The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

As cliché as it may sound, this is the most wonderful time of the year. The sights, sounds and smells of Christmas surround us. I love seeing a roaring fire in the fireplace with our stockings hanging above, the beauty of the Christmas tree being the only light in the room, and the feel of a cup of hot cocoa between my hands. It all adds up to wonderful.

Sadly, I think the majority of us miss out on the beauty of the season. We suffer from tunnel vision. Our homeschooling becomes all about academics and not about relationship and capturing the moments. This is the perfect time of year to slow down and focus on relationship.

Instead of getting bogged down this Christmas season, be intentional about celebrating it with your children. It doesn’t take much to communicate to our children the specialness of this time of year. Reading a book, watching a movie, making some ornaments – it’s about slowing down and enjoying the sweetness of life.

Read a book:

~ A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

~ The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado

~ The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg VandenBosch

~ The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats

~ A Child is Born by Margaret Wise Brown

~ Silent Night: The Song and its Story by Margaret Hodges

Watch a movie:

~ The Nativity Story

~ A Charlie Brown Christmas

~ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1965 version)

~ Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

~ It’s a Wonderful Life

~ White Christmas (1954 version)

Do some crafts or other activities:

~ Build a gingerbread house – Check out Wilton.com! It offers everything from ideas for houses, recipes, decorating ideas and a section for frequently asked questions.

~ Bake some cookies – FamilyFun.com has an extensive list of cookies.

If you’re feeling really adventurous, you and your children could try your hand at a few of Bakerella’s Christmas goodies.

~ Create some homemade ornaments – FamilyFun.com also has lots of ornament craft ideas to choose from.

~ Sew some stockings – Edie over at Life in Grace has a very simple and fun way to make stockings – out of sweaters!

~  The Crafty Crow offers a little bit of everything.

~ Read the Christmas story out loud while your children act it out.

You have the opportunity to make this the most wonderful time of year for your children. It doesn’t need to be a big production; it just needs to be about relationship. Don’t allow the busyness of this season to overwhelm you. Instead, allow it to motivate you.  Enjoy your family by grabbing a book, watching a movie, baking some cookies, or just curling up with a mug of cocoa.