(plus a couple which are less so)
Most of these ideas are not especially Christian as such, but are a way of celebrating the season of advent and Christmas that the whole thing is full of joy and the children have happy memories of family Christmases. I want my children to associate advent and Christmas with excitement and joy because the Lord Jesus is our Emmanuel – God with us in the flesh.
Amidst all of this silliness and pretty, sugar-plum cosiness we always try to make the Lord Jesus the focus. We read Scripture every day with our kids and we have a family nativity play – which essentially involves the children reading out Scripture whilst wearing homemade costumes. Please don’t think I’m suggesting you lose focus on Christ. Without him, all of this is just tat.
Here are just a few ideas of how we do have festive fun in our family, which might give you some ideas that you haven’t tried before. I’d love to hear your ideas. If you can’t comment below (?), send me a message on Instagram!
- A Christmas lights drive. This is actually one of my favourite things to do in the run up to Christmas. It does require a car, which admittedly night not feel affordable. But of course you could go for a walk around some Chrsitmas lights. Most places have a street where the people go all out with their Christmas lights. I like doing this in the car because we can eat snacks and listen to Chrsitmas music and everyone is contained. The streets are always absolutely heaving, but it’s the one time it doesn’t really matter as our sole purpose for being out is to look at the buildings. (If you’re in London, beware the congestion charge!)
- Hot chocolate with marshmallows. I always hide a tray of hot chocolate somewhere silly, like in the oven or in the bathroom, and the children love it. (I got this idea from Rachel Jankovic at Canon Press.) Last year I found some M&S gingerbread men that sat on the edge of the mug, which were fun. (I think they were called – somewhat inappropriately – hangovers?) If you don’t fancy hot chocolate, you could have “festive” s’mores* – especially if you have a BBQ or fire pit. But I’ve been known to toast marshmallows on our gas hob. It’s less picturesque but children don’t care! If you use chocolate orange segments I’m sure that makes them festive.
*If you’ve never had s’mores, in the UK we tend to toast a marshmallow and stick it between two chocolate digestives. In the USA they use something called Graham crackers which we don’t have here, but I’d say a digestive is just as good. With these things, it’s your enthusiasm that will make such a simple thing into a treat. Plus, you know, the sugar. - Christmas Workshop: I once bought a paper crafts Christmas book from the book people, before that company disappeared forever. It was a cheap book but now seems to be unavailable. I can’t tell you how many hours of fun we had with that book. It was simply a book of different patterned craft paper, with five or six ideas for what do to with it. But without that book, we can still have laods of fun making paper chains and ‘snowflakes.’ You don’t need to use festive paper but you could do it with some cheap wrapping paper and the children will really enjoy it. You could always suggest they decorate their own bedrooms with their creations! Unless you’re happy to string up their paper chains around your living room, which I’m sure would look lovely. As with everything, listening to Christmas music makes this a party.
Fun fact: In Norway it’s traditional to invite people over to make festive crafts and do your Christmas baking. They call it Juleverksted (or Christmas workshop). Of course, in Norway everything looks beautiful and smells of pepperkake (gingerbread). But I’m sure your children will love your version! - Read a Book! In December 2020 when we couldn’t see our relatives, my husband printed out copies of CS Lewis’ ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ and we read it together as a family. Each person had a different character to read out. Although we haven’t done this since, I think I’m going to try it again this year.
If you think your children wouldn’t go for this, you could always just embrace a Christmas movie night by making popcorn and cosying up under your favourite Christmas film – The Star is a really good Christian one. (I also recommend A Muppet’s Christmas Carol, which is remarkably faithful to the text! More so than the Old Vic’s production of A Christmas Carol, which I do not recommend.)
NEWSFLASH: If you’d like to try ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ this year (which I’m excited to watch), it’s available to stream for free on Apple TV+ on 14th and 15th December. You do not need a subscription. This film ends with Linus reading Luke 2. - Another fun thing we often do is a sort of festive photo booth. You might have been to a party where they have a big selfie camera and some props with a fun background. But you could do this in your house with some Santa hats or some silly glasses etc. My children love using the photo booth app on my computer. You might (might) even end up with some nice photos to send to your relatives.
A similar thing which our kids find hilarious is the Elf Yourself app. They can spend ages making a hilarious video and then when it’s done you can send it to friends and family. It’s very silly indeed.
Bonus: Ideas for when you can afford to spend a bit more:
– Ice skating: I do recommend this if your children can manage it. There are some beautiful spots and there’s something very satisfying about doing something so active and then ending with a nice hot drink. (We go home for the hot drinks, we’re not made of money!) If you’re in London, the Battersea Power Station ice rink is worth a visit.
– The theatre: It’s a great time of year to get your children into a live show of some sort. If you can’t afford a big pantomime (they are pricey), there are local plays and pantos all over the country that are a lovely night out. Some places have a ‘pay what you can’ policy – just Google ‘Pay what you can’ and your town/city name. There also might also be some music concerts happening in local churches etc. that your children might be able to engage with. I think live performances are inspirational for children and if you’re able to do it, it’s really worthwhile. But if you can’t, please don’t feel sad. Your children only really need God’s word. Anything else is a bonus.
Mum in Zone One 