I want to be more intentional about our holidays. We have a lot of fun “commercial” traditions for Thanksgiving and Christmas (which there is nothing wrong with – and I plan to continue doing!), but not so many traditions that involve us helping or serving others, or that take time for us to think about the deeper meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
We love to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade as a family, and to eat all the good food, and watch the football games. During Christmas, we have so much fun picking out our tree and decorating it. We love watching all the Christmas movies, and we have a few traditions on Christmas Eve…
But, as our kids are getting older (or maybe as I am getting older), I realize that I want these holidays to be more than just the traditions. I want them to be about giving, and a lot less about getting. I want to use these fun holidays to also stir our hearts and our minds – I want our character, and our faith to be affected.
I want November and December to be months of reflection on all we have, of giving thanks, and of remembering why we are really celebrating. We have so much to be thankful for, and yet too often I find myself thinking about what I don’t have. I want to re-train my brain to be grateful and content with what I do have – and with where I am at in life. I want the holidays to make me think of others and what I can do to bless them, and of the One who gave me all I have. And, I want my kids to grow up with traditions that will get them thinking about these things too, so that as they get older it will just be the way they think.
I have been looking up some different ideas of things we can do as a family. But, I would love to hear from you! Leave me a note and tell me how you celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. How do you celebrate? Do you have any books you would recommend for the season? Any family activities, or traditions?