Teaching Christmas Throughout the Year

Life can become hectic during the Christmas season. Between activities like shopping for gifts and wrapping them, decorating the house or church, preparing for families to visit you or you preparing to visit family and friends, we sometimes do not take the time to stop and remember the real reason for Christmas.

With children, it can be the same. The excitement of parties, presents, Santa, Christmas trees, and the pretty lights can blur the meaning of Christmas. We need to take every opportunity to tell the children why we are celebrating.

When our boys were young, we had all the fun of Santa, lights, gifts, and everything else, but we also made sure they knew why we did all the celebrating. They had nativity sets to tell the story of Jesus’ birth. They heard the story in Sunday school and church. On Christmas Eve, their dad read them the Christmas story from the books of Matthew and Luke. We felt that we had to impress on them the importance of Christ’s birth.

However, this story is so important that we need to teach it throughout the year. We need to take every opportunity to tell the children about how God loved us enough to send his Son to earth for us. At the childhood center where I work, I tell the children to help me make a tree on the wall of our classroom. Then each of us hangs up a bow with a gift tag that says, “To (the child’s name)” and “From God.” Above the tree it says, “Our Greatest Gift.” Any time of the year, we need to take the opportunity to share the story of God’s greatest gift, his Son.

January, March, August, or December—any time during the year—the most important thing we can do is remind the children that Jesus is God’s gift to us.

Melodee Simmons has taught in early childhood education for more than 30 years. She has served in private and corporate-owned centers in Christian and secular preschools. She currently serves at the Giraffe Kids Learning Center and Development Academy in Houston, Texas. She has earned her National Director Credential. You may contact Melodee at melodee.simmons@yahoo.com.