What Christmas Memories do you want to give your Grandkids?

Christmas is a great time to connect spiritually with our grandchildren, helping them understand the significance of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Grandchildren look forward to receiving gifts from their grandparents at Christmas and grandparents love giving them gifts. Some grandparents spend lavishly shopping for gifts for their grandchildren. The GRAND magazine stated that there are over 70 million grandparents in the US. Imagine how much money grandparents will spend on their grandchildren this Christmas.

We live in a self-centered entitlement society, which encourages children to think of themselves first. As grandparents, we can teach our grandchildren about giving when we do something together for a needy person. Go shopping together for a gift for a needy child, cook a meal, or bake cookies for someone who is ill. My husband and I enjoyed taking our granddaughters to purchase items for the Christmas Operation Shoe boxes.

As our economy tightens, we might rethink about how we are going to handle the gift giving this year. We can give meaningful gifts that don’t cost much money, such as spending time, one on one with a grandchild or participating in an activity together.

Last Christmas a friend of mine gave her granddaughter sewing lessons, which didn’t cost much, and they were able to spend some quality time together. A grandfather might take his grandson fishing or go to a sporting event together as a gift. Give them memories that enhance your relationship with your grandchildren.

As we do our holiday preparations let’s attempt to make a memorable Christmas for our grandkids. Some don’t live nearby so we won’t be able to spend the holidays with them, however, we can send them a “special” note, an unexpected Skype call, or make some kind of connection with them, in addition to our gifts.

Give your family the gift of a tradition of the true meaning of Christmas, which can be passed on to future generations. A tradition in my family was that my parents always read the Christmas story from Luke 2 before opening gifts at Christmas. My husband and I did the same and we still do and have noticed that our sons are following the same tradition. It would be a blessing for my parents if they could see that this tradition was passed on to their future generations.

• Ask God to give you ideas of what you can do to encourage your grandchildren to think of others and their needs, not only their own.

• What do you want your grandchildren to remember about celebrating Christmas with you?

• Do you want them to remember you by the costly Christmas gifts you gave to them? On the other hand, do you want them to remember something about celebrating the true meaning of Christmas, such as blowing out the candles on Jesus’ birthday cake or reading the story of the birth of Jesus from the Bible before opening the gifts?

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3

By Lillian Penner