Christmas preparations commence right after Thanksgiving. Christmas decorations in all shapes and sizes adorn store shelves. Dads and MOms brave the snowstorms or the freezing weather just to line up outside toy stores to be the first to buy the newest item on sale. The next Christmas morning the adults don't even want to get out of bed because of all that waiting. This year why don't you focus on faith not on money. Let's prepare our hearts to welcome the Christmas season with our family members in a spiritual way. Family Worship The Advent season (which means coming or arrival) starts on the first Sunday after Thanksgiving and continues to four Sundays. The coming of the child Jesus into the world is celebrated during Advent and values the importance of this event in the lives of every Christian. The Advent wreath, the centerpiece of worship, consists of a small wreath (real or artificial), evergreen sprigs, five candleholders, and five candles. Three of the candles can be purple or deep blue, one is traditionally pink or rose-colored, and the fifth candle is white. The candles are arranged in a circular fashion inside the wreath with the white candle, usually called the Christ candle, in the center of the other four. The time for worship is performed each Sunday before church or in the evening before going to sleep. Each member of the family can light the candles and read the prayer or devotional. After the prayer, a moment can be set aside for any inquiries the young ones may want to ask about the activity. Family Fun Holidays are a time for people to get out and celebrate with family and friends. As a family, host a "Christmas for Christ" party. Involve the whole family in the planning. The central theme, of course, is the celebration of the birth of Christ. Have the children create their own special invitations. Invite Christian and non-Christian friends alike. Do the shopping for game prizes at this time too. If a lot of activities are planned, start early enough to fit everything into the evening. To lessen the costs, have the people you've invited bring a dish to serve buffet-style. Since different ornaments will already be hung for Christmas, no added display is needed. Also a costume party is fun. Have your guests dress as a character from the nativity scene. There will be prizes for the best costume. The games that are chosen should fit the Christmas spirit theme. Have trivia games, charades, and puzzles at parties; everybody loves them. Kids will be the ones to take charge of the games while parents take care of the food. Don't forget to end the night as well as you started. No Christmas gathering is complete without dessert, singing of carols, and the telling of the Christmas story. Sharing your faith with your family should be special and fun. You will create Christmas traditions that will be enjoyed for years to come.

Christmas is a magical time when you stroll outside, the air is cold and crisp and often the sky looks a little grey but you still feel happy and walk with an added bounce in your step.  It makes you smile seeing the great job Jack Frost did on your windowpanes and you do not mind scraping the car windows before you can drive to go Christmas shopping.  You travel slowly down the street looking at all the fabulous light shows displayed on the houses and lawns of friends, neighbors and even strangers.  Fighting the crowds while shopping for the perfect Christmas gifts for loved ones, friends and co-workers, just adds to the excitement of Christmas.  This is all part of the joy of Christmas. 

If you have children, you hide their gifts because you know that just like you when you were a child, they will be hunting for them.  Sometimes you keep them at a friend’s house so the children do not find their Christmas gifts and you get a chance to visit while you wrap them.  If you have younger children, there are often bikes and doll carriages to be constructed or toys that need batteries put in them.  Do not forget to mail the children’s letters to Santa at the North Pole.  No matter how old your children are, even ones living away from home, they love Christmas stockings so stocking stuffers are necessary.  A great family tradition is to take your children to buy a few Christmas gifts and food items to donate to those less fortunate.  Christmas is a time for giving and enjoying the company of all people, not just those that you already know.         

Christmas morning finally arrives, gifts are opened and the turkey is stuffed and in the oven.  The Christmas tree glows and sparkles with tiny lights and beautiful Christmas ornaments.  Opened gifts sit under the tree; the children are playing while the adults sit and talk.  After all the hard work of preparing for Christmas, it has been worth every second.  Other family members and friends stop by to wish you Merry Christmas and to celebrate this wonderful holiday.  Everyone sits down to a lovely Christmas dinner of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy.  Desert is often plum pudding or Christmas cookies, if you have any room left.  After tidying up and tucking the children into bed, you finally get to sit down and put your feet up.

At Christmas, many people celebrate Christ’s birth while others celebrate life and pray for peace and harmony.  We remember loved ones we have lost and reminisce about years gone by.  No matter how old we are, what race, heritage or upbringing, Christmas is a time to love, rejoice and live. 

