What Christian Children Books or Movies Do You Watch During the Christmas Season

Hi N.,
I am so thankful for your question! It is good to know that there are other parents out there who want to keep Christ the focus of Christmas. You got some great ideas in the responses I read. I read that another mom recommended the "What God Wants for Christmas" nativity from Kregel. We too have that and our girls love it. I was also going to mention making Jesus a birthday cake. We also are trying to memorize Luke 2 as a family so we can say it together Christmas morning. Since our oldest is only four years old, we haven't gotten very far, but she did memorize a couple of verses last year so she could chirp in with her contribution when the time came. I hope you find lots of great ways to celebrate the birth of Christ with your family.
Blessings,
Rachael

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Here are some books that I have for my kids:
The Legend of the Candy Cane
A Special Place for Santa
The Pine Tree Parable
The Crippled Lamb
What Happened to Merry Christmas
Jacob's Gift

We also get lots of movies from Feature Films for Families.

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Hi N.,
We love the Biginning Bible Videos. My son is 7 years old and still loves to watch them. There is a entire series on different Bible stories, we take them out from our Library (Brighton). They have one on the Nativity for this time of year. We love the openning song so much we both turn the TV up really loud and sing the song at the top of our lungs.
Then we laugh so hard. I love moments like that.
Have a great Holiday.
~M.

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I purchased a Hermie and friends DVD last year and my girls love it. I think it is called A fruitcake Christmas, or something along those lines. I got it at Family Christian store in Canton. It actually explains what Christmas is all about, not about Santa. It has a catchy song the girls love. They actually can understand it.

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I love the story of baby Jesus.

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We read this book by Billy Grahams wife. I'll need to go grab it. One Wintery Night by Ruth Bell Graham. It has chapters so you can read a little each night to see what happens. Also my mom in law gets us those calendars that you flip each day (which I never remember to do) and you can get them with candy too! This is hard because we like to do the same things but really get lost in the season. You could do a candy cane night too where you tell how the candy can is shaped like a shepherd's staff and turned upside down it is a J and the red and white represent Jesus's blood on the cross that washed our sins white as snow. You can find verses with each one too. OH! I almost forgot we made this new tradition!!! On Christmas Eve we make a Jesus Birthday Cake. It's 3 layers, red green and black with white frosting and then it has the star of david on top and 12 red hearts around the sides. You read scripture to go with each element and each person takes turn lighting a candle and repeating a phrase. Our family of 8 and my in laws do this and the kids really like it. You also sing 2 songs including Happy Birthday! If you want the recipe and details let me know. I will take the time to type it or scan and email it to you. If I think of more I will write later. Have fun! I think I just got inspired!

I just got my Word with You for today, by Ron Hutchcraft and it looks like he is doing 25 days til Christmas and putting a new story each day. If you kids are too young for you to read that to them, then maybe it would be fun for you!

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Here are our favorite Christian based DVDs:

Veggie Tales "The Toy That Saved Christmas"

Nestor, The Long Eared Christmas Donkey (a tear-jerker!)

The Little Drummer Boy

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When my mom used to teach in Catholic school, she would show her students "The Best Christmas pageant Ever". It's a cute story about some rotten kids who people were sure would ruin the pageant, but ended up truly understanding the meaning of Christmas. It's probably better for older kids (grade school) and not little ones. Merry Christmas!!

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The original tradition of the twelve days of Christmas was to celebrate from the 25th of December when Jesus was supposedly born (He was actually probably born in the spring) to the 6th of January (or Epiphany) when the the Wise Men found Him.

But if you want to start your own version of the celebration of Christmas, try visiting one of the Christian bookstores throughout the metro Detroit area. Or visit a church with a bookstore. Depending on the ages of your children, they may be interested in putting on a play about (writing script, making costumes, putting it on at church) the first Christmas.

You might try visiting a farm to see what it might have been like spending the night around cows and sheep in a barn. Or take your children to the DIA and show them the many fine examples of religious art depicting the Holy Family.

Or find a grocery store that carries Middle Eastern food and make dishes that Mary might have made out of fruits and vegetables found in the region.

Good luck!

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You can get the Veggie Tales videos a lot of places. Also, you can ask at your local Christian bookstore. Good for you for trying to keep the focus on the birth of Jesus!

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I know some Christian families refuse to indulge "santa" as if it somehow changes the focus off of Jesus. We don't feel that way. There is a clear difference between santa and Jesus and I don't see the use in taking some of the magic of Christmas away. After all, it is a magical time and I'll use any prop I can to make it even more magical so that when we emphasize the birth of Jesus as the reason for all the celebration, ALL the magic is significantly tied to Jesus. My kids know that santa and the gifts are just a symbol of the gift that God gave us in Jesus. Since we can't re-live that time, we can show our joy for salvation by giving gifts to others and engaging in 'magical' festivities. I make special note to my kids of the people who write 'Xmas' etc, and that it is insulting to God...because there is no Christmas without Christ! I think the best way to remind your kids of the 'reason for the season' is to teach by demonstration! Live it and they will too!

~L.

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Veggie Tales is a great one, also Prayer Bear Christmas. Check Children's Ministry Magazine, and sermons4kids.com on-line they have great ideas for games and lessons.

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Hello N. H

Sorry I have no suggestions, but your question has inspired me.

I am so glad you asked this question. This is often something I have though of. How to teach my children (16,10,7) openly and ongoing so they will understand without being overbearing and strict. I love the Lord and sometimes when I express this to my clildren and what the Bible says, I am not sure if I am coming across the right way. I have had no idea where to start.

Again you have a great idea that has inspired me to do the same. I am glad I found this site.

Thank you.

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Hi,
My daughter really loves for me to read to her and here are a few books that we really like...

What is Christmas? by Michelle Medlock Adams
It tells about how trees, gifts, cookies, Santa etc are all good but the real reason we have Christmas is because of Jesus. Very cute! They also have What is Easter too.

Who is coming to our house by Joseph Slate

God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren This is the best book! I bought God Gave us you for my daughter when she was first born and have read it to her HUNDREDS of times and I wasn't dissapointed with this book either!

All of these books are on Amazon.com They are having a 4 for the price of 3 sale and free shipping on orders over $25.

Another thing that we do is make a birthday cake for Jesus and have a little party on Christmas Eve. Our daughter liked that a lot last year.

Have fun with it!

there is a great company called Family Feature Films that have wonderful movies that have a moral to each story and have great christmas films. Look them up you will love it.

What a great idea you will have to let us know how this works. My kids love to watch Veggie Tales so we recently watched the Veggie Tales Christmas movie which I just bought at the Family Christian store for $5. Merry Christmas

My kids loved the Veggie Tales and still do! (They are 30 and 32). The Family Christian Book Store has a great selection of all things (books, movies, games) that are Christ centered and Christmas oriented. That would be a great place to start.
K

Hi N., My name is K.. I'm a Born Again Christian too. My son is all grown up now, but I still enjoy
all the kids stories and movies. Of course there are the Vegetales. Max Lacadio has some beautiful Christmas stories.
Have you see the movie of the "Nativity" It came out about
2 years ago. It is beautiful. Look around a Christian
Bookstore. There is plenty there. I wrote a nice Christmas story for kids. If you want, I'll send it to you.
There is the story about the "Three Trees" too.
Have a very Blessed, Marry Christmas and New Year.
In Christ, K.

Family Christian book stores have sections just for kids that are all about Christ and Christmas. You could also check out Kregel Parable bookstores, they also have a good selection. I know Zondervan also has a DVD which is like the baby einstien, but it is the story of Jesus; very cute. We also bake a cake on Christmas eve for Jesus and sing to him on Christmas. My daughter who is 2 1/2 loves doing this! You could also do a saying a week or day for your kids, just something simple like, God gave us Jesus, or God loves it when I help. With that phrase you could have them do something that goes along with it; for example, God loves it when I help, have them volunteer somewhere, or donate something. Just have fun with it!

We have always focused on Christ and Jesus' birth at Christmas. Our children don't even believe in Santa Claus, we never fosterd that belief (in fact, we told them that Santa Clause wasn't real). We still give gifts, but they come from Mom and Dad - with the realization (or as much possible for a 3 & 5 year old) that God & Jesus provided for the family to allow us to buy (or make) the gifts. We also tell them that we are celebrating the birth of our Savior, and like on their birthdays we are opening gifts to celebrate His birth. This year we got a book through our daughters Scholastic order called "Follow The Star" - it's about a young donkey that traveled with Balthazar (spelling is probably wrong) on the way to see the baby King and how the donkey felt when he saw the baby. I really liked it. I would think that you could find it at any book store, but would also recommend finding a Christian supply/book store (we have Kregels, Family Christian Stores & Baker Book House in Grand Rapids) to see if they have any recommendations. Veggie Tales may also have some good movies.

Hi! How wonderful, in this crazy time of year when it seems that commercialism and materialism are taking over, to have someone ask this question! One of my favorite traditions with my daughters is called "What God wants for Christmas." I bought it several years ago at Family Christian (they still carry it). It is a box of 7 "presents" that the children can open throughout the season or in the last week before Christmas, however you want to do it, that tell the story of Christ's birth. It comes with a nativity scene backdrop and book and in each box is another piece in the nativity set. And, unlike the porcelain one that sits on my mantel, they can touch it and not break it! It ends with a box that is our gift to God to say thank you for His sending us Jesus- it has a mirror in it! My girls, of course, know the secret of the last box, but still enjoy it year after year. Another of our special traditions is called The Advent Book. It is a large hardbound book, also purchased at Family Christian. Each of the 25 pages features beautiful artwork and a large door to open. Behind each door is part of the account from the Bible of Jesus's birth. There is an animal "hidden" on each page and when my girls were very little the highlight was finding it. They now takes turns opening the doors and reading that portion of the story. One last one, I have a pin that I wear all December that shows Santa kneeling before Jesus in the manger. My daughters have always loved it and ask me to "tell them about it!" It is also a good conversation starter when I am out and about. This year we are painting a big wooden cutout with that picture to put on our lawn as a family project. " A picture is worth a thousand words." Merry Christmas!