Sharing the Christmas Story with Kiddoos

I took this photo of our tree in 2010, and like the way the sunlight is illuminating it.

These following ideas were in a recent email newsletter my church sent out, and I added some of my own at the end of this post.

This Christmas we suggest families spend some time together and hear the REAL reason for giving and celebrating at Christmas. During the entire month of December, break the Christmas story into small segments in this suggested way:

A Savior King is Promised - Read Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5; Micah 5:2-5a

The Angel Visits Mary - Read Luke 1:26-38

The Trip to Bethlehem and Stable - Read Luke2:1-7

The Christ Child is Born - Luke 2:6-7

The Angel Visits the Shepherds - Luke 2:8-14

The Shepherds Visit the Manger - Luke 2:15-18

The Wise Men Travel to Jerusalem - Matthew 2:1-8

The Wise Men Worship the Christ Child - Matthew 2:9-12

The Trip to Egypt - Matthew 2:13-15

Make the story come alive, don't just read it from your Bible, but tell it with your Bible by your side. Don't be afraid to stop and discuss something if your child seems confused or is having a hard time understanding. Ask questions while you are telling the story. This could be the start of a new tradition for your family, or a new way of celebrating the season. Any way you do it, the entire family will be blessed.

An idea of my own I like to do is to have the kiddoos move the pieces of our nativity set as we read the above Scriptures.  So at one point the stable is there but has only sheep and cattle in it, and then it fills up as Joseph and Mary and their donkey arrive and Jesus is born, an angel appears, and the shepherds and wise men arrive.