10 Ways to Prepare Your Hearts for Christmas

The Christmas season quickly fills up with fun plans, festive activities, and family obligations. Even in a more stripped-down year like 2020, it’s easy to lose sight of the very reason for our celebrations. As we enter the holiday season, here are 10 ways to prepare our family’s hearts for Christmas.

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Christmas is quickly approaching, and while it’s undoubtedly going to be more pared down this year because of Covid restrictions and cancellations, it’s still going to be easy to get lost in the frenzy of festivities. It always is.

In the midst of decorating, shopping, baking, and wrapping, we need to be intentional about keeping Christ in the center of our family’s Christmas. We need to remember the reason for the season, as they say. We need to prepare our hearts.

As we deck our halls, tackle our gift list, and fill our homes with the comfort of Christmas goodies, here are 10 ways to prepare our family’s hearts for Christmas:

10 Ways to Prepare Our Hearts for Christmas

Do an Advent Activity

Whether you follow the true Advent season or simply a 25-day countdown, prepare your hearts for Christmas with calendars, crafts, or activities (here’s a list of over 100 ideas!) that will point your family to Jesus.

Go Through an Advent Devotional

Spend time in personal reflection with an adult Advent devotional (here’s my favorite one) and/or go through one as a family. (Here’s my recommendation.)

Reflect on God’s Goodness

It has been a difficult year, but there are still many reasons to be thankful this Christmas. Spend time reflecting on the ways God has provided for you — physically, spiritually, financially, relationally, etc. — and thanking Him for His goodness and faithfulness.

Meditate on Scriptures

Spend some time each day meditating on Scriptures that foretell, describe, and celebrate our Savior’s birth. Here’s a great list of Christmas Scriptures to get you started!

Soak Up the Wonder of the Season

There is so much wonder in the Christmas season (even in this difficult year). But our to-do lists and activities often blind us to it. Prepare your hearts by soaking up the wonder in the most wonderful time of the year.

Read Christmas Books Together

In addition to the actual Biblical account, read books that tell the Christmas story from different points of views and angles. I’ve included some of our favorites in this post.

Worship

Prepare your hearts for Christmas through daily worship. Certainly, that includes singing your favorite Christmas carols and songs of praise. But it also includes worshiping God with the way you live, seeking to honor, serve, and glorify Him.

Tether Yourself in Traditions

Traditions aren’t just for fun and family bonding (although they are great for that!) — they also help root us in the deeper meanings of the season. Granted, Covid has put a damper on many of our beloved traditions, but there are still lots of special ways to celebrate the season.

Celebrate the Significance of Christ’s Birth

We, in modern days, take Christ’s birth for granted sometimes. We’ve never known what it was like to constantly have to atone for our sins, so we don’t often think about what the Messiah’s coming really meant for mankind.

Prepare your hearts for Christmas by reflecting on the amazing gift of our Savior’s birth, and celebrating what it still means to us today.

Be the Hands and Feet of Jesus

Finally, prepare your hearts to celebrate the gift of our Savior by living out the great news of the gospel. Pray for the lost, the hurting, and the broken. Look for opportunities to meet physical and spiritual needs. Share the gospel. Humbly serve the people around you. Honor Jesus’ gift those 2000+ years ago by being His hands and feet here and now.

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The Christmas season quickly fills up with fun plans, festive activities, and family obligations. Even in a more stripped-down year like 2020, it’s easy to lose sight of the greatest gift the world has ever been given. But when we take the time to prepare our hearts for Christmas, we give our best gifts back to Him.