Prepare Him Room: 4 Ways to Make Room for Christ This Christmas

When I was a kid, the Christmas season seemed to last forever. The days seemed to crawl by as I waited for that magical day where we would finally get to open all those presents. Now that I’m older, the opposite happens. It seems like I blink and Christmas is over.

What makes this really hard is that it seems like in the midst of all the Christmas craziness, I never really get the chance to stop and think about what Christmas is really about. In the rush to come up with a wish list for myself (which was so easy as a kid and now seems really difficult) and buy gifts for everybody else, go to parties, decorate, and do all the holiday things, I totally forget to think about Jesus at all. This is silly, since he’s the very thing we’re celebrating.

I’ll be honest and admit that I’m still figuring out the best way to really slow things down for Christmas. I’ve made some progress though, and I’d like to share what I’ve learned with you. So here you have it, four ways to help you slow down and really appreciate the holiday for what it is, a celebration of Christ’s coming as a baby and his eventual return.

Do an Advent Devotional

One of the things I did last year was buy an Advent devotional for my husband and I to work through together. It actually did make a significant difference. At least at the beginning of the day, it forced us to slow down and reflect on the meaning of the season together.

I would be lying if I said we did it every day. Sometimes my husband as to be at job sites super early, so occasionally we skipped a day. Luckily, the book we choose was short enough it was easy to catch up later. We actually read the devotion for Christmas before the day’s festivities began. It was nice to have that reminder about what the day was all about before we got lost in opening presents and all the other Christmas Day activities.

I would highly suggest doing an Advent devotional, reading, or study of some kind. You can do it on your own or incorporate friends and family too. Doing it with someone else will help keep you accountable and make it more fun. There are a ton of great Advent resources out there. Some reading plans are free. Just do a Google search and you’re sure to find plenty.

If you have a little money to spend on an Advent resource, there are tons of great books available. Last year, my husband and I did Louie Giglio’s Waiting Here for You. I would highly recommend it. There are plenty of other great books out there as well. Once again, a Google search will serve you well. Some are more geared towards adults, while others are geared towards families with children.

This year, I bought the She Reads Truth Advent Devotional for myself and the He Reads Truth version for my husband. They’re beautiful books, and super simple. The books themselves just have relevant Scripture readings for each day. I’m excited to start them in a few days!

 

Just Say No

One of the things that make the Christmas season so difficult is the plethora of things to do. Everyone and their mom are hosting a party. You’ve got work parties, family commitments, church activities, just to name a few. While all these things might be great, packing your holiday schedule and trying to make time for each and every one of them is not.

If you don’t want your Christmas season to be crazy, you have to say no to some things. You can’t make an appearance at every party/event and simultaneously have a stress free and Jesus focused Christmas. We humans have limits on our money, our time, and our energy. We have to be aware of those limits and use our resources wisely. Sometimes that might mean saying no to a good thing so that you don’t go crazy. That’s okay. It’s okay to say no.

God establishes patterns of Sabbath rest in the Bible. He created us to need rest on a regular basis. He knows we have limits. God doesn’t expect us to do every thing that’s presented to us a possibility. Make sure you have some time of rest even in the midst of the Christmas season. Pick a day or two where you have nothing planned but spending time with your family and/or by yourself. Just because it’s Christmas doesn’t mean we should skip out on having a Sabbath. For more info on what a Sabbath is, check out this blog post.

The time to start thinking about what you will say no to is not three seconds before the next activity. It’s now, while the invitations are still coming in. It might be helpful to cap how many events you commit to each week. You might want to plan to have one weekend just for your immediate family or a particular friend group. Whatever your particular limits are, make sure you set them now, before the big rush starts. If you set the limits ahead of time, it’s much easier to figure out what to say no to and what to say yes to.

 

Keep It Simple

We like to overcomplicate things. We want to make sure every party, present, and event is Instagram worthy. After all, if it’s not on social media, it’s like it never happened. While wanting to make things nice is great, the problem is we often go over the top trying to make things perfect. Nothing is perfect, so give that up. Something doesn’t have to be picture perfect to be enjoyable, meaningful, or memorable.

Think about it. Jesus was born in a manger. That is far from the perfect place to be born. Had Instagram been around back then, I doubt Mary would have been rushing to post pictures of where her labor and delivery took place. If Jesus was okay with the less than picture perfect, we should be too.

Instead of planning an elaborate party complete with hand written name cards, just have a few friends over to have some pizza and share Christmas cookies. Instead of looking for hours for the perfect unique gift for someone, recognize that it’s okay to just get something off their list on Amazon. While you might be tempted to decorate your home is a way that combines the North Pole and something from Fixer Upper, be okay with just having a tree and some stockings.

The point is relationships and memories made are more important than picture perfect details. Your event doesn’t have to look like Martha Stewart planned it. The gift you get doesn’t have to be rare or unique. You don’t have to decorate every room in your house in a style that could put Macy’s to shame. Be okay with the imperfect and keep it simple. Not only will this keep your stress level down, it will give you more time to spend with your family and friends.

 

Give to Others

It’s so easy to be focused on only ourselves or our own families during the Christmas season. It’s ironic because the message of Christmas is that salvation has come not just for Jesus’ family (the Jewish people), but for the whole world! We should remember those around us during the Christmas season.

Giving to others can mean a myriad of things. It could mean inviting a lonely neighbor over for Christmas festivities. You could go and serve a meal at a local homeless shelter. Buying gifts for Toys for Tots, Angel Tree, or other charitable organizations is also a great option. There are so many ways that you can give to others during the holidays.

Now, that doesn’t mean that you have to spend every weekend doing charitable things. Once again, you have a limited amount of time, money, and energy. You have to use it wisely. But you should try to incorporate giving to others in at least one thing you do with your family this season, no matter how big or small.

 

I’m not saying I’ve mastered the art of preparing room for Jesus during the Christmas season. However, I do think these four things are a good start. Let me know how they work for you or share some additional ways you prepare room for Christ in the comments below.

 

 

 

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