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As Christian men and women, we know the true meaning of Christmas in our hearts, but how many of us proclaim this fact to the world around us during the holidays? We can gently challenge those who would see Christmas as a time for commercialism and greed by letting our actions speak for themselves. Spread the message. Want to give something special to a neighbor or fellow employee? The gift of the Word would make the best present. Tell them the Christmas story. It's not "'Twas the Night before Christmas". Ready made pamphlets recounting the birth of the Jesus can be bought online and delivered to your door. To have that personalized touch, how about creating a leaflet of your own. A small token, like a candle, can be added also the to present. Fill someone's heart with the blessings of God's message. Share His love. When a person invites a somebody to their home, it shows that they have an intention to share their blessings with them. When we integrate Christ into our very lives, his dwelling becomes our dwelling. Invite a friend or fellow employee to God's home for an Advent worship or a family Christmas Eve church worship. They will not regret that they came. Show it. For poor people, life gets a little bit harsher around the holiday season. More bad thing happen. People in great need, like the poor and destitute, become more so due to the harsh conditions this time of year brings. God tells us to reach out and help these people. Volunteers are a big help during the holidays. Extra set of hands are greatly needed by soup kitchens and food banks to prepare and serve nice hot meals, as well as help with food deliveries. The social services agency can provide information on families near the community that could use some extra care during Christmas. With support from a church body, everyone can join in and help give gifts and other needed materials. Providing gifts for orphaned children can also be a church project or one taken on by individual families within the congregation. If you see a need that has yet to be met, begin your own program to provide it or just do it as a family. The goal here is to let Christ's light shine in another person's life. In his lifetime, Jesus saw each individual's need where they were. Someone whose been helped by you will be more likely to listen about the God you are serving. Living Christ's life is a commitment to spread the Word and love to others. If Christ is always prioritized in your lives, your actions should be known by everyone. Being Christians, we have a chance to give to the world the true meaning of the Christmas season.

You might say that I have lost my mind if I said that I have a stress free Christmas. Well, my sanity is still intact and we have had several Christmases that were stress-free in the past. I would like to tell you about the things I've learned to help reduce the stress during the Yuletide season. AFTER WAKING IN THE MORNING, READ GOD?S WORD EVERY I start by reading God's Word every day. Hearing from God & speaking to Him each day is a great boost for me and it strengthens and preps me to be the mom He wants me to be. During breakfast, we start our family devotions and begin our children's day on the right track as well. Each of my children understand that they are to read their Bible after waking. There are times that some of the kids need a little more reminding. DON?T DO EVERY ACTIVITY THAT POPS UP This seems quite evident, but it took me a decade to apply this. Actually, my marvelous husband helped me learn how to minimize the activity in our lives during the Christmas season. In the past, I wanted our kids to experience everything available during this season. What was actually happening was I began to harbor stress that would usually explode around Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. (I?m sure none of you have ever experienced this. WHICH ACTIVITIES DO I CHOOSE What works for our family is to choose 1 or 2 Christmas activities to attend outside our home. Anything else we do is done in our home. One of the best ways this reduces stress is that I am not ?persuading? my husband to attend one more Christmas activity each week. He still spends all day working to provide for our family. Consequently, he is much happier going to a few activities and enjoying our family & friends at home. Having other people in our home gives us a lot of satisfaction, so we capitalize on this. With cooking and cleaning done by the children, our work is lessened and I am not feeling stressed when our visitors arrive. ENJOY YOUR HOME I always more activities for our family than we ever have time for. In our Thanksgiving weekend I decided which activities can be postponed until next Christmas season. REMEMBER: YOU CAN?T DO EVERY THING, EVERY YEAR. I try to select activities that inspire my children to do something for others, instead of only thinking of themselves during the holiday season. One of the things we used to do is charity work by raising money for a missionary family. The kids would take orders for pumpkin bread loaves and chocolate chip cookies. After making and delivering them to their customers, they would pay me back for the ingredients and supplies used. The remaining money was their profit, which was used to buy useful gifts for a missionary family. This season we will have other kids over to bake cookies so their moms can do some Christmas shopping, uninterrupted. A Christmas card stamping party for younger kids would be a great idea for an activity. I?m still thinking it over how that will work. I have some other ideas that are included in Advent, Christmas & Epiphany Celebration Ideas. MAKE CHRISTMAS YOUR SCHOOL For those of you who homeschool, lessen some of the formal academics and enjoy these times. As we bake, shop and prepare for Christ?s birthday, we are also doing math and writing and reading with these activities. At our house, we still read aloud each morning and then work on a Christmas project. This may include handwork type crafts or other quiet projects. DO YOU FEEL STRESSED DURING THE HOLIDAYS? Take a moment right now and prioritize all the activities available to your family. Choose only 1 or 2 activities that the entire family can enjoy and pass on the rest. Being at home with your family is enjoyable. Invite another family over to roast marshmallows and mingle with them. At the center of this Christmas activity, keep your hearts tuned to Jesus Christ. Without His love for us, we would not be celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8

