Hi Family,
Although we are all excited for Christmas, I have also sensed some stress out there. No one is in a place where their Christmas can be driven by what they can afford to buy for others. I remember those years when I wasn't sure if we were going to make it through. They were stressful, but now are some of the sweetest memories for me. I was thinking of how to help you get more out of the Christmas season and I have come up with the ideas below. None of them cost a lot of money or a lot of time. But, they will increase the Christmas spirit in your heart and make the holidays meaningful. Choose one or two to do a week. Choose some to do on your own, some to do with your spouse or as a family. Sit down with this note for family home evening tonight and commit to doing some of these activities. The season will go by quickly. Capture the magic by doing the things that really matter.
Love Mom and Dad
PS: We will look forward to hearing about your experiences.
1. Start the season by reading the Christmas story first.
2. Make a favorite dessert and take it to a neighbor.
3. When you go to the store purchase a five dollar gift card. Then give it to the cashier.
4. Say a prayer for a friend or family member in need. Pray for them every day this month.
5. Write a note to an elderly person. They enjoy having something they can read over and over.
6. Gather all the carts in the grocery store parking lot and put them away.
7. Compile a list of favorite quotes for someone to open when they are discouraged. Wrap it up and give it to them to save for the right moment.
8. Give someone a small appreciation gift...like a teacher, a librarian, the dentist, the post man etc.
9. Let someone in line before you at the store.
10. Take a hot drink and sandwich to a Salvation Army Bell Ringer. A pair of warm socks would be nice too.
11. Call friends or family members you have lost touch with.
12. Give an extra tip to someone who helps you, or write a note to their manager about how you appreciated their good work.
13. Visit the Humane Society and spend time with the animals.
14. Compile a CD of Christmas music or happy music to hand out to others that seem to need a lift.
15. Offer to wrap presents for a mother in the neighborhood who has several children. If you wrap them the kids won't see.
16. Cook a meal for a busy mother. They can get pretty frazzled this time of year.
17. Just spend an evening singing or listening to Christmas carols and basking in Christmas lights. (You can buy a string of them at All a Dollar)
18. Ask a cashier what their favorite candy bar is and buy it for them.
19. Pray to begin forgiving someone. Keep praying until you can. Let them know you are working on it.
20. Be a secret friend to the most obnoxious, least deserving person you can find. Make it a real challenge. Pray for charity that you might actually want to interact with them.
21. Give up your emails for one day. Talk to each person personally instead of texting or emailing them.
22. Take a night walk and ponder the night the Savior was born.
23. Take treats to someone who will not get the holidays off---police, fire, hospital.
24. Visit a nursing home and actually visit with someone and give them treats. Ask them to tell you about their Christmases.
25. Read Christmas stories to a child and make a birthday cake for Jesus.
26. Pray for extra patience and then ponder on it and maintain it all day. If you can't do it the first day...keep trying.
27. Take time to help someone else prepare and do the work of having the family over for Christmas.
28. Take time to quietly ponder what Christmas means to you and why. Write it down.
29. Read the entire Book of Mormon again in December.
Those are my mother's suggestions. As a family we have done and planned to do many of them. I have truly felt the spirit of Christmas more in my life because of doing these things.
So, I extend the challenge to you. What are you doing to encourage the true meaning of Christmas in your life? I would love to hear what you do to celebrate Christmas and keep Christ's spirit of service alive. If you blog about it, feel free to leave a link in the comments!
I accepted chastisement from the Lord last night. I tried to follow through with repairing the unintentional hurt caused by ignoring a prompting. Sometimes we forget that the small things are more important than the big ones.
ReplyDeleteEmily commented in YW yesterday about how great you always are at giving compliments, how that buoys people up, and is such a meaningful but simple service. In my heart I said a quiet: Amen, sister--That Anna is a gem.