The Christmas season is a wonderful time to celebrate family traditions and create new memories, but it can sometimes be challenging to inspire teenagers to embrace the season. Young children are naturally enamored by the joy of Christmas — a season that is characterized by music, lights, presents, and rejoicing in the gift of a Savior.
While teens may not be as easily captivated, they have the ability to appreciate Christmas on a deeper, more spiritual level. As you look to draw your children into Christmas, here are some inspiring traditions to consider starting with your teens.
Celebrating Advent
The celebration of advent is a meaningful tradition that can be enjoyed by everyone, especially young adults. This ancient Christian tradition marks the four Sundays before Christmas to help Christians prepare themselves to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord’s coming.
Advent is an excellent tool to help teens embrace their faith, and it also helps them look beyond the commercialism of the season. For more details about advent, along with Bible readings and ways to celebrate meaningfully, visit Crosswalk.com. Even if you missed the first few Sundays, it’s not too late to start!
Volunteer Your Time
There are so many ways you can volunteer your time during the Christmas season! Contact your local church, homeless shelter, hospital, or nursing home to offer your family’s time. Suggestions might include wrapping presents for impoverished children, collecting coats and blankets for the homeless, caroling at a local nursing home, or preparing meals at a local soup kitchen. Volunteering your time during the Christmas season will bring joy to families who are struggling, and it is a great way for teens to experience the joy of giving.
Fun and Games for Teens
It’s easy to engage younger kids with Christmas crafts, elves on the shelves, and stories in front of the fireplace, but teens may need a bit more persuading to get in on the action. Here are some ideas for fun and games for teens.
Christmas Carol Charades – Just like regular charades, except instead of books, movies, and other themes, you have to act out Christmas carols for your team to guess.
Present Wrapping Contest – This is a fun way to get help from your teens. Create a present wrapping station, and ask your teens and perhaps some friends to wrap a pile of presents. Give prizes for the neatest wrapping job, the most creative, and the fastest.
Host a White Elephant Party – Have you ever been to a White Elephant Party? It’s a party centered around small gifts that can be passed, traded, and stolen from each other. Teens can host a White Elephant Party of their own or add it to the family festivities before Christmas.
Christmas is a beautiful season to be revered and celebrated. Teens may need a slight push to get into the spirit, but with a little extra effort, they’ll embrace the season fully and wholeheartedly!
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