Establishing Christmas...

One of the coolest and sometimes, most overwhelming, responsibilities of being a parent is teaching and establishing major and minor events in a child's life. J was super excited about all things Christmas this year, so I spent alot of time thinking and praying about what I wanted to teach him about the holiday where we celebrate our Savior's birth. And, that's where we started...with the story of Jesus' birth!

My favorite Christmas decoration for toddlers...ours even sings!

J caught on quick and soon could narrate certain parts of the story. This nativity became not just a "must-do", but a part of our daily play. What a joy to share and recount the story of Jesus' birth with my little one several times a day! It was fun to see the parts he found most interesting...namely the angels and the fact that the wisemen rode camels to visit baby Jesus!

We also purchased a second nativity set and secretly shared a piece (wrapped with candy attached), for the first 12 days of December, with a neighbor. J caught on quick and reminded me every morning to take our friend their gift. It is a neat way to share the true story of Christmas, as well. Here's how we did it. Please feel free to use and tweak as you need...such a fun thing to do as a family!


12 Days Nativity

J also loved our nightly neighborhood walks/drives to look at Christmas lights and got plenty of presents...which he loved, of course. My favorite part of this Christmas season is that we started it focusing on the glorious story of Jesus' entry into this world and presents were more of an afterthought. I pray as he gets older and more aware of the materialism of the season, we will be able to spend as much time focusing on Jesus' birth as we did this year.