Christmas Plans Debunked by Flu

Well, as so many suffered with the flu, we did too, right thru Christmas break. I was blessed with the company of my hubby, but we weren't able to travel and see family. So this is what we did instead.

It was a total impromptu thing. The night before, aka Christmas eve, I came up with some ideas of activites to keep my kids busy, teach them about Jesus, and give them the opportunity to share Jesus' love. I made cards numbered 1-10, each one having an activity listed on the back.

I started the morning by reading them the Christmas story from the Bible while dad cooked breakfast. After breakfast was cleaned up they could read card 1.

Card 1: Make hot chocolate to sip on.

Card 2: Donate un-needed toys and clothing. So the kids took 30 minutes and went thru their belongings finidng things to give away, making room for the new things they would receive for Christmas. A simple way to share the wealth and think of others.

Card 3: Make and decorate sugar cookies.

Card 4: Make pinwheel sandwiches for lunch.

Card 5: Make decorations for the nursing home and deliver them. Dad and the non-sick children took these and decorated the patient's rooms.

Card 6: Read Christmas stories before nap time. Only the boys joined me for this one.

Card 7:  Make chocolate dipped marshmallows. This didn't work quite like I had hoped, but the littles enjoyed eating them.

Card 8: Make a birthday cake for Jesus. We not only had fun making and decorating the cake, but we sang Jesus happy birthday and took the oppotunity to tell the Christmas story again. We used this simple story line:  

                                                           chocolate cake = we all have sinned (Rom. 3:23)

white frosting = forgiveness that covers our sins and washes them whiter than snow (Is. 1:18)

red = Jesus' blood, we have forgiveness because he died for our sins (Rom. 4:25)

green = the everlasting life that we can have when we ask Jesus to forgive our sins (Jn. 3:16)

candle = Jesus is the light of the world (Jn. 8:12)

  

Card 9: Make carmel corn. We had to skip this one. We were sugared out at this point and saved it for another day.

Card 10: Watch The Nativity movie. Love this movie and it is a family tradition too.

I maintained the rule that each activity had to be cleaned up before the next could be read. This kept the mess down and the fun up! It was a laid back, enjoyable family day.

Letting go

We are in the midst of the holiday season. The one time of the year that our houses fill with family that you only see once a year, way more food than we could ever eat, and smells of cinnamon and nutmeg.

This year I got to host Thanksgiving! First time ever. I had help though. We planned the meal out and did most of the cooking the day before. There was no stress, no rush. Just cooking.

I let go of the idea of a perfectly decorated spread.

I let go of gourmet dishes.

I let go of the notion of angelic children.

I let go of the idea of thanksgiving homeschool projects.

I let go of things going my way.

And it was enjoyable. I enjoyed serving healthy food, yummy desserts, and spending time with family. We managed to squeeze in Charlie Brown's Mayflower movie. And we took a family trip to a nearby working ranch festival thing. (www.homesteadheritage.com)

Here is to letting go this holiday season and remembering the reason for the season. Focus on Jesus Christ, not what the neighbors are doing. And don't spend too much time on pinterest. ;)

(This is a picture from last year, but it was perfect for "letting go". ;))