Hey Friends,

It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just a couple weeks away! Christmastime is fast becoming my favorite time of the year. I love all the Christmas music, Christmas traditions, and the celebratory spirit that is in the air every time Christmas rolls around!

Unfortunatley, with all the commercialism around Christmas time, it can be hard to remember the real reason why we are celebrating Christmas. Today, I want to share 6 simple ways to have a Christ-centered Christmas. A few of these tips and suggestions are fairly obvious ways… but sometimes it’s the simple things that are the easiest to forget. I hope you will take one or two of these suggestions and implement them into your celebrating to help you have a Christ-centered Christmas.

At the end, be sure to share your tips and suggestions as well as your favorite idea from this list! Let’s get started!

6 Ways to Have a Christ-Centered Christmas

1. Read and Study the Christmas Story

I know this is such an obvious way to keep our focus on Christ at Christmas… but how many of us neglect this simple practice? As Christians we know that December 25th is not the actual birth date of Christ, however, it’s still a wonderful time to celebrate His coming. We’ve been given such a remarkable gift through the coming of Christ. We ought to take the time to read, study, and appreciate the wonderful story surrounding Christ’s birth, His life, His death, and most importantly… His resurrection!

Take some time this month to pull out your Bible, dig into the Word of God and immerse yourself in the miraculous story of Christ’s birth.

>>> This month I am reading the Gospel of Luke in my KJV Creative Bible and it’s been so good!

2. Listen to the Classic Christmas Carols

I love all the old-time Christmas carols… from Joy to the World to Angels From the Realms of Glory. They all have the birth of Christ as the main focus of the song, so listening to these carols is a great way to keep your focus on Christ during the holidays.

>>> Growing up I loved listening to this Christmas CD – it’s a mix of new and traditional Christmas songs and carols. It’s great for kids and adults alike!

3. Read A Christ-Centered Christmas Book

I love reading Christmas books in the month of December – it’s such a fun way to get into a Christmas spirit. Recently, I shared 5 Books to Read This Christmas. Several of the books on my list were definitely Christ-centered Christmas books, others were more for fun and enjoyment. Here’s a quick list to give you some Christ-centered Christmas book recommendations!

• The Women of Christmas
• The Crippled Lamb
• Christmas Stories for the Heart
• The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

4. Focus on Giving – Not Getting

Christmas is the time of year to focus on giving to others. God has given us the greatest gift of His Son and salvation. We ought to focus on what we can give others this season instead of focusing on the things we will receive. If you need some ideas on how to bless others this season, here are some ideas for you to consider:

• Give a plate of Christmas cookies to your neighbors. Sally (from Sally’s Baking Addiction) has this beautiful cookie recipe book!
• Offer to babysit for a busy mom.
• Check out this list of 100 little ways to bless others (for lots of ideas!).
• Go visit an elderly family member – or someone who is alone this Christmas.
• Send an anonymous Christmas gift.  Check out these gift ideas for men, and these gift ideas for women.

Make a special effort this season to get into the giving spirit!

5. Go Christmas Caroling

For as long as I can remember, we have gone Christmas caroling with our church every December. However, last year my husband and I also got to go caroling with my in-laws. This was such a fun and unique experience because we got to go caroling to members of our church family that never had anyone come caroling to them!

We hope to go our caroling again this year and visit some of our lonely, and unsaved neighbors as well. This is such a fun way to make others feel special (and remembered!) at Christmas-time. It not only blesses them, but it was a blessing to go out caroling as a family!

6. Set Up a Nativity Scene

This is something I haven’t done yet – but I hope to have a nativity set by next year! Growing up, I always loved setting up the nativity scene. When I was really little, my mom wouldn’t let us put out baby Jesus until Christmas Day. It was hard to wait until Christmas Day because baby Jesus was my favorite part of the nativity set!

>>> I have had my eye on this Willow Tree Nativity set on Amazon. It’s my favorite one so far!

Final Thoughts

I hope you will make an effort to keep Christ at the center of your Christmas this year! He is the reason why we celebrate… so please don’t forget about Him as you go about all your holiday festivities and traditions. Please leave a comment below and share your tips and suggestions for having a Christ-centered Christmas + tell me your favorite idea from this list!

Last but not least, please share this post with your friends to encourage them to have a Christ-centered Christmas as well!

With Love,