A Christ-Centered Twelve Days of Christmas

Hi guys! Can you believe Christmas will be here so soon?! Holiday preparations are in full swing and everywhere you look there are gifts to buy and things to do.  We started decorating our home for Christmas in mid November – for a few reasons. One, as a blogger, I needed to photograph some Christmas projects ahead of time to have them ready to share with y’all.  I also wanted to be able to take my time and make it an enjoyable process rather than rushing through and feeling stressed and guilty about it. Mostly though, I wanted all the “work” of Christmas to be done before December hit, so that I could slow things waaaay down and enjoy some much-needed quiet family time this month.

It can be easy this time of year to get wrapped up in, well, wrapping . . . and putting up pretty decorations, and hosting get-togethers and all the other wonderful things about the holidays. I’m as guilty as anybody! This year I really want to try and simplify my holiday and keep our Christmas focused on Christ. I LOVE that Christmas is on a Sunday this year. That always seems to add a little extra “spiritual oomph” to an already wonderful holiday. Today I’m sharing some things we are doing as a family that will {hopefully} help us keep our holiday Christ-centered.

The Living Christ

A couple years ago our family worked together to memorize The Living Christ during the holiday season. It was a really fun experience, and one I would recommend if you haven’t tried it. It’s long, but it’s really not that hard to memorize, especially if you work on it together. Even if you have memorized it in the past, a little refresher probably wouldn’t hurt. I know we need one! The very last line, “God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son”, really resonates with me. I designed some Christmas tree ornaments with that message for our monthly women’s meeting at church that year. I still love the memories of that special Christmas, and the beautiful message of The Living Christ, every time I see it. 

To make your own Living Christ ornaments, download my free printable images and follow this awesome tutorial at Fyne's Designs.

The Twelve Days of Christ

I love all the Twelve Days of Christmas ideas you see all over the internet this time of year. This year we are going to do our own little countdown and study some of the Names of Christ as a family in the days leading up to Christmas. I designed eight of these Names of Christ study cards for Easter this year, but I thought they were equally appropriate for the Christmas season as well. I’m adding 4 brand new cards to the set so you’ll have one for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  

Each card has a hand-lettered word art design on one side that you could frame or hang with ribbon on your Christmas tree, but the back side is where the magic lives. It is chock-full of scripture references and quotes to enhance your understanding, as well as related articles for further study.

All you have to do is download the files here, print them double-sided onto cardstock and cut them out to make a set for each family member. I laminated mine so I could carry them to church every Sunday and have them at the ready for quick reference.  These cards would also make a great stocking stuffer for your Seminary student or missionary!

I hope these simple suggestions give you some ideas about how you can make this Christmas a special, Christ-centered holiday for your family.  Merry Christmas, friends!

Amy