This past Faith168 dinner we shared different holiday traditions in which our families used to remind us of God in the busyness and chaos of the holidays. Below are the ideas we came up with for the three major holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Feel free to “borrow” any of these ideas and incorporate them into your family traditions. Have any other ideas? The comment section is for you.
Thanksgiving
- Sharing what you are thankful for with your family
- Using corn or other objects to help us count all that we thankful for
- Putting a quarter in a jar for everything we are thankful for and give that money away to someone in need or an organization that helps those in need
- Attend a community church or ecumenical service
- Tell the original story of Thanksgiving
- Invite “orphans” over. Including those who don’t have family nearby in your celebration
- Telling family members why you are thankful for them
- Have a devotional before the Thanksgiving meal
- Take time to remember what we take for granted
Christmas
- Take time to serve those who are less fortunate
- Visit a “Live Nativity”, talk about the true meaning of Christmas with your family
- Bake Jesus a birthday cake
- Do a gift scavenger hunt, using bible verses as part of the clues
- Host people for dinner either on Christmas Eve or Christmas day
- Read the Christmas Story (Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2.40)
- Make or purchase a Nativity Scene
- Talk about each figuring and their role in the Christmas story with your kids
- Move the wise men figurines closer to the manger scene each day as Christmas approaches
- Take a tour of the local Christmas lights. Talk about Jesus being the Light of the world.
New Year’s
- Take advantage of the chance for a fresh start
- Pick out a devotional or spiritual practice to begin the year with
- Read through the Bible in a year
- Memorize a verse of Scripture a week
- Make goals for how you want to grow in faith
- Look back over the year and see where God worked and what He has done for you and your family
- Participate in the Covenant Church’s prayer meetings (typically the first week of the new year)
