Teaching Kids About the True Meaning of Christmas

Teaching Kids About the True Meaning of Christmas

Christmas has become a very commercial season. The stores are starting to put up holiday displays earlier and earlier each year. It seems we are seeing Christmas decorations out before the summer heat has faded to a memory. Toy catalogs are getting thicker and the television ads are getting more persuasive. As a result, kids want lists get longer and longer. But is this really what we want our kids to get out of the holiday season?

Of course we want to give our children gifts for Christmas, but how can we teach them that the season isn't all about what you get but what you give? Unless we want to raise a selfish nation we need to start teaching our families about the joy of giving to others both in service and material goods. Only by sharing what we have with those less fortunate will children of today learn compassion.

There are many things that you can do to help your family think of others during the holidays and throughout the year. Here are a few suggestions and they may help spark some ideas of your own.

Buy gifts for the needy. Many shopping malls and department stores have what they call angel trees or something similar. On these trees are cards with the wishes of children and disadvantaged adults. Let your children pick and card or two off the tree and fulfill the wishes of another child. I have done this with my children for many years and every year they can't wait to shop for someone they don't know. My older kids tell me that this tradition is one of their favorite Christmas memories.

Do the Twelve Days of Christmas for an elderly person. Many times older people who live alone get overlooked during the hustle and bustle of the season. Remembering them with small tokens of love really make their day and kids have so much fun planning what to take for each day. You can stick close to the song - a small roasted chicken and some fresh pears for a Partridge in a Pear Tree. Or you can get creative and make your own gifts - just stick to the number for the day.

Help feed the hungry. You can take your family to a soup kitchen and help serve a meal or two. If there isn't a soup kitchen close to you, collect and donate the makings of a Christmas dinner to the food pantry. Just knowing you helped put a holiday dinner on someone's table is such a great feeling.

We don't have to raise a generation of kids who only think of themselves. By teaching them how to serve and care for those less fortunate than them they will learn the compassion they need to make the world a better place.

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