Interfaith Spirit Quest

Part 2 - The Miracles of Christmas - 58 Ideas

- Meaningful ways to celebrate Christmas and other Holidays

Part 2 - 58 Miracles of Christmas ideas to get you started

You are reading Part 2 of a 3 part post - with Part 3 coming after the 2009 Christmas holiday.  Please check back to hear our personal story after the holidays.

The Miracles of Christmas is a new way to celebrate a more meaningful Christmas or other Holiday.  The idea is to allow one Christmas/Holiday wish per person and then to give that person the undivided attention and participation of the whole family or group for an allotted time period, agreed upon by all.  If you have a large family, you may wish or need to spread this out over a couple days, and if you have a small family; you may choose to allow more time for each person.  You create the guidelines.

Thanksgiving morning, November 25, 2009, our family came up with a new and meaningful way to celebrate Christmas.  After bringing it up and discussing it with my spouse over Thanksgiving breakfast, we decided we should discuss the idea with the rest of the family - they loved the idea!  The fact we all agreed that it was at least a good idea in theory, is a miracle in and of itself.   The idea is about making dreams and wishes come true, it’s about The Miracles of Christmas, and it might even make a Scrooge look forward to Christmas again.  Perhaps this will be the Christmas or Holiday celebration of your future.  Of course this theme may be used at other holidays such as Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, birthdays, you name it. 

58 Miracles of Christmas ideas:

1.    Visit an ice skating rink, sledding or ski hill
2.    Have a snowball fight
3.    Build a snowman or snow fort
4.    Make snow angels
5.    Make a live nativity scene using members of the family
6.    Go around the neighborhood singing Christmas Carols
7.    Visit someone in the hospital or a nursing home
8.    Do something for a neighbor or friend in need with the help of your family
9.    Make Christmas special for someone else or a family in need
10.    Take a walk in a nature preserve or state park
11.    Feed the birds
12.    Go for a bike ride
13.    Go horseback riding
14.    Go for a sleigh ride
15.    Make the holiday lunch
16.    Go out for the holiday lunch
17.    Take a Nap (smart adults will pick this one)
18.    Collect pine cones for your tree or decoration
19.    Decorate the Christmas Tree
20.    Hang Christmas lights
21.    Play board or card games
22.    Play Dress-Up
23.    Dance
24.    Sing
25.    Write new songs
26.    Re-write the lyrics to some old songs
27.    Tell Jokes
28.    Take pictures
29.    Create scrapbook photo albums
30.    Look at old photos or videos
31.    Tell old stories
32.    Cut out paper snowflakes
33.    Have family members write down what they're thankful for - save from year to year
34.    Keep a journal and write down thoughts at the end of the day
35.    Watch your favorite movie with your whole family
36.    Watch a Christmas cartoon while stringing popcorn and cranberries for the tree
37.    Create a movie with your video camera
38.    Make something
39.    Create Prayer Jars (prayers go in jars - fun to read later in life and see how they were answered)
40.    Do something from another culture
41.    Spend your hour coloring pictures with your family
42.    Perform a magic show or play or puppet show for your family
43.    Show off your Pets
44.    Hang Mistletoe and kiss everybody
45.    Propose to your Sweetie
46.    Recreate a holiday tradition from your native land or your youth
47.    Make the holiday evening meal
48.    Go out for the holiday evening meal
49.    Make the holiday evening meal with full family participation
50.    Dress up as St. Nicholas (Santa Claus)
51.    Read the Christmas Story or talk about the true meaning of Jesus' birth
52.    Teach everyone a special craft, such as how to make a special dish like Pie Crust or Lefse or…
53.    Decorate the Christmas Cookies
54.    Build a Gingerbread House
55.    Take your family to a free (doesn't have to be free if you can afford it) concert or holiday event
56.    Light a whole bunch of candles or sit by the fireplace and enjoy the peacefulness of it
57.    Have some Hot Chocolate and take a driving tour to view the Christmas lights
58.    Enjoy the miracles and the blessings of the day.

Please feel free to share your ideas by leaving a comment below - I would love to hear from you.

This is Part 2:  58 Miracles of Christmas - Ideas to get you started

See Part 1:  The Miracles of Christmas - The Plan

See Part 3:  After the Miracles of Christmas - Our personal story - how did it go (to be published after Christmas 2009)

Part 1: The Miracles of Christmas - The Plan

- Meaningful ways to celebrate Christmas and other Holidays

Part 1:  The Miracles of Christmas plan

Thanksgiving morning, November 25, 2009, our family came up with a new and meaningful way to celebrate Christmas.  After bringing it up and discussing it with my spouse over Thanksgiving breakfast, we decided we should discuss the idea with the rest of the family - they loved the idea!  The fact we all agreed that it was at least a good idea in theory, is a miracle in and of itself.   The idea is about making dreams and wishes come true, it’s about The Miracles of Christmas, and it might even make a Scrooge look forward to Christmas again.  Perhaps this will be your Christmas of the future.  Of course this theme may be used at other holidays such as Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, birthdays, you name it. 

The Miracles of Christmas is a new way to celebrate a more meaningful Christmas or other Holiday.  The idea is to allow one Christmas/Holiday wish per person and then to give that person the undivided attention and participation of the whole family or group for an allotted time period, agreed upon by all.  If you have a large family, you may wish or need to spread this out over a couple days, and if you have a small family; you may choose to allow more time for each person.  You create the guidelines.

This is a 3 part post - with Part 3 coming after the 2009 Christmas holiday.  Please check back to hear our personal story after the holidays.

The Miracles of Christmas Plan:

•    This may be done as a family, as a group of friends, or as a ministry toward a select group of individuals.
•    Have family members, or your group of friends, think of something meaningful to them that they would like to do at Christmas.  Family/group members could take the attitude that they will move heaven and earth to make it happen – within reason of course.
•    Make a list and check it twice.
•    Pay no attention to who’s naughty or nice – it’s not about that – it’s about miracles.
•    Each person gets one hour, or an agreed upon period of time, to enjoy their Christmas Miracle with the assistance and undivided attention of all the others.
•    The time allotment will depend on how large the group is.
•    It's important that ideas are not rejected out of hand, or because they're impractical or too expensive.
•    At first everyone should brainstorm and then gradually narrow their ideas down to the ones that are reasonable and feasible. 
•    All should be reasonable in their requests and not be disappointed if an idea must be filed away for another time. 
•    No one gets to lord it over anyone else or ask someone to be their slave for an hour. 
•    People should be considerate and invite participation or simply allow family/group members to be spectators. 
•    It could happen that 2 or 3 decide to combine their Christmas wish and then 2-3 hours would be spent on that activity.
•    It does not need to involve much money.
•    It may be that someone finds buying a new toy is meaningful, so be it. 
•    Keep the miracle list for future reference – it may be used at birthdays or other special occasions.
•    Start this process on Thanksgiving Day or a couple weeks before the holiday to get it all decided and worked out before Christmas.  Or I suppose one could be thinking about it all year. 
•    You may wish to establish a rule that small children have to wait til they're 5 or 6 years old before they can choose their own event, parents or other family members would choose something for them, or they would just be a participant in everyone else's hour. 
•    Do whatever works, make adjustments to the plan as you see fit
•    Prior to the big day, plan out the Christmas Miracles in a coordinated way, wasting no time, planning for meals, naps, potty breaks, travel, forgetfulness, and other little issues that may pop up during the day. 

This is Part 1:  The Miracles of Christmas - The Plan

See Part 2:  58 Miracles of Christmas - Ideas to get you started

See Part 3:  After the Miracles of Christmas - Our personal story - how did it go (to be published after Christmas 2009)