A Lighter Christmastime: 3 simple ideas

Plus ALLLL the kid resources I got!

Our tree went up at its usual mid-November time. I picked up the $1.50 Trader Joe’s chocolate Countdown Calendars for my kids. And now, I’m in the liminal space before it’s officially December and I have one main hope:

I want a lighter Christmastime.

I don’t want heavy, whether that comes from theological messaging, frenzied activities and overfull calendars, or the burden to make Christmas *MAGIC* for my children because it’s all about faaaaamily.

Pass. I’d like lighter. And if you would as well, read on.

The thing is, I think lighter will actually communicate something vital to my kids about who God is and God’s invitation to us—at Christmas and always.

I was thinking about the kids of the biblical Christmas story—Mary is likely 13-ish, Joseph is probably a young teenager. And the shepherds in the fields were quite likely children as well.

And God gives the first messages to these young people about what all of this means.

In particular, this year of a struck by what those Shepherd kids were told:

And the angel said, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”

Good news. Great joy. For all people. 

These simple three phrases are an invitation to a lighter Christmas.

#1 - GOOD NEWS

Good news, like, God is with us, not “thank goodness Jesus showed up, you terrible person”.

Maybe this feels like Obvious Central, but I can’t count how many times I’ve heard Christmas story told through the single focus of sin. The entire reason Jesus comes is sin. The entire hope of Christmas is about sin. Have you ever, for instance, heard that the reason Jesus came as “to die for our sins”?

This is too narrow a way to talk about Christmas.

Sin isn’t irrelevant to the story, I know. It’s part of the conversations Mary and Joseph each have with other angels. But sometimes all the talk of sin overshadows the good news.

The season ends up feeling heavy because the story keeps getting told as if it starts with sin and Jesus simply came to offer a sin-reduction plan.

The story starts in the presence of God and Jesus is the presence of God. The good news the angel brings to the shepherds is about a baby. God, who has always been with us, has also arrived in a whole new way. The good news is that God is taking on flesh and being born into a human family.

And this good news stands alone in the proclamation from the angel.

The good news is that God is taking on flesh, with us in a whole new way.

To put it another way: We’re celebrating Christmas, not Good Friday or Easter. The incarnation, not the atonement - if you wanna use fancy theological jargon. We can celebrate Easter when it’s time.

It’s still true that God is with us, even now, even here. And we get to live like it. We get to help our kids experience that reality at Christmas and in our ordinary days. We get to tell our kids that’s the heart of the Christmas story.

One small thing you can try:

Check in on the storybooks or other kids activities you will do together this season. Do they feel like good news? Is “God with us” the heartbeat of the story?

#2 - GREAT JOY

Great joy, like, actual fun, not holiday frenzy.

One reason this season can be heavy? The frenzy. Between the consumerism all around and schedules overfull and an anxious sense that we’re missing it, whatever it is, there’s frenzy. And while some of those things might promise great joy, they tend to under-deliver on that promise.

Frenzy cannot deliver great joy.

What if the Christmas season were fun? What if its main contribution to our families was a deep sense that we are well, and that, no matter what, everything is going to be ok because Jesus is here? What if it actually brought us great joy? Like not forced cheerfulness, but actual great joy?

That might mean slowing down and cutting out the things that make the Christmas season feel unsustainable and anxious. This might mean some hard choices, perhaps saying ‘no’ to things we feel obligated to say yes to. 

One small thing you can try:

Add one fun thing, and say ‘no’ to one draining thing.

-What is something you do or can add this season that sounds FUN? What could be life giving?

-What is something you could say ‘no’ to? Maybe you say ‘no’ because it takes away joy. Or maybe you say ‘no’ in order to create space for joy.

It could be a small as not cooking a dish you hate to prepare. It could be as big as not giving away your time to a place you don’t really want to be (even if that place is church.)

#3: FOR ALL PEOPLE

For all people, like, your neighbors near and far, not just your nuclear family.

The Christmas season has, for some at least, become the ultimate ‘family time’, a time to make memories and magic together, probably in matching pajamas.

Now, far be it from me to criticize matching jammies, but at the same time I think the angel’s message might encourage us to push beyond the cozy confines of the couch. I actually think there are times we go through Christmas in ways that reveal how we’ve made an idol of our family.

