This is Christmas idea number 9 in my countdown to Christmas. At the beginning of the month I was determined not to let the hustle and bustle steal my joy. It’s working! I am celebrating Christmas every day with a new idea.

From the time my son was born, I read to him every night. I am passionate about literacy and teaching children to read. So, what better way to celebrate Christmas than to read a Christmas story. It can be “the” story from the Bible or books like The Polar Express or How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss, yes, the latter two stories started as books and are not just movies.

You don’t have to go out and buy these books either, although they are not expensive. A free alternative is to go to the library. Why not take your children and let them pick out some books. There’s no budget to think about, so they can pick what they want.

This activity will also get children – and adults – away from the television. I heard a staggering statistic yesterday on the news that Americans watch a whopping 31 hours of television a week!

Something else I did when my son was little was sing him lullabies every night. I had an entire repertoire. At Christmas time I would add some carols like Away in a Manager or songs like,  I’ll be Home for Christmas. It was funny too, because he knew every song. One time I proceeded to tip toe out of the room after I was done singing.  From the bed I heard him say in a very small voice, “Mom, you forgot to sing the song about the horses.”

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulder. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6