15-carol & treat to the elderly

“True happiness comes only by making others happy—the practical application of the Savior’s doctrine of losing one’s life to gain it. In short, the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service. “It is the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, obedience to which will bring ‘peace on earth,’ because it means—good will toward all men.”
David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals (1953), 551.

Activity: Take a Christmas treat to someone elderly in your neighborhood and sing a Christmas carol at the door. Better yet, go to a nearby retirement home! Call ahead and notify the front desk, then take some games to play with the elderly. They love the lively spirits of children and seem to like just watching kids in action.

Scripture: Nephi saw in vision the Savior’s birth and ministry before and after the Lord’s Crucifixion. Read Nephi’s account in 1 Nephi 11:9-33; 1 Nephi 12:4-8.

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 14

"For Unto Us a Child is Born," George Frederic Handel, from "The Messiah."
Mormon Tabernacle Choir, First Presidency Christmas Devotional 2009

I can't stop listening to this piece.

Activity: Monday is Family Night! Chocolate on my Cranium does a weekly Family Home Evening post; here is a fabulous Christmas in the Book of Mormon lesson. It includes scriptures, pictures, and maps along with other materials.

Scripture: The prophet Isaiah foretold and testified of the Savior’s divine mission and birth in Isaiah 7:14-15; Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 53.

[Note: From now until December 24th, the scripture will be taken from the "12 Reading Days of Christmas" portion of the above lesson.]

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 13

Activity: Read a Christmas story from the Friend or Ensign.

Quote: "As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always."
--Thomas S. Monson, "In Search of the Christmas Spirit," Ensign, Dec. 1987, 3

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 12

Activity: Foster peace on earth by not quarreling with your family or friends all day.

Quote: “This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again. Christmas is a celebration, and there is no celebration that compares with the realization of its true meaning-with the sudden stirring of the heart that has extended itself unselfishly in the things that matter most.” Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, Dec 2002, 16

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 11

Activity: Get cozy on the couch & read Christmas in the Trenches, by John McCutcheon. (This gorgeous book is worth buying and comes with a cd.)
Quote: “My brothers and sisters, let us bind up the wounds-oh, the many wounds that
have been caused by cutting words, by stubbornly cultivated grievances, by
scheming plans to ‘get even’ with those who may have wronged us. We all have
a little of this spirit of revenge in us. Fortunately, we all have the power
to rise above it, if we will ‘clothe [ourselves] with the bond of charity,
as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace.’ (D&C
88:125.)” Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Jun 1991, 2

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 10-gift to Jesus

Activity: Read "A Gift for Jesus" in The Friend. Have every family member cut out a paper angel. Just as Anna did, in the story, write on the angel something that you can give Jesus. Hang it on the tree to remember what you said you would give, and try your best to do that thing every day.

Scripture: Mosiah 2:17


* Idea from The Friend, FHE Ideas, Dec 2009

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 9

My favorite arrangement of "Silent Night."
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional 2008.

Activity: Watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional; you can watch it on video stream HERE.

Scripture:

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 8

Activity: One of my all-time favorite crafts, printed last year in The Friend--a darling nativity scene you print, cut, and assemble.

Find it here.

This is a miniature version of a simple cardstock nativity we had in my home growing up. My childhood Christmas memories will forever be associated with it.

Scripture: Luke 2:1-7

Gingerpeeps.

I've had an alternately enjoyable and exhausting week. And it's all a blur. The first week of December is gone and I'm not quite sure how I spent it! I know I was running around a lot, trying to cross items off my list. But I'm looking at the calendar and I'm not sure what I did on which day. Annoying.

I've been trying really hard to finish any shopping for Christmas by the end of the first week of December. (That's two days ago.) And I've had two really sick kids. Exhausting.

My favorite part of Christmas is doing projects with my kids. I like to be finished EARLY with all the running around so I can slow down and enjoy the magic of the month with my kids. Instead, I feel like I am squeezing our Christmas moments between the busywork of daily life. It's been making me tense.

Taking care of sick kids has a way of taking over the daily schedule, leaving me feeling disoriented and wondering where the last two weeks has gone. I think if I would write a little blurb of a post each day, just to document the rhythm of life, I wouldn't feel like my weeks and months evaporate into a blur.

Little Jack (a.k.a. to some in our house as Baby Joe) has had a hard two weeks. He got a cough last month and then an ear infection. The cough turned ugly over Thanksgiving and he ended up with two ear infections--again. I don't think that first infection ever really got better. I'm ready for him to be his happy little self again. Meanwhile, Isabelle caught the bug and has been lethargic on the couch for the last three days. I realized this evening that I've neglected her a bit, being fully consumed with a high-maintenance baby.

