Our Little Family Christmas

Alex knows that Christmas is about Jesus. If you ask him to say Jesus, he says "Maywee" for Merry Christmas. He's too little to really get it, but we've worked very hard to make sure that Alex knows the true meaning of Christmas as best as he can at his age. I want to make that the first & most important focus of Christmas in our home.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we read Christmas stories from Alex's Bible and from a book I picked up at Toys R Us. (I love this little book because it doesn't include the wisemen at the stable!) We played with the Fisher Price nativity (from Grandma P) and a window cling nativity (from Grandma S).

On Christmas Eve, we sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus with candles in Grandma P's yummy brownies. Birthday cake for Jesus is a family tradition from Keith's growing-up years. THANK YOU for rescuing us, Grandma, when I ran out of time to make a birthday cake for Jesus!

I want giving (not getting) to be the focus of Christmas. God so generously gave us His son, and Christmas is the time to celebrate His amazing gift. We kept coins in the car, making sure that Alex got to give money to every Salvation Army bell ringer we saw. We filled a box for Operation Christmas Child, and we sent that with presents for a boy in the 2 - 4 year old age range. We sought out a few people with needs & made sure those needs were met. I don't say that to boast or brag - I say that because I hope we're setting a good example for our boys of what Christmas is really all about.

(picture taken by Grandma & Papa P's tree)

We tried to keep Christmas simple, but still make it fun. When he woke on Christmas morning, we took Alex and Max to our stockings. We asked, "Alex, who brought us presents in our stockings?" With the sweetest little voice, he answered, "Shanta!" (It's so cute to hear him say that...)

Our living room tree on Christmas morning

stockings on Christmas morning

Max actually reached in & pulled out a present without help!

Santa brought Max two new cloth diapers, bath soap,

and a Baby Signing Time DVD.

Alex loves his new (well, from a garage sale...) train table.

He thinks he should get in with the trains, though! :)

Alex also got a small toy loader, a Tag Junior,

a tractor shirt, M&MS, and ABC magnets.

my cheesy husband with a Wii remote charger
(We got ourselves a Wii this fall as an early Christmas present to each other)

Keith surprised me with the new Kutless CD! :)

I read about a neat Christmas tradition that I plan to try next year. Melissa individually wraps Christmas stories, and her daughter opens one book a day as a Countdown To Christmas. Isn't that neat? We only have about 10 Christmas stories now, but I'll collect more on Paperback Swap this year.

I'm also thinking that Alex might be big enough to understand a Jesse Tree next year. It's an Advent countdown to Christmas with devotions & an ornament for each day leading up to Christmas. (Allison - don't you do this? Do you have a suggestion for good age-appropriate devotions?)

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions with little ones? I'd love to know what other families do! Please comment! :)

I really want to point this out, but wasn't sure where it fit in the post: Keith's aunt made his stocking for him when he was little. Keith's mom made stockings for Alex, Max, and me. The time & the love that go into making these stockings is just amazing. Thank you for completing our family stockings! :)