The Original Because of Love

One of the most important things that I want Alyse to remember about Christmas is that we are celebrating the gift of Jesus Christ. I know that I have all these decorations and I get super excited about gifts, going to holiday events, and listening to the Christmas music, but when it comes down to it, I want her to know that God loved her so much that he sent his only Son to earth on that first Christmas long ago.

Right now, we are in the "Santa Years". I don't want to waste them. I think that the tradition of Santa is very fun. I know that some people chose not to have Santa in their house, but we have chosen to have Santa as part of our celebration. However, again, I don't want Alyse to get confused with the true meaning of Christmas. Because of that, there are two books that I am so excited to finally pull off my shelf and start to use with my little girl.

The first one is - "Santa, Are You For Real?" by Harold Myra.



When Danielle and I were little, my parents would read this storybook to us each year, usually on Christmas Eve. It tells all about Saint Nicholas and how the tradition of Santa came to be.

The second book is - "The ADVENTure of Christmas" by Lisa Whelchel.



This book tells the history and meaning of many Christmas traditions, such as why we have Christmas trees, and why we put lights and ornaments on them. It also explains why we send Christmas cards, and bake Christmas cookies, and even why we wrap presents. There is so much "good stuff" in this book. It helps to not only make things fun by giving little recipes and craft ideas, but it also helps to make each tradition even more significant.

If you want, you can take a look inside of it here.

I used this book around Christmas time when I was teaching and now I am so glad I can start to use it with Alyse. I am also excited to pass down the tradition of reading "Santa, Are You For Real." I think they are both going to help us make Christmas so much more memorable and she will be learning that Santa, gifts, lights, decorations, cookies, and all of that fun stuff are just little fun things that we do to help throw a great birthday party for Jesus each and every year!