December Family Nights

Each week when my family was young (preschool, elementary school and even high school-aged), our family set one night a week aside as a family night. These ideas, with a calendar are included on my website under the Advent tab. Please feel free to use these ideas with your family.

Family nights on my website are set around the following weekly themes: 1) Prophecy; 2) The Journey of Joseph & Mary; 3) The Shepherds; 4) The Magi. Family nights include: a special meal, an opportunity to read a portion of the Christmas story, times of singing, and surprises.

During the week of November 28, I try to share with my family how God told us about the birth of Jesus even before He came. To reinforce this children can help bake bread. What starts as dry ingredients turns into a lump, which rises, and then with baking becomes the bread we eat. In a similar fashion, the Gospel began as an idea, as God shared parts of his plan through the Old Testament, where we can began to understand the idea. Then Jesus was born in Bethlehem. We read scripture from Luke 1:1-4 with a focus on the prophets.

We set up the tree this day; the evergreen is a promise of eternal life. We set out Nativity sets, which tell the story of Christmas. We will eat the bread as part of our dinner, and sing Christmas carols. We will also look at pictures of former Christmases, and talk about what we want to see happen this year.

During the week of December 5, I share with my family how God announced the birth of Jesus to Joseph and Mary. In response, the couple traveled to Bethlehem where Jesus was born (a “journal” of this trip can be found in the book Advent Journeys). We bake a Birthday Cake in order to tell the story of Christmas from Luke 2:1-7. We sing songs, and then eat dinner as a picnic by the Christmas tree. Joseph and Mary ate picnic lunches as they traveled. We sing songs during this celebration.

During the week of December 12, I share with my family the story of the shepherds. During the week I try to take them to see a pasture with sheep in it. For supper on Shepherd week, I build a fire in the fireplace. We roast hot dogs, and can have s'mores. The shepherds cooked their meal over a real fire. We tell the story of the Shepherds from Luke 2:8-20. We string popcorn on the Christmas tree. We also prepare Christmas cards. As the angels announced the Birth of Jesus to the shepherds, we tell our friends of our love for Jesus.

During the week of December 19, I will tell the story of the Magi. Our special foods are sugar cookies and eggnog because the Magi lived such rich lives. We might eat steak, or a similar meal. Or we go out (if not planned for another night) to burger king, where we wear crowns, and talk about the Kings. We read the story from Matthew 2:1-12. We also look at the decorations on our tree.

Christmas is for sharing; please consider sharing the book Advent Journeys this year with others. A reading each day will enhance this season and make it more meaningful than other years. As you read, share your readings with others to encourage them. I have been amazed as people shared with me the blessing they found in reading this book. Several non-believers and skeptics were given this book, were captured by the first chapter and read the book, discovering for the first time the real meaning of the Christmas story. Pray about who you know who would benefit by reading Advent Journeys ... and then order copies (so you will have them to give to friends on Thanksgiving Day). The publisher’s website (CreateSpace owned by Amazon.com) is listed here: Order the book through CreateSpace. When you give Advent Journeys to others as a gift, you will reap the blessing of having them share from their perspectives the discoveries and joys they receive from the book.