It's the holiday season and its been decided that you're going to have your office friends over for a Christmas party. Try these best company Christmas party ideas to liven up everyone in your party. Have the fireplace lit up; play your favorite Christmas tune; nail a mistletoe on every doorway, and the party can begin. Depending on the number of people you've invited, you will either pick a buffet or a conventional sit-down meal. Most popular is the buffet. If you have a buffet, write out invitations saying: "Bring a Dish to Share". What's Nice To Serve On The Buffet? A 12 foot hero or sub is a safe enough choice. Served either hot or cold, it's enough to feed everyone. Alternatively, you can make your own creation and tell everyone beforehand to bring something they make. Popular side dishes are: stuffed mushrooms; chicken or turkey rolls, or bite-sized appetizers which come in a wide assortment of flavors. Have a wide variety of wines, colas, water, and don't forget eggnog. How Will You Serve the Buffet? Place a large table in your dining area or any large area in your house. Try arranging the food nicely on the table. Add plates, napkins, and silverware that has Christmas themes on it at one side of the table. If done this way, your guests can take a plate, napkin and tableware and then proceed to the food. An advantage of this: Cleanup is easier, too. Decorate your dining room table. Here are some suggestions: Choose a solid color tablecloth; red, green or white. Add Christmas placemats at each setting. As a centerpiece, fill a crystal bowl with Christmas balls. Next to the centerpiece, place two Christmas candles. To make your tablecloth stand out, pin garland around the bottom of the tablecloth. What Fun Games Can be Played? After everyone's had their fill, it's time for fun games. Adults may enjoy charades or a Christmas sing-a-long. How about playing musical chairs with a twist. The guys get down on one knee, while the girls circle around them to the tunes of Christmas medleys. When the music stops, each girl has to immediately sit on a guy's knee. It's so fun, that your guests laugh till tears fall out. And lastly, there is no Christmas without a Santa Claus. Have someone wear a Santa villian costume. Make him wear white hair and mustache that reaches his nose. He can give away small gift packs or anything nice. All this will surely make your Christmas party a well remembered one.

Most people are too distracted thinking about Christmas sales and promos, they tend to forget the celebration of Epiphany. Epiphany is the time after Christmas when the 3 Magi visited the Child Jesus. Back then, the Epiphany celebration had the twelve days Christ's birth when the church celebrates Christ being shown as the Light of the world and remembers the journey of the three wise men. Many people not from the United States start the Epiphany celebrations by caring for others on St. Stephen's Day. St. Stephen's day is on December 26, in honor of Stephen, considered the the first martyr of Christianity. In Acts 6-8, his story might be included during family bible readings on December 26. His convictions about the revelation of Christ in the world brought about his death. In the book of Acts, he was considered the first martyr among Christians. For hundreds of years, people of the Christian faith have remembered his faithfulness on December 26, the day after Christmas. This day marks a day for selfless care for people in need, the unwanted, who have no people to love them. As a family, you might choose a needy family or local group to help the day after Christmas. When most families are shopping the after-christmas sales, you can make an impact on your local community by taking a meal or gifts to a family in need. In Britain and Canada, this day is called Boxing Day, an official holiday in Britain. When my kids first heard of Boxing Day, they thought it was a celebration of those who box as a sport. They were surprised at the true meaning of Boxing Day. On this day,food boxes are delivered to the ones in need. In the past these were given to workers from their masters. The spirit of Wenceslaus is shown so that the whole community may join in and celebrate the manifestation of the Good News of Christ's birth. Churches usually organize Boxing Day to specifically serve the physical and spiritual needs of their fellow men and thus show that Word of God requires good deeds to your neighbors. Boxing Day is one of those days where you can see these good acts being done.