I printed the first ten days of my Christ-Centered Christmas posts, put them in little baby-sized Christmas socks, and hung them in a garland across my upstairs mantle. I'll have to post a photo of it--it's really cute. So here are the little advent activities I've done this week with the kids:

Last Thursday, we made paper chains to count the days until Christmas.

Isabelle, writing her letter to Santa.

After making our chains, the kids wrote their letters to Santa.

I spent a lot of time last Saturday decorating the big tree. It's been up since November 1st and I had planned to just leave it undecorated, just enjoy all the twinkly lights. I am a bit overwhelmed by the size of this tree and feel like it would cost too much to decorate.

But I couldn't resist this idea I'd had a few weeks ago: nestle Christmas storybooks into the branches. I had fun doing it as the kids sat on the couch giving suggestions.

Yesterday, Sunday, it was snowy outside and I was in the mood to bake. Mimi wanted to make gingerbread men, which is a laborious process with kids, so we compromised and made a plan to do the cookies Monday for Family Home Evening. We got all the frosting made and colored in advance, on Sunday. When I do time-intensive sugar/gingerbread cookies with the kids, I finally learned to just have the cookies and frosting all done and ready for them to decorate. The kids wrote cards to Nana (day 2 advent), also on Sunday.


Today, Monday, we decorated the gingerbread boys and girls.

I had planned to take the gingerpeeps to a cute elderly lady in our ward (Day 4 advent...we're totally behind. Maybe THAT'S what is making me tense), but the kids decorated each and every one and, ugh--I could not stomach giving cookies away that had been pawed by germy kids. Blech.

Isabelle spent all of Saturday & Sunday on the couch, watching Karate Kid I, II, & III. I had left to cross some shopping off my list and came home to everyone lounging and watching--not Christmas movies--but Karate Kid, of all things. Isabelle insisted on watching all three movies.

She is the only person who can get Baby to sit still and snuggle. Don't they look sick and sad?

I am hoping I will post tomorrow in a more happy, more balanced mood. Not sure what is the problem today. I guess I had planned to kick off December and my Christ-Centered advent activities in a much more organized way. I need a good list-making session. Organizing out everything that has thus far only been jotted and scribbled will do me a world of good.

And maybe if I got to bed before 3am? Hmmm? Brother.

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 7

Wasn't Jimmy Stewart handsome?

Activity: Monday is Family Night! For Family Home Evening, watch an uplifting Christmas movie together as a family; "It's a Wonderful Life" is a great one. Or for younger kids, "The Muppets' Christmas Carol" (our very FAVORITE Christmas movie of all time). Both of these movies lead to great conversations about redemption and forgiveness.

Scripture & Quote: "[The Savior] came into the world to be the Lamb of God, to pay the price of all of the sins of His Father’s children in mortality so that all might be forgiven. In the Christmas season we feel a greater desire to remember and ponder the Savior’s words. He warned us that we cannot be forgiven unless we forgive others (see Matthew 6:14–15). That is often hard to do, so you will need to pray for help. This help to forgive will come most often when you are allowed to see that you have given as much or more hurt than you have received.

When you act on that answer to your prayer for strength to forgive, you will feel a burden lifted from your shoulders. Carrying a grudge is a heavy burden. As you forgive, you will feel the joy of being forgiven. At this Christmastime you can give and receive the gift of forgiveness. The feeling of happiness that will come will be a glimpse of what we can feel at home together in the eternal home for which we yearn."

~From "Home for Christmas," by President Henry B. Eyring, Ensign, Dec. 2009, 2–7

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 6

Activity: With your family, act out the nativity story. Or you could do it with neighbors for Family Night, or with extended family members. Even if it's just your own little family, you can add props and act the essential parts. Kids will have fun gathering the wardrobe and props! Older children can be the "playwrite," with stage cues, etc.

Quote: “In each of us there is at Christmastime something of our childhood. We all revel in the fun of Christmas—of giving and receiving tinseled presents, of singing favorite carols, of feasting on goodies we never miss at other seasons, of gathering together as family and friends, all having a wonderful time. But there is something else, something better, and that is to sit together as families and read again the fascinating story of the birth of Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem of Judea.” Gordon B. Hinckley, New Era, Dec 2007, 2–5

A Christ-Centered Christmas, Day 5

Activity: Together as a family, write your testimony of the Savior on a 8x10 paper. Each member could write a few lines giving their testimony in a different crayon color; frame it and hang it prominently for the next few weeks--or year round!

Quote & Scripture: “My testimony coincides with the testimony of the beloved Apostle John: íf ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them’ (John 13:17). May we search for the doctrines and commandments of the great plan of happiness; and when we learn them, may we embrace them willingly. By doing so we will find lasting joy, happiness, and peace.”

~ M. Russell Ballard, Ensign, May 1995, 22

*Note: I am not having success with the Blogger auto-scheduled posts; sorry Day 5 is so late!