And if we’re stuck in the frenzy, the correction to this feels like too much. That doesn’t make it any less true: what we often need is to break out of the idolatry of the family and reconnect with God’s grand, global heart by literally connecting with others.

The good news and great joy of Jesus’ birth is fundamentally meant to be shared (and I’m not meaning this in a narrowly evangelistic sort of w.ay). If we are not also connecting with others in friendship and service, we’re accepting a lesser version of the good news and great joy that Christmas offers.

Maybe this is the most forgotten part of the angel’s message to the shepherds: for all people.  Jesus came so that God’s family table could be widened to include the whole world, and our celebration of Christmas can reflect that reality. 

One small thing you can do:

Make a list of one to three people you can connect with between now and the end of the year. That connection might be as small as a text, snail mail, cookies dropped on the porch.

OR Is there one way you can reach beyond your nuclear family in service? Maybe it’s in person, or maybe you just make a small financial gift to a great organization and say a prayer as you do.

As you think about this, remember it’s not meant to be done in a stressful or obligatory sort of way, but as a way of sharing and enjoying the good news of Christmas more widely. This year, would that make more sense as something relational or something that serves?

I know Christmastime can also be heavy for reasons you can’t change.

It’s not as simple as a perspective shift about God’s presence, not as easy as adding more fun, not as clear as connecting more beyond your nuclear family. I’m sorry if that’s the case. Still, I wonder, what if you asked yourself: how can I trade some of the heaviness for something lighter? What can I add in or say ‘no’ to to make this heavy season just a little bit less so?

Perhaps the angel announced something that is always and forever true: there is good news of great joy for all people. Now. This Christmas there is actually good news that actually brings great joy that’s for you and for the world.

And maybe the way to receive it is to go lighter—to welcome this baby who is God with us, to add in more fun and turn down the frenzy, to connect with others as a simple way to resist making an idol of our family.

Good news. Great joy. All people. Amen.

---

What might lighter mean for you and/or your kids this year? Is there something you’re going to do? Something you’re going to NOT do? I’d love to hear.

In the spirit of lighter, I’ve made some fun, easy to use, flexible resources you might find helpful. And if you have any questions about them, just let me know in the comments.

For a one-shot at the story try…

Christmas Story Scavenger Hunts

Every Christmas morning my boys spend a full hour on a massive scagenger hunt that tells the Christmas story and leads to their stocking. It’s my favorite Christmas tradition.

And now there’s a version for you with 8 clues, almost everything you need included, and it works no matter what kind of space you call home.

There’s a Green Edition and a Red Edition. The story is identical, the clues for each edition are totally unique.

• So if you played last year, get RED this year for a new experience.

• If you have lots of kids, you could run both at once and divide kids into teams.

For all 5 stories try either…

1. Zippee Christmas Family Toolkits

Zippee is intentionally simple and play-based. It has 5 stories (Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, Jesus is here, and Wise Men) and a menu of activity ideas. There’s a version for preschool and for elementary aged kids, and you can bundle them for a discount.

2. Great Big Bible Story Walkthrough

The GBBW will start Christmas Sunday December 1 and send a new story every week for 5 weeks. You’ll get…

• A short devotional for you

• For big kids ages 6-11: a paraphrase of the Bible story, 3 wonder questions, a game idea, a prayer idea

• For little kids: age 2-5: a paraphrase of the Bible story, a story poem and two fun ideas to move, play or imagine

That happens via this app, Substack and costs $5 for the month. You can join just for December and cancel after week 5, if you’d like. Just update your subscription.

You could also come on over for the full GBBW goodness, where you get a story every week. At that point I’ll remind you that it’s just $30 for the year. Also, if it’s ever not in the budget, for whatever reason, just let me know and I’ll add you, no sweat.

May the God of good news fill you with great joy this Christmas.

May you feel the presence of Jesus who has come so near this Christmas.

May the Spirit who delights in bringing all people home to the love of God encourage you as you share that love with others this Christmas.

And may you hear God, whenever Christmas feels heavy, saying to you, ‘Lighter. Let it be lighter.‘

Amen.