For those who cannot afford to buy all of the fancy Christmas tree ornaments available today, decorating your tree on a budget can be practical and cost effective. You, too, can have a lovely decorative tree without having to sacrifice style and beauty. Beside being affordable, these Christmas tree decorations are great for students. Check out some of our affordable Christmas tree decoration's instructions below. COOKIE TREE: Make a delectable cookie tree. Be creative by baking cookies in all shapes and sizes. Dress up the cookies with non-pariel rainbow seeds or sprinkles to give the cookies that extra splash of color. To hang the cookies on the tree, roll a small piece of cardboard - the size of a dime - and insert it in the top of the cookie before baking. This will ensure the holes remain open during the baking process. Afterward, insert ribbons into the holes in the cookies and hang them on the tree. Atop the tree, add a large gingerbread cookie with a Christmas tree light in its center. Before baking this gingerbread cookie, follow the same procedure by inserting a rolled piece of cardboard in the center of the cookie. You can dress up the gingerbread cookie using white icing with red food color. Create an adorable tree skirt by using an green or red apron that has decorative images such as Christmas themes or even gingerbread cookies. With this, you have cookie cutter Christmas ornaments recipes for the tree. SNOWY TREE: There is another cheap way to build and decorate a beautiful tree with a snowy Christmas tree. Gather cotton balls and stick them on the tips of the branches. Have white glitter ready and sprinkle it over the cotton balls to give it a sparkling effect. Or you can cut silver garland into little tiny strips to achieve the same effects. Need an ornament for the top of the tree? Make a cookie snowman. Simply using your favorite cookie dough, shape the dough into the form of a snowman. Cover the entire snowman with white icing. Use chocolate chips for his eyes, and shape a nose using a small carrot. Add a smile on his face using chocolate from a piping bag. To make a tree skirt, simply use red or green cardboard. With scissors, cut it into an arc. Get about two to three cups of flour and add water. Put the flour on the cardboard's surface to give it the appearance of newly fallen snow. Also, a sprinkle of white glitter will enhance the look.

For those who cannot afford to buy all of the fancy Christmas tree ornaments available today, decorating your tree on a budget can be practical and cost effective. You, too, can have a lovely decorative tree without having to sacrifice style and beauty. Beside being affordable, these Christmas tree decorations are great for students. Check out some of our affordable Christmas tree decoration's instructions below. COOKIE TREE: Make a nice-looking and yummy cookie tree. Be imaginative by baking cookies in a myriad of shapes and sizes. Brighten it up by adding color to the cookies with unique rainbow or colored sprinkles to give the cookies an extra color boost. To put the cookies up on the tree, roll a piece of thick paper - the size of a dime - and insert it in the surface of the cookie before putting it in the oven. Doing this will allow the holes to remain open during baking. After baking, thread ribbons into the holes of the cookies and trim the tree with your cookies. On the top of the tree, place a large gingerbread cookie with a small Christmas light in its center. Before putting this gingerbread cookie in the oven, follow the same trick by inserting a rolled piece of thick paper in the center of the cookie. You can dress up the gingerbread cookie using colored icing with Christmas color themes. Create an adorable tree skirt by using an green or red apron that has decorative images such as Christmas themes or even gingerbread cookies. With this, you have cookie cutter Christmas ornaments recipes for the tree. SNOWY TREE: Here is another inexpensive way to decorate and produce a spectacular tree. Make a snowy Christmas tree. Take cotton balls and place them on the tips of the branches. If you have any white glitter on hand, sprinkle it on the cotton balls to give a glistening snow effect. Or you can cut silver garland into little tiny specks to achieve the same results. Need something to put on top of the tree? Build a snowman. Just by using your favorite pastry dough, shape the dough into the form of a snowman. Cover the entire snowman with white sugar frosting. Use chocolate chips for his eyes, and carve a nose using a knife for a small carrot. Make a smile on his face is easy by using chocolate from a pastry bag. To make a tree skirt, simply use red or green cardboard. With scissors, cut it into an arc. Get about two to three cups of flour and add water. Put the flour on the cardboard's surface to give it the appearance of newly fallen snow. Also, a sprinkle of white glitter will enhance the look.

