It’s hard to believe, but Christmas is just around the corner! Today’s episode is packed with tips to help you get through the Christmas season in a way that reflects your family’s values and faith. This will also be the last episode for a few months as I take a short break, so I do wish you a merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year, but most of all I pray that you will continue to raise your kids to love Jesus and that you will parent in ways that honours God. So let’s get started – I have 5 random thoughts for you today – hopefully you’ll find them good tips!

Tip 1: Tired of Your Kids Wanting Stuff this Christmas?

This time of the year we are all just bombarded with marketing – to be honest, the marketing is designed to bombard our kids – ads everywhere telling them what they “must have.” Unless we never turn on any media and don’t leave our house our kids are going to be affected.  I used to call it – a case of the wants.  You know, like a case of the chickenpox, but instead infected with wanting this and wanting that.

If my kids were showing any symptoms of a case of the Wants – I simply didn’t take them into the toy store, or down the toy isle.  Avoid temptation was my first defense.  But it wasn’t the only thing I did.

We also talked about it.  

• I talked about what I was seeing in their heart – discontent, greed, lack of discernment, lack of stewardship, comparisons – of course I didn’t call all that out at once – but those types of things is what is brewing in our childs heart when they want all the things.

• We also talked about how marketing works – how it is to make us feel like we’re missing out so we buy more, or life will be better if we have.  Our response is to be wise consumers – to be aware of our money, our needs, and our responsibilities.
• We intentionally countered the vices of the Wants with focusing on our family values such as generosity, contentment, honouring others, stewardship, love?
• We focused on giving instead of receiving, intentionally teaching our children how to think of the other person when choosing a gift for them.  

By being upfront, you help your kids deal with heart-struggles by giving them real strategies and values to live by. This is much better than just telling them to stop asking, they can’t have it!

Tip 2: Slow Down in the middle of Christmas Rush

The Christmas season can feel like a whirlwind of activities. One way to slow down and create meaningful moments is by making time for family read-alouds.  We have a lovely collection of picture books all around the Christmas themes – some Biblical, some of legends and some about the values of love, joy, peace and hope.  But you don’t have to just read Christmas stories – the idea is you sit together and read a book – picture book or chapter book.  

• A good story is more than just entertainment—it opens the door for heart conversations.
• When you are reading the book, think about the wisdom that can be learnt from the story – not just the facts.  Wisdom is things that make us think about faith, virtue, worldview, identity, and purpose. 
• At the end of the book, or the end of the chapter – ask open-ended questions to spark conversation, and inparticular conversation that leads to talking about issues of faith, virtue, worldview, identity and purpose.  For example: “Why do you think that character made that choice? What would you have done?”  or “When that happened I was reminded of something in the Bible, anyone guess what?” 
• Conversations don’t need to be long and certainly not laboured though they may feel forced if you aren’t used to it – but take it slow and be okay with small beginnings, just one comment about one aspect of wisdom you heard from the nights reading is enough to start a habit in your family.

Tip 3: Teaching your Kids to Greet Relatives with Respect

Are you catching up with family, extended family over Christmas?  Greeting relatives or family friends can be fairly overwhelming for kids – especially if you are jumping from one event to another event.  This is certainly something that you can start working on now that will help your kids on the day.  

How we greet people has become a murky area in our society – it used to be a bold handshake for men and hug and kiss for women.  But the lines are murky for many different reasons these days.  So lets try and bring it back to principle.

1. Greeting people is a way of showing respect and honour.  
2. Each of us can choose (as can our  children) how we want to be touched, even in greetings

This means we need to talk about how our children are going to greet people – what are they comfortable with, and does that show respect?  By talking bout it, and even practicing sets our children up for success.  They need to know that they have a voice, and that you will respect their boundaries – but that respect is a non-negotiable.

Tip 4: Try this when you and your kids are overwhelmed 

This time of year can sometimes leave everyone feeling frazzled. I had a little strategy that I often called into play when things got to that overwhelm point, when I needed a breather – that’s when DEAR Me! comes in to play.  Dear Me! Stands for —Drop Everything and Read.

Whether kids wanted to read or not was not the point.  This was a time where everyone found their own space and weren’t allowed to talk or move – unless they were turning pages!

Obviously this only works if you have a book with you and your kids are used to doing this.  I encourage you to take this week for DEAR Me! Training.  Just at random times call out – Dear Me!  And help your kids grab a book, find a spot and have some decompressing, quiet time.  Make it fun, make it happen often – maybe at least 3 t imes in a day – for tranining purposes – and then make it once a day till Christmas time.  It is a great skill for everyone to have.

One other tip – never leave home without a book!  This was one of our family rules.  Whenever we left the house the kids had to get their own backpack that consisted of – hat, waterbottle, shoes and a book.

You’ll be surprised how much a story can calm down a restless moment, whether you’re at a relative’s house, waiting in line, or dealing with unexpected delays. The key is there is no other option.  It may take some getting used to but so worth it.

Tip 5: How your Christmas Celebrations will set you up for the New Year

How are you going with incorporating Jesus into your Christmas celebrations?  Just a little plug here for my Family Advent Guide – that give syou some simple Jesus focused activities – still time to make that work.  The link for the booklet is in the episode notes, on the podcast app and my website.  

But I wanted to leave you with a heart-check.  If you’re struggling to bring Jesus into your Christmas celebrations, it might be time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Ask yourself: How much have you brought Jesus into the other 11 months of the year?

Jesus can only be truly celebrated at Christmas if He’s recognized throughout the year. Otherwise, we risk whitewashing Christmas—making it look like a Christian holiday without truly living it out.

To be honest, if you feel you’ve really dropped the ball when it comes to discipleship and your kids in the last 12 months – it’s time to regroup. Learn from the gaps you are feeling now because of Christmas – and take some time to consider how you are going to teach your children about Jesus, and what He asks of us, His followers, in the new year.  

This isn’t about guilt; it’s an opportunity to re-align your heart and your practices and to find ways to get back on track.

Thank you

As we wrap up, I want to thank you for joining me throughout this year. This will be the last episode for a little while, but I’ll be back in the new year with more ideas and encouragement for your parenting journey. In the meantime, I’d love to hear how you’re applying these tips during the holiday season—feel free to reach out via email or social media.

I pray your Christmas is filled with peace, joy, and love  and that the New Year brings fresh vision and purpose for your family. Remember to keep Jesus at the center, not just in December, but every day. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hi there! I'm Belinda and I'm glad you are here!

I am a family life coach and help parents to raise their kids with faith, values and life skills in a way that is intentional, relational and heart-focused. Read more in my Introduction page

You can learn about heart-focused parenting through my podcast, blog and weekly email (Heart Boosters).

If you need help you can book a coach call or email me here.

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