In the midst of the madness, we really do have control of making Christmas about “Peace on Earth” with meaningful moments in the home. “Peace on Earth” was after all the original goal of the first Christmas. Here are a few things to think about as ways to bring more control, resulting in peace, into your Christmas season.
1. Make Christmas about giving ~ truly. Learning selfless giving is a great character trait all children can use. Set a budget for each child. (STICK to it!). Now take that amount and split it in half. For simplicity’s sake, say each child gets $100.00 spent on them. They will receive $50.00 on their own presents and $50.00 to give away to a meaningful cause. You can make a big celebration event about wrapping presents that you give to homeless shelters or other local places in need. Even having your teenagers drop a $50 bill in a Salvation Army collection pot and later discuss how that felt is a good character-building exercise.
2. Pretend like you don’t have electricity. One of my most magical Christmases ever was once when the electricity went out. We lit lanterns and read Christmas stories. We had a gas stove at the time so we were able to pop some popcorn in a cast-iron skillet. The only activity allowed for this activity is reading, talking, telling stories by lantern or candlelight. Obviously, no electronics or TV!
3. And if you are dreading being with certain family members for Christmas Day, know that you can spend a little time and prepare for your responses instead of the meaningless waste of energy of dreading or throwing your thought processes into a negative loop.
CLICK HERE to Download “Anticipating Difficult Holiday Interactions” your easy-to-use worksheet
You can choose peace for your home this Christmas, especially by inviting the Prince of Peace into the process.