Getting ready for Christmas...

Kids are always ready for Christmas. Ours have already started planning their Christmas lists. It's June, for goodness sake. But I suppose if they're already getting geared up for the holiday season, we should be too.

What should we be doing? I'm glad you asked. Here are a few things to start pondering:

1. Budget. What will your Christmas budget look like this year? And, seriously, I do encourage you to have a budget. Christmas is the #1 season of the year for sending us into debt. Don't let it slip up on you this year. Plan now.

2. Get to work on handmade gifts. Unless you're giving baked goods -- and even then if you want to make/decorate your own containers -- you have a great opportunity to get started. Surf the internet for Christmas craft ideas. Head to the local paint-your-own-pottery store on a rainy summer afternoon and make gifts for friends and family before your schedule gets slammed with new school and church year activities. If you don't want to make your own gifts but love that handmade look, head over to Etsy and stand in awe of the artisans who sell their crafts there.

3. Shop early and save big. Many online retailers have Christmas merchandise on clearance NOW. Order those extra ornaments you need. Buy Christmas decor for teachers and neighbors in bulk. Choose your Advent calendar now, so that it will be in your house as the season nears. A few places to get you started are:

Terry's Village

Oriental Trading Company

Lillian Vernon

ChristianBook.com

Christmas People

ABC Distributing / LTD Commodities

4. Dig into God's Word and choose Scripture for your family's Advent devotionals. Don't wait until the last minute to throw together a family devotional; choose purposefully now based on the make up of your family. Is there a new baby in the house? Are the kids growing older? Will you be at home or on a mission trip? Will you be near grandkids? Is there a friend/co-worker/neighbor with whom you want to purposefully celebrate the season? Begin seeking the Lord for what He would like to do in your holiday season. When He speaks, take steps to make it happen.

5. Ponder how you might like to be a part of the Celebrating Christmas blog. We are up for new friends and we would LOVE to have you share the holiday season with all who read our blog. Email us at celebratingchristmas@gmail.com to let us know if you want to join in the fun for the 2009 holiday season. We need devotionals, tutorials, holiday reflections, gift-giving ideas, holiday traditions, decorating ideas, entertaining tips, ministry opportunities, and words of encouragement for the WHOLE holiday season... Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmastide, New Year's and Epiphany.

And FINALLY... in the way of an update... we asked you to pray for our friend Jenn's daughter, Charlotte, as she had her second huge heart surgery a few months ago. We are thrilled to say that Charlotte came through her surgery with flying colors. She has amazed her parents and doctors, exceeding everyone's expectations for how quickly and how well she recovered. She is doing great and we are all in awe of our Lord. Thanks for your prayers!

Quick idea...

[There will be a traditions post later tonight, but here's an idea to ponder while you're walking through the stores finishing up your shopping for those difficult-to-buy-for friends and relatives.]

Do you have an old wall frame with a glass front lying around? We had one that once showcased an old movie poster. When our kids outgrew that Disney movie stage, we repurposed the frame for our memory verse center. We painted it black, placed a decorative piece of poster board where the children's print used to be, and hung it on the wall next to our kitchen table.

Now when we eat dinner, we have God's word as a focal point for our conversation. Here is the verse our youngest memorized for school this week:



What a neat way to keep track of your Advent verses too. Write them on the board daily. Or pick just one to focus on for the week. It's another way to remind ourselves Whose season it is!

Or if you're looking for a last minute gift idea for someone, give them a picture frame with a pretty piece of scrapbooking paper where the picture would go. Then type a list of verses that you think would be meaningful to them. Include a dry erase marker and you've given them a special chance to have God's word before them throughout the day.

A couple of things worth noting:

1. The frame needs to have glass in the front, not Plexiglas. Plasticky things will capture your dry erase markings forever. Glass is nonporous and thus, erasable.

2. You can write a verse on the glass before wrapping it, but these are dry erase markers, so it won't likely be as pretty when they open it as it was when you wrote it.

Magnify...

Gabriel visits Mary with the news that Jesus is on His way. Mary goes to see her cousin Elizabeth, who confirms Gabriel's message as she's experiencing a miraculous pregnancy of her own. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth blesses Mary, "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord" (Luke 1:45).

Mary responds with the famous song of praise known as "The Magnificat." And in the first line of her song, Mary reveals the secret of celebrating Christmas. She says, "My soul magnifies the Lord..."(Luke 1:46). What a simple, amazing idea. Magnify the Lord.

Now, I am the teacher-type. I have to know what the words mean. So I looked up the word magnify and discovered that it means the same thing in this verse that it does when you're talking about a magnifying glass or telescope or microscope. To place in the center; to bring into focus; to see the subject as bigger that objects surrounding it.

We are halfway through Advent. Christmas events seem to be taking center stage -- parties and concerts and plays. Shopping and gift wrapping become the focus of our "spare" time. Cooking and cleaning consume our domestic moments. Just being where we think we need to be, doing what we think we need to do takes on a life of its own, growing bigger and bigger as we rush towards December 25th.

When we magnify the spectacle of the holiday, it becomes the center of our focus. It gets bigger and bigger and bigger. Ultimately, the events of Christmas grow larger in our lives than the Christ of Christmas. We are rushed and panicked and exhausted, when, as Jesus told another sweet-but-harried woman, only one thing is needed.

So let's take a break. Halftime. Let's make sure that Jesus is still in the center of our lives, in focus and bigger than all else. Let's choose to magnify the Lord this Christmas season.

************************************************************

One of the ways you can keep Jesus as the focus of the Christmas season is by placing reminders throughout your home that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of our Savior. A Friend of Celebrating Christmas has a collection of nativity scenes, but instead of displaying them together, she places them throughout her home as reminders to magnify Jesus moment by moment, day by day. Here are a few pictures of some of the nativity decorations in her collection...

Nativity sets make excellent Christmas gifts. They are visual reminders to magnifyJesus during these holy days.

And after December 25th, there are some wonderful sales on these meaningful decorations, so if you have already finished shopping for this year, you can begin to plan for next year and exercise good stewardship of your resources by catching them on sale in the coming weeks.

Homemade gifts # 1 ... by Angie

We decided to make very simple gifts for family, friends, neighbors and teachers this Christmas. As we all have taken a big financial hit these past few months as a result of the economic turmoil in our country, it has really made me appreciate the simple pleasures in life... maybe a cup of hot chocolate with my family or a relaxing bath with time to read a devotion.

So this year our family worked together to make hot chocolate mix and scented bath salts to give as gifts. It was so simple that even the children were able to help.

Hot Chocolate Mix

1 - 30 oz can of Nestle Quick
2 pound bag of confectioner's sugar
1 large (22 oz) jar of Cremora
1 box (25.6 oz) of powdered milk

Using a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Wash the containers and make sure they are completely dry before placing the mixture inside. If you have a table in the garage, it may be a good idea to mix it up outside because the "chocolate dust" leaves a fine coating on your counter tops and floor. Once I mixed it together, we packaged it in the kitchen.

To prepare hot chocolate, add 3 to 4 Tablespoons of the mixture to hot water and enjoy!

I taught my kids how to make bows using curly ribbon, and we printed a Christmas message, along with the preparation instructions, on the cards.

The cost is $ .67 per cup of mix, and the containers I purchased at the Dollar Tree for $1 each! Some containers held 4 cups and the others, 2 cups.

Scented Bath Salts

2 cups Epsom salt
1 cup rock salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of glycerin
Scent (Purchased at Michael's. It is on the candle and soap making aisle.)
Coloring is optional. (I do not add it because it does not look very "clean.")

Simply mix ingredients together and store in an air tight container. Again, the containers came from the Dollar Tree so the cost came to approximately $2 a gift.

Do you have ideas for homemade Christmas gifts that are inexpensive and fun to make? (You can share one from years past if you don't want to give out all your secrets for this year.) Email us at CelebratingChristmas@gmail.com with pictures and directions. We love sharing ideas!

Makin' a list... by Sarah T.

[If you haven't already started planning your gift-giving, now is the time to begin. Start with "who" and "how much," then add "what." Here are some out-of-the-ordinary suggestions for extraordinary presents. Many thanks to Sarah T. for sharing this list of unique gift ideas.]

Unique Gift Ideas for Everyone on Your List!

1. Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalog - Select a life-changing gift to give in someone's honor through Samaritan's Purse.
2. Comfort food basket - Chocolate, Cheese, Coffee! Give them something to lift their spirits!
3. Movie tickets - Who doesn't love a good movie?
4. Personalized cookbook - Your family's favorites shared with others. Great for college students and newlyweds.
5. Theme park passes - Give the gift of quality time with loved ones!
6. Hobby starter kit - "How to" book and supplies to get started on a new hobby.
7. Cash - But give it in a unique way, stuffed inside helium balloons, a teddy bear, a new hat or a pair of gloves.
8. Candy bar card - Grab a big piece of poster board and spell out a message with candy bars. (Ex. Dear Mr. Goodbar, Now and Later, you make my Starburst! I love you Mounds. You're no Dumb Dumb. Your voice is like a Symphony! OK, stop the Snickers!)
9. Magazine subscription - Cars, sports, underwater basket-weaving: there is a magazine for just about every interest!
10. Workout clothes - Gotta look the part!
11. Lessons - Tennis, golf, sewing, cooking, etc. Learn something new!
12. Scrapbook - Ditch the scissors and check out Snapfish for a personalized scrapbook.
13. Something handmade - Not too crafty? Still want to give something uniquely handmade? Check out Etsy.

And finally... one of my favorite gifts ever...

I'll never forget my first Christmas as a Mommy! My husband, Kyle, woke up early to leave me a special "surprise" carefully wrapped and lying under our tree, fast asleep. I quickly forgot that this was the same little guy who had kept me up the night before! I guess it was the bow!