Christmas is a time of celebrating the birth of Christ, but we do a good job messing that up. Today I want to just point out a few ways that you can ruin Christmas. And no, the ideology of Santa isn’t a main point, go read the last blog for some of my thoughts on Santa.
I have been thinking about the traditions I want to establish with my children when it comes to celebrating Christmas, and also the things to avoid. We have to do our due diligence as parents to teach and train our children the real reason for Christmas, especially in this materialistic world we live in.
You can ruin Christmas by forgetting the reason of the season.
As the old saying goes, Jesus is the reason for the season. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ, the Saviour of the world. Throughout the hustle and bustle of the season, all the parties and family gatherings, through everything that is going on, don’t forget that Jesus Christ is the reason for our celebration! Read the Christmas story from the Bible on Christmas morning before doing anything else! Sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Jesus on Christmas! Do things that always put Christ at the forefront of your Christmas celebration.
You can ruin Christmas by going into debt.
In this materialistic world, we are so focused on buying the biggest and the best toy, gadget or whatever the popular thing is at that moment. People will go into debt to try to buy whatever they can for family and friends. Be realistic with your budget when it is time to buy presents for people. If you don’t have the extra money for it, you don’t have the extra money! Just remember that after Christmas is over, you still shouldn’t be paying for that gift months later.
You can ruin Christmas by focusing on what your getting and not what your giving.
Christmas is the season of giving. God gave His Son to us, expecting nothing in return. Your Christmas gift giving shouldn’t be predicated on what that person is giving to you. Your gift giving should be based on what that person means to you (stay in your budget!) We live in a selfish society where everyone is out to get what they can, no matter what. Let’s change that way of thinking and see what we can give to others, not just at Christmas but throughout the rest of the year.
Counted Faithful 