The Truth in the Tinsel

Early in the Christmas season, I asked Beth what she tought of when she thought about Christmas. She said family and presents. While those things are certainly a part of Christmas, I realized our focus and balance was off. Talking to Kevin, we realized we wanted to refocus our family on the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus wasn't left out of our celebrating, mind you, we just wanted there to be more of Him.

I did some searching and searching online. I saw many things that looked amazing, that really told the story. Since my kids are 4 and 7, I knew we needed something simple and quick. The Truth in the Tinsel fit the bill! It was an e-book download. I printed the pages I needed. I already had most of the supplies in the craft closet, but did go buy a few things(and tweeked a few projects to fit what supplies I had). Reading the Bible passage, the discussion and the craft took about 15-20 minutes. That was great for the short attention span of a 4 year old but still deep enough for the 7 year old to not be bored.

With time being what it was and that it was already into December, I knew we wouldn't have time for all 25 crafts. Some days, we combined the stories and talked about them, making only one craft. Sometimes, we made two crafts. Some, we just skipped altogether. The kiddos really looked forward to this family Bible and craft time!

We all learned so much about the story of Jesus. It was a really special time for our family. I had wound garland with lights and ribbon on the stair rail, but I thought it was still missing something. Every craft we complete was hung on the garland, reminding us every day to celebrate Jesus.

We are already looking forward to next year, making sure we plan the time to complete every single day and honoring our Savior in the Christmas season!