Southeast Texas Christian Family Christmas Eve Memories

Christmas Eve in Southeast Texas

What memories will make a lasting impression on your family?

For Southeast Texas Christian families, Christmas is a magical time.

It is the season when we pull together, find ways to show our love to one another (food, prayer, kind words, and yes giving gifts).

What are your memories of Christmas?

Think back and see if there are any traditions you’d like to see passed down to your children.

Caroling: Caroling is absolutely an old fashioