How to Teach Children the Meaning of Christmas

The Christmas season can be a wonderful time of family togetherness and goodwill, but the spirit of Christmas often gets lost in the rush to buy gifts and go to parties. You can easily teach your children about the true meaning of the holiday, though, by discussing the holiday's origins and planning appropriate activities.

Difficulty:

Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Craft Supplies
• Christmas Stories

1. Discuss the origins of the holiday. What you tell your children will vary depending on your own religious background and spiritual attitude.

2. Look for an age-appropriate book about the Christmas story, or ask your clergyman or clergywoman for some suggestions.

3. Take your family to church or Sunday school, or whatever form of worship fits your personal belief system. Many churches lead up to Christmas with sermons and lessons on the meaning of the holiday, and often provide a range of family social activities that keep with the true spirit of Christmas.

4. Try to "de-hype" and simplify Christmas. Meet with your family members, and ask them to help find ways to accomplish this goal, while still having a Christmas that will be fun for everyone. There may be compromises involved, especially at first.

5. Encourage your children to look beyond their own Christmas desires. Ask them to choose a toy to donate to a children's charity, or have them help you choose groceries and deliver them to the local food bank.

6. Set firm Christmas spending limits for the whole family to follow. This will help your children save their money, and remind them that the true value of a gift doesn't depend on the cost.

7. Help your children make gifts and cards for family and friends rather than buying them. This reinforces what you've taught them about positive, responsible gift-giving.

8. De-emphasize television. Christmas programming often has little to do with the true spirit of Christmas so be selective about the shows your family watches, and try to mute or turn off the commercials.

9. Emphasize family, tradition and togetherness. Whether or not your family is particularly religious, you can create many beautiful, spiritual Christmas traditions together, and give your children lots of happy memories of the holiday season.

Tips & Warnings

• Borrow or buy a book that describes Christmas traditions in different countries and cultures, and ask your children to choose a few customs or recipes that they would like to try. This will help your children understand that Christmas can be celebrated in many different ways, and that no single way is the best.

• Nativity scenes ' either store-bought or homemade ' are a great reminder of the origins of Christmas, and children love setting them up and talking about them.

• If you are trying to simplify Christmas, don't just go "cold turkey!" Try to work the true meaning of Christmas into your family's lives one step at a time so your children don't suddenly feel deprived or let down.

• Remind your children that the true spirit of Christmas is something that doesn't go away at the end of December ' your family can spread joy, peace, love and charity throughout the year.