Saturday, 29 November 2008
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Fun during the holidays
What makes Christmas time fun? Is it decorating the tree? Gatherings with family and friends? Singing Christmas carols? Dressing in the sweatshirts and sweaters with pictures of snow scenes that you only wear in December? Showing kindness toward others? Counting down the days before Santa arrives? Exchanging gifts?
All of these things can be fun. In fact, I have participated in all of the above at one time or another. The activities themselves are not necessarily what makes for a fun holiday. In fact, if you look at these things as mere “activities” they can become just another to-do for the already stretched to-do list.
If you look in the dictionary for what “fun” is, two words appear: enjoyment and playfulness. Fun combines the act of play and the feeling of joy. So what makes something “fun” is to approach it with a sense of play and a feeling of joy.
You know why kids look forward to the Christmas season so much? They know how to have fun. They have an inherent sense of joy, and play like nobody’s business! But who makes the rule that after a certain age boys and girls, who have grown to men and women, can no longer have fun? I don’t remember seeing that in the contract…..
So be a kid. Decorate the place. Make popcorn garland for the tree, and eat a few pieces from the string, even if someone is watching. Sing loud, and sing proud. Wear your Santa hat to the grocery store, to the doctor’s office, to work, to Sunday school. Play till your heart’s content, and play some more.
Express your joy. Stop and pause at the manger scene. Kneel down and bow your head and honor the Savior. Yes, kneel, even if it’s in public. Don’t worry – God will send an angel to help you back to your feet. Share with someone how Jesus changed your life. And after you do, do it do it again and again.
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9:6 (NLT)
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Comments (4)
The one thing that kids get the most joy out of during gift opening is the bow attached to the present. The first thing they do is take that off the present, stick it on their head, and make a cheesy smile to dad, or whoever is holding the camera. At least that's true in my history... and I still do that to this day! Although I don't really get too many bows anymore, but that just means when I do get one it's that more special!
I'm hoping Christmas is better than Thanksgiving was for me this year. Christmas has a better meaning behind it anyway. To me, Thanksgiving is really just about how much one can eat. And then when we're done stuffing our pie holes we go to sleep and get up the next day to spend hundreds of dollars on things we don't need (and even put the lives of others in danger just for the newest BluRay player, or whatever). The thought of thankfulness never really comes to my mind during that holiday. I think more about thankfulness during Christmastime because of the celebration of Jesus's birth. There is just a lot more to be thankful about during the celebration of this holiday. But just because I slammed Black Friday doesn't mean I'm against gift giving during this celebration. I think it fits in nicely with the theme of Christmas, but there are other things to be grateful for other than the video game system or HD television one may have unwrapped.
Wow, this turned into a blog post instead of a simple reply! Sorry. But I will take your fun tips into consideration this Christmas!
I guess a lot of the fun of Christmas gets leeched out of us because adults are the ones who have to know how expensive Christmas can be.
So it's good to do something Christmassy once in a while that doesn't cost anything. ^.^
I like your ideas. Wearing a santa hat around is a lot of fun. I also have a hat that is a christmas tree. I kind of love that it makes people smile when they see me (I try to ignore the fact that they're probably laughing at me
)
So anyways, I'm Lauren. You commented above my on Jonathan's post. So hi.
I enjoy decorating the tree, I LOVE singing in the annual Messiah Sing-a-Long and I enjoy the Christmas Eve service.