Holiday Ideas

Today's Christian Woman, November/December 2006
personal/ministry resource


Merry and Meaningful
12 ways to make the most of your holidays.
by Jeanne Winters


As you enter this year's festive season, consider incorporating new
traditions and time for personal reflection into your celebration.
Here are 12 fresh ideas just in time for the holidays:

1. Thinking of Thankfulness
Find a beautiful blank journal, or create one with handmade papers.
Then write the year's blessings in it. This can be a private exercise
or a family tradition. If you choose to make it a family activity,
have each member write briefly and allow time to read past entries.
Or, you may prefer a year-end journal to be completed after the
holidays. Either way, it's sure to become a treasured keepsake.

2. Joy to Your World
Share the Christmas message with everyone who visits your home. Cut
gold or silver shimmer fabric into squares. Place several wrapped
candies and a copy of a holiday verse such as Isaiah 9:6, Luke 2:11,
or Matthew 1:21 inside. Then tie the squares up with sparkly ribbon.
Keep a basket of these favors by your front door to bestow on your
package-delivery person or children selling door-to-door.

3. Guiding Lights
I never tire of seeing fine homes gleaming with colorful Christmas
lights. The usual line of cars tells me I'm not the only one who
enjoys the splendor! This year when you tour a glittery neighborhood,
choose one decorated house and one undecorated house, say a prayer for
the people who live there, and continue to pray for them every day
thereafter until Christmas.

4. Do Unto Others
Bring a little Christmas cheer to a "twin family" in need by providing
them with a few presents. A twin family is one with the same makeup as
yours (single; married with no children; single mother with two
children; etc.). Call your church or local social services department
for contacts and shopping guidance.

5. A Tisket, a Tasket …
Instead of exchanging gifts with your girlfriends or coworkers,
arrange a party to package gift baskets for a local women's shelter or
a pregnancy care center. First contact the director about specific
needs and quantities. Then create a list of items and ask friends to
sign up for what they'll provide. When you gather, gift-wrap cardboard
boxes or dress up inexpensive wicker baskets, then fill them with your
donations. Relax over tea and holiday treats before making your
delivery.

6. The Gift of You
Often the presents we shop so intently for are quickly forgotten. For
a more memorable gift, why not try doing something? Think about what
you might do for your spouse, friend, or parent that would have a
longer-lasting, more positive impact on your relationship. Would your
spouse appreciate a date night? Do your parents long for more quality
time with you? Don't be afraid to ask—it doesn't have to be a
surprise.

7. Gothic Gingerbread
Try your hand at a gingerbread church. You can work alone or with
friends or family members. Pour some apple cider, start the Christmas
music, and get to work. Choose a different country each year and
create its most famous cathedral or simplest country church in
miniature. Travel books can provide ideas. Then, pray for that nation
throughout the month of December.

8. Happy Birthday, Jesus
Offer Jesus a symbolic gift in honor of his birthday. Give him an area
of your life you desire to change—an emotion, an activity, or a
relationship—and physically wrap a box to represent it. Do this
individually or as a family. Create a family present to display every
year by painting an unfinished wooden box and tying it with a silk
ribbon.

9. Serve the Servants
December is an extra busy month for church staffers who work extended
hours due to holiday programs and an influx of visitors. Deliver a hot
meal to one or more of these families to help lighten their load.

10. Simple Pleasures
Set aside an annual night to relish simple, old-fashioned joys. Pop
some corn and snuggle with a book of sentimental short stories of
Christmases past. If you have kids, plan a night of games and pizzas.
Saunter through the snow-covered woods, leaving a trail of snow angels
behind. Or, if you live in a warmer climate, grab a blanket, head
outside, and search for the star in the East. Whatever you do, take
reprieve from worries and reflect on Christ's humble birth.

11. Guest of Honor
Set a place of honor for Jesus at your Christmas dinner table as a
reminder of his presence.

12. Forgiveness Eve
The end of a year is a wonderful opportunity to engage in earnest
reflection. Take time to forgive anyone who's wronged you during the
year and for whom you still harbor resentment or bitterness. Begin the
new year with a refreshed heart!

Jeanne Winters is the author of Inspirational Home (Creative Faith
Place). Visit her online at www.jeannewinters.com.

Copyright (c) 2006 by the author or Christianity Today
International/Today's Christian Woman magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Today's Christian Woman.
November/December 2006, Vol. 28, No. 6, Page 28


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additional input from ELIZABETH

thanks helpmeet!


I LOVED this article! I was trying earlier this week to think of a little way we could give to church members without it costing a lot. This article inspired the following ideas:
1.We have left over candy from our Fall Festival. We can wrap these candies in silver paper and tie with silver and white ribbon. On Dec 31st we can have the children pass these out to each member.
2. At the entrance to the church, lay out a holiday notebook and a pen. Ask congregation members to sign it and write what they are thankful for this year. We can keep this item in the church library for all to come and read.
3. To remember to be thankful and teach my children thankfulness, I will make a homemade journal and keep it in our study. Each night before bed I will ask the children to name at least one thing they are thankful for that day. ( I will write for the younger ones.) At the end of the year we should have a nice little keepsake to reread as we please.