Some great ideas

Christmas is a hard time of year for me.  I love the fun traditions like decorating the tree, baking and decorating cookies with my kids, going to see Christmas lights, going to "Jungle Bells" at the zoo with my family, candlelight services at church, etc.  But the commercialism of Christmas drives me absolutely crazy:  spending money for so much stuff that we don't need, when we could use our resources to help others who have real needs.  December comes and I just want to hide under a rock until it is all over.

My husband and I do a pretty good job of keeping Christmas gifts to a minimum, keeping things simple, not spending money that we don't have.  I must admit though, I am not always intentional about how I go about teaching the true meaning of Christmas to my kids.  We talk about Jesus' birth of course.  We read the Christmas story and I tell them that Christmas is not about getting more stuff, but about Jesus, the greatest gift we can ever receive.  I talk to them about these things, but I feel powerless to combat the messages of our culture.

I read a blog post today by my friend Stacie.  I really love her great ideas!  You can read her ideas here.