The Nativity

I love to decorate for the holidays, especially Christmas. This year we made our own Nativity scenes. Almost all traditional Christmas decorations are symbolic and I like to reflect on that as we transform our home for the Christmas season:

• The star signifies the bright shining star over Bethlehem on the first Christmas.
• The color red is the first color of Christmas symbolizing the Savior's sacrifice for all.
• The fir tree. Evergreen is the second color of Christmas; showing everlasting life and the tree points up to heaven.
• The bell rings out to guide lost sheep back to the flock because all are precious and important in his eyes.
• The candy cane represents the shepherds hook caring for the flock and turned up side down makes a J for Jesus. (Jackson's Favorite.. probably because it's candy haha)
• The wreath is a symbol of never ending eternal love since it has no end.

Every night, for about a week, the kids colored, cut, glued and glittered pieces of their own Nativity Scene. As they colored, I read them a story that focused on that particular person or animal. They turned out great. It was so fun for them to add a new piece every night. We are looking forward to making them again next year. I found the template for all the pieces online. Next year, I would like to add some pieces such as the Three Wisemen.

Jackson's

Ashleigh's

Books:

• Jacob's Gift by Max Lucado
• The First Christmas by Carol Heyer
• The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
• The Donkey and the Golden Light by John and Gill Speirs
• The Christmas Bell by Rolf Krenzer
• What Star is This? by Joseph Slate
• The Christmas Animals by Michael K. Winder
• Santa's Favorite Story by Hisako Aoki

Earlier in the month we talked about Santa. The kids enjoyed learning how we got the name 'Santa Clause' out of 'Saint Nicholas'. We talked about Nicholas and how he was named a Saint because of his dedication to serving God and watched a cute Veggie Tales movie about St. Nicholas and how he became known for his generosity to the those in need and his love for children.