Kids love Christmas crafts. Santa craft ideas for kids are an easy and fun way to spend time with your kids during the holidays. Choose from one of our Christmas craft-decorating, free ideas. SANTA PICTURE: If you're looking for holiday craft ideas for preschoolers,, this is a great place to start. So, let's begin with Santa pictures. There are a variety of Santa coloring books available during the holidays. Choose a picture from the book. Cut out the picture of Santa, and place the picture in the center of a sheet of white construction paper. Use a glue stick to secure the picture. Color the picture with colored pencils. Once coloring is done, use wisps of cotton to serve as Santa's beard and use a small ball of cotton at the tip of his red hat. You can use small, black buttons to serve as Santa's eyes, and a red button for his nose. Fill the rest of the area of the white construction paper by drawing presents or candy canes. When the picture is finished, your children can sign their names right under Santa's image. Take a piece of heavy cardboard and secure the picture to it. Put the picture in a frame to protect it. Place this frame in a memorable area of your house for all to look and admire. SANTA CHRISTMAS CARDS: Santa Christmas cards is another art activity your children will be able to do. With a piece of white construction paper, measure the paper to a size of 5×7 inches. Cut the paper to that particular measurement. You can either fold it vertically or horizontally. Tell your kids to personalize their version of Santa on the front page. Let them use crayons or colored markers to help stimulate their imagination. After the picture is finished, your kids can write Christmas messages on the inside of the card. Homemade Christmas cards are wonderful to display in your home or send to relatives and friends. You can even add this to your Christmas craft-a-day calendar; it's a great craft to do with your kids or students. MAKE A SANTA PLATE ORNAMENT FOR THE CHRISTMAS TREE: Things that will be used are crayons and markers, cotton balls, a large paper plate, and color sparkles. Trace or draw Santa, without his red hat, on the plate using the drawing materials. Use the cotton balls to serve as his beard. You can even stick the cotton balls together into a V-shape so that Santa's beard hangs off the plate. The cotton balls can serve as Santa's hair, also. Use a blue marker to color in Santa's eyes, and a black marker to draw Santa's glasses. Use red food color on a cotton ball to make Santa's nose. You can color the rim of the plate with red or green and add color sparkles to it. Finally, place the Santa plate on the tree by inserting an ornament hook at the top of the plate. Well that's it! There are many different ways to share with your kids on how to make Santa Christmas ornaments, pictures, and cards.

As much as we love the onset of the holiday season every year, most of us know that one of the pitfalls of Christmas is the extra weight we put on, from eating all that wonderful food. There are so many parties and gatherings, with so many gorgeous and sugar-filled treats, most of us tend to sigh and accept the fact that we'll gain a few extra pounds. This is the one time of year when we should be able to overindulge a little, and enjoy the delicious and traditional foods that we find at all of the Christmas season's events. Still, we can make the season a little less destructive to our belts and waistlines, if we spend a little time considering how we eat. For instance, most gatherings and parties at Christmastime are about family and friends, about love and fellowship. We should remind ourselves, as we arrive at these gatherings, that we're here to enjoy our families and friends, and not just to taste every single dessert on the table. When seeing a spread of holiday food on a buffet table for the first time, we instantly want to taste everything. But that's just not practical. Look at the food, carefully, and decide what you really want to have, then help yourself. Just don't take large portions of everything offered-you can't possible enjoy it all, equally. If you know you'll be attending a party with good food, don't starve yourself all day, so that you can eat more. Arriving hungry is a perfect way to guarantee that you'll eat too much. Remember, the food is the party's enhancement, not its purpose. Try to get plenty of sleep during the Christmas season. It's difficult, with all of the shopping and parties, but sleep can help your body resist cravings. A lack of sleep makes you want more sugar and starch. Your children are especially vulnerable to the temptation of over-indulging this holiday season. Most of the food we associate with Christmas is filled with sugar and fat, and is presented in a beautiful, appetizing manner. Chances are, your kids will eat too much of the wrong stuff this year. Try and make sure they get plenty of exercise to burn off some of those extra calories. When faced with all of the glorious food you'll see, this Christmas season, don't punish yourself-enjoy it. But remember that the food will vanish. The extra pounds may not, unless you understand, ahead of time, that January will be a time for a few extra visits to the gym.