A wonder-filled Christmas

When we first got married, we were certain that we didn’t want to buy into any kind of false or commercialised Christmas, a Christmas tree being top of our big N-O list. A few years passed; we had children. Fast forward 11 more years, and said children started asking to put up our tree from early November this year. A little compromise from both sides and we had our tree up a few days before 1 December. As you can tell, some of our thinking around Christmas has changed over the years. We absolutely love the day we get pull out the box, brush off the dust, position the tree, add our decorations, and adorn the tree with lights. Why is that? Because in our home we have chosen to intentionally redeem and restore the beauty and wonder of Christmas being all about Christ! We have chosen to make Christmas the most wonder-filled time of the year.  

For many, Christmas is an overwhelming and chaotic time of the year, spent trying to keep up with everything and everyone. It can feel like Christmas happens to you and you come out the other side a little beaten. For others, there is a sense of dread and despair as the familiar empty feelings accompanying Christmas, take up residence in hearts again. The reminders of that which still isn’t, that which hasn’t and that which may never be, swirl around along with cultures pressure to put on the festive face to match the season. For some, Christmas is a time to shine. A time of pursuing, performing, and producing a platform for one’s own glory, completely disconnected from the one whose glory outshines all else.

It kind of makes sense that Christmas loses its wonder.

What then? To not distract from the truth of Christmas, do we throw it all out and run this risk of simplifying it to nothing? Possibly a great tragedy unfolds then as we miss the opportunity to proclaim Christ to the world. Here are a few intentional thoughts and steps we have taken as a family to keep Christ at the centre of our home and hearts during Christmas.

We orientate our hearts with Advent

We love to anticipate Christmas coming with a meaningful family advent routine starting on 1 December. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but we prepare our hearts every day in anticipation of Christ’s birth, because we know how distracted our hearts can become with so much else calling for our attention at this time of year. Advent also allows us to recognise the sense of waiting and anticipation that happened for the coming of the Messiah, while fuelling the sense of hope in our waiting for His return to redeem all things once and for all. We welcome Advent as an intentional way to orientate our hearts amid potential Christmas chaos and the end of year hussle.

We cover our trees with truth

We are thoughtful about out tree decorations as we add those which have meaning and fit in with the biblical narrative that we tell in our home. Yes, that means Santa and reindeers have no place. As I look around our city at this time of year, nearly every building is covered with decorations. They are bold, bright and do a good job of covering the arches and walkways of every entrance but have no resemblance of Christ in Christmas. However grand or elaborate they are, we know that beneath those decorations the same old dusty building stands. In a couple of weeks those decorations out front will be the trash out back. I see these scenes as some resemblance of our world, and the ways in which we are tempted to cover up and hide beneath something to look good and catch an eye, but like those decorations that are tossed out come December 26, it doesn’t last. As we remove the fake Christmas decorations and cover our tree with decorations that resemble something that lasts into eternity, we hold onto the truth that we don’t need to cover up with anything other than Christ. His grace and sacrifice covers our brokenness and sin and allows us to be free and rejoice as we read in Isaiah 61:10, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” Isaiah 61:10 

We fill up our living room with lights

If I could fill my home with a thousand lights and candles at Christmas time I would. One of my favourite parts of the tree is the lights, especially walking through in the morning when it’s still dark outside and seeing the living room lit up with the lights from the tree. Even as I sit here and type away in a somewhat dim room, there is something about the lights on the tree before me that draws me in and tells me of the one who said, “Let there be light”. It reminds me of His light that shone into the darkest parts of my heart and continues to light up my path every day. It gives my family hope for the darkest pockets of the world and stirs us to pray for His light to shine bright, that many more may see and be drawn to Him, the true light, that never grows dim.

We wash our home with thoughtful lyrics 

All other playlists step aside for an intentionally procured Christmas playlist which fills our home for the whole month, and ultimately fills our minds and hearts with truth and delight in Christs’ birth. As we recognise that our world is singing a very different song to a very different tune, we turn up the volume a little louder and allow the theologically rich lyrics of truth to deepen the peace, hope and joy of Christ in our hearts.

We share gifts with thankfulness 

We delight in gift giving as a family with the emphasis on undeserved kindness and grace more than pennies and price tags. We embrace being gift givers in our home because we want to point to the greatest gift of all. We recognise that the gifts shared and exchanged in our home do bring joy, but not lasting joy like we have found in Christ “…our indescribable gift.” (2 Cor 9:15)

We set the table with joy 

With joy and delight, we open our home as we hope to be faithful to John 13:34, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” and Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” We open our home and hearts to friends who have become family and strangers who have no family. As we look to Christ’s life and sacrifice, that lead to His death and our welcoming into His family, we call others to come and taste and see that He truly is good. We seek to reflect Christ as we love and serve others in our limited way during Christmas, pointing to Him as the perfect way.

In all these things we are not pursuing Christmas, but the person of Christ, so that our hearts may proclaim “Glory to the newborn King!” along with the angels. We don’t get this all perfectly right by any means (is that a reindeer I see hanging off the back of our Christmas tree?), but we don’t throw Christmas out the back door like the overused decorations and torn crackers.

We crack open the joyful delight of Christ: King of Kings and Lord of Lords, born in meek human form, for our eternal salvation. We meditate on that deeply. Christ the King of Christmas - how wonderful beyond description!