5 Exciting Tips for a Simple Christmas Focused on Christ

While listening to my friend explain her simple Christmas traditions, I looked around and felt the spirit of Christmas everywhere.

Her home looked, smelled, and felt like Christmas.

Her family’s interpretation of how to celebrate the holidays without stress and exhausting busyness was intriguing.

A simple Christmas sounded like a comforting, freeing idea. I decided to learn how to capture the essence of Christmas without losing the joy of the season.

This was in 1998, so we could not Google ideas, search on Pinterest, or shop online.

My visions of what Christmas should look like came from movies, my experiences, and those of other families.

We had only one child at the time and had not given much thought to how we wanted our family to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  

I imagined a simple Christmas and what traditions I wanted to embrace.

With my poofy 90’s hair and a baby on my hip, I wondered, what would our family’s simple Christmas look like?

What is a Simple Christmas

When we hear the term ‘simple’ we think vanilla, plain, and kind of boring; which it can be.

Sometimes plain and boring is good, but that is not the ‘simple’ I wanted for our holidays.

The simple Christmas that appeals to me is humble, authentic and pure without losing the happiness and fun that so many of us look forward to.

How can we have a meaningful, simple Christmas that is still exciting and fun for our family?

After all, the birth of Jesus Christ is the greatest event in the history of the world that is life-changing. It calls for a grand celebration. But what does that look like?

How can we keep the origins of Christmas alive without becoming lost in a land of distractions that we don’t want to live in?

Focusing on simple, relevant, teachable, and special, I set out to develop my family’s Christmas traditions.

As my kids have grown, through adjustments and age-appropriate changes, the spirit of a simple Christmas still drives our holidays today.

How do you Simplify Christmas

Finding information on how to simplify Christmas, is hard but we can observe and ask other families, “How do you simplify Christmas without losing its meaning and keeping kids interested?”

Of course, the answers to how to simplify Christmas are all over the place because every family has its flavor and threshold for what celebrating the birth of Jesus looks like.

How your family simplifies Christmas can look different, but we developed some guiding principles for a simple Christmas that was still a fun celebration.

Here are four thoughts on how to simplify Christmas.

• Keep Christmas Christ-Centered 

The first thing we did to simplify Christmas was keep it Christ-centered and focus on the true meaning of the holidays; regardless of our circumstances or the age of our children.

We celebrate Christmas to honor the birth of Jesus. Period. Without the birth of Christ, Christmas would not exist.

The birth of Christ is not just a story, but a real event that happened over 2,000 years ago. Jesus was born to save and change us.

Keeping a Christ-centered Christmas is the driving force for keeping the season less stressful and more meaningful.

• Focus on Simple Christmas Gifts

While researching, I realized we had already begun to lavish our only child with gifts. My gift-giving intentions were not bad, but what I thought you focused on at Christmas, buying and giving gifts, was off.

Don’t get me wrong, our family loves giving gifts, but gifts can take over and disrupt a simple Christmas.

We decided to be intentional about choosing simple Christmas gifts that are meaningful, less commercialized, and more authentic.

Our first idea for simple Christmas gifts was to limit how many presents our children received. The idea of only giving each child 3 gifts comes from the wise men visiting the manger and delivering 3 gifts to Jesus.

Another newer idea for simple Christmas gifts is the 4 gift challenge: something they want, need, wear, or read.

Our gift-giving system wasn’t an exact formula but a guideline. It helped us remove some of the anxiety associated with picking out gifts.

Each year we made adjustments and showed restraint especially when our kids were small.

One rule we still follow is not to buy every toy or gadget that our kids or that our hearts desire. Simple Christmas gifts are thoughtful instead of impulsive and leave room for character-building, gratitude, and contentment.

• Avoid the Commercialization of Christmas

To have a simple Christmas we avoid being swept into the commercialization of Christmas.

There are opportunities, despite the intensive focus on shopping, to shine the light on Christ during the holidays.

And there are some commercialized aspects of the holiday that our family has enjoyed.

To avoid the commercialization of Christmas, we try to focus on Christ’s birth instead of parties, events, spending, and gift-giving.

We are intentional about what we do and how much money we spend during Christmas. This helps direct the focus on gratitude for what we have instead of expectation of what we do not.

• Do Simple Acts of Kindness During Christmas

The third thing we decided to simplify Christmas was to look around and see who may be sad or suffering during Christmas and reach out to them.

There are many ways to demonstrate simple acts of kindness individually or with our kids. We just need to notice the needs of others.

For our family, simple acts of kindness have included bringing meals and toys to families, filling boxes for Operation Christmas Child, visiting nursing homes, and inviting friends and family to join us for lunch.

How to Celebrate Christmas with Family

Our family continues to emphasize celebrating a simple Christmas that is fun.

Here are five tips on how to celebrate Christmas with friends and family to enjoy a simple Christmas that honors the birth of Christ:

#1 For a Simple Christmas Read the Story of Jesus’ Birth 

Reading the Bible with your children is a special experience that connects you spiritually.

This intimacy is magnified when it is the story of the birth of Christ.

When our kids were young, on Christmas Eve we would sit together using animated voices and stuffed animals to tell the story.

We love to read from Luke but the story of Christmas is also in the book of Matthew.

When our children got older, we let them take turns reading from the Bible and performing their version of the story.

Once our children hit the teenage years, we pried phones away and made them sit and act interested even though they had heard the story many times before!

My friend Ann says her family does not open one gift until the cinnamon rolls are in the oven and the story of Jesus’ birth is read from the Bible.

#2 For a Simple Christmas Have a Birthday Party for Jesus

Every Christmas Eve, we would bake and decorate a cake for Jesus.

When our kids were younger, we would have a special birthday party with candles, balloons, and party plates.

Now that our kids are older, we either bake or buy a treat but still acknowledge that Jesus’ birth is a big deal.

A birthday party for Jesus continues to remind us why we celebrate the holidays and keeps the focus on a simple Christmas.

#3 For a Simple Christmas Make Christmas Morning Exciting 

Our kids would sit outside our bedroom waiting for the designated time they were allowed to wake us up.

Everyone has to wait to open gifts because it is a family activity and we learn to share, be patient, and be happy for each other.

Although we were conscious of a gift guideline, we worked to make gifts fair but still a fun part of the day.

The number of gifts does not have to dictate the experience to the point that it becomes stressful.

Gifts can be grouped or even reduced if a big gift is involved.

A particular number of gifts is not a hard rule in our home (although we do stay in the 3-4 range), but serves to keep the focus on quality and not quantity.

My friend Shelly says Christmas morning is a special time. Someone in the family runs to the nativity scene and turns baby Jesus over, and the celebration that Jesus is alive begins. Christmas morning is still one of their favorite times.

#4 For a Simple Christmas Have Family Sharing Time

Christmas afternoon always involves family sharing time. When our kids were younger, they would put on a talent show.

The whole family was required to sit in the lined-up chairs and watch our kids, usually in Christmas costumes, sing, and dance to Christmas carols.

To keep the emphasis on Christ and a simple Christmas, we have joined with another family and put on a live nativity.

As my kids got older, a Karaoke machine was brought in for entertainment.

We pray, spend time together, and express gratitude. Now our family goes on a long walk and participation is required!

Family sharing time requires little effort. It is a great way to have intentional time and conversation with those we love and fits the definition of a simple Christmas tradition.

#5 For a Simple Christmas Plan an Experience Gift

One Christmas when my kids were teenagers, we did not exchange gifts. On Christmas Eve we announced that instead of gifts, we were leaving on a family vacation.

It was an exciting and different way to celebrate and became our first experience gift for our kids.

After a quick Christmas lunch, we grabbed our suitcases and headed out for a few days. I was worried they would be disappointed but it was a wonderful time together and they did not miss getting gifts. (well, most of them didn’t!)

There are many ‘experience gifts’ for kids that can loosen the stress of gift-giving and help teach the whole family what a simple Christmas is.

I hope you enjoyed reading these 5 tips on celebrating a simple Christmas with family.

A simple Christmas can be accomplished in many ways; what matters most is that we intentionally focus on Jesus during this special time of year.

I would love to hear about your simple Christmas traditions and what your family does to celebrate the birth of Jesus!

Author 

Mary Rooney Armand

Mary is the creator and writer for the faith-based blog ButterflyLiving.org. Her writing is featured on multiple Christian websites. She is the author of, “Identity, Understanding, and Accepting Who I Am in Christ”  and Life Changing Stories a collaboration with 34 authors available on Amazon.