“I guess I really don’t know what Christmas is all about. Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Charlie Brown asked this of his friend Linus in the 1965 CBS Christmas special, Charlie Brown Christmas.
At our house, when our kids were small, we searched for ways to be intentional about centering Christmas on its true purpose and away from the “I want” version. We looked for ways to give more and get less as a family. Not only did we limit our own gifts but we also sought out ways to give, especially during the holidays. We wanted our kids to know, and ourselves to be reminded, what Christmas is all about.
- We limited our kids to three big gifts. A friend and her husband told their kids, “Jesus only received three gifts. Why should we expect more?” and we decided to do the same with our children. They could ask for three things they really wanted. We didn’t promise they’d get all they asked for, but we said we’d do our best. Their stockings were full of small things on Christmas morning, but their bigger gifts were limited to three. Kent and I didn’t give each other gifts many Christmases because our budget was tight and we wanted to spend it on the kids.
- We participated with our church in sponsoring families with food insecurity during the holidays. We not only contributed food items, but we volunteered to help with the delivery, taking our kids along. We also helped with toys for Christmas for these families, again delivering the gifts as a family. We wanted our children to have the joy of helping others, see real faces, and make the experience personal so they could see for themselves what Christmas is all about.
- We participated in Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse that takes shoe boxes filled with gifts to needy children around the world. This was so much fun and such a good learning experience for our three. We’d do boxes for three kids, one in each age group of our children. We’d give our kids a dollar limit, follow them through the store to make sure they picked out things that were within the guidelines, and let them see who could come the closest to their maximum amount without going over while getting the best items to fill up their boxes. Then, we’d wrap the boxes together and take them to the local collection site as a family. We’d also watch videos of children receiving the boxes the year before.
- Sometimes on Christmas day we’d spend the afternoon visiting a local nursing home. We’d ask at the desk for the names of individuals who probably wouldn’t have family or friends visiting during the holidays and we’d go by their room and visit them. Occasionally we’d take a small gift and sometimes we’d sing Christmas carols. It was a good experience for all of us and we always came away blessed.
- We liked to invite an elderly neighbor who was alone on Christmas over to our house for Christmas dinner. Once, we invited a family who had recently moved to town and was far away from relatives to come over for dinner too. Sharing our meal with others was a blessing and we enjoyed learning about the people we invited
- Our family participated several years in a night of Christmas caroling to many of the shut-ins in our church, people who were home bound. The organizers had a list of those who’d enjoy carolers and called ahead so they’d be expecting us. Then, the carolers would be divided into groups of about fifteen with a list of homes to visit. We may not have been the most angelic of choruses, but much joyful noise was made and the spirit of what Christmas is all about was spread with lots of enthusiasm.
- A few times over the years, Kent got a Christmas bonus at work. We always tithe our paycheck to church, but on the years Kent got a bonus, we tithed that money to other ministries that we normally weren’t able to contribute to. On the years we were able to give a bonus tithe, we gave the kids a portion and allowed each of them to choose ministries to give their money to. It was so good for them to have the responsibility and the privilege to decide where the money would be best used, to realize the joy of giving, and to understand that giving is what Christmas is all about.
All of these things gave us and our kids a look into other people and their world, people who may or may not have had less materially than us, but who, regardless of circumstances, had needs that we could help meet. Participating in giving and putting the focus on that instead of what we were going to get was our way of giving our kids and ourselves a different perspective of what Christmas is all about and taking a real look into the needs around us, a look that hopefully had the effect of spilling over into the rest of the year as well.
When Charlie Brown asked his question of what Christmas is all about, Linus quietly stepped away from his friend, and answered simply,
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them,
‘Fear not, for behold I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you, you shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.‘
That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”
Luke Chapter 2:8-14 KJV
The “Charlie Brown Christmas” special Was the Flop That Wasn’t by Carrie Hagen, Smithsonianmag.com, 12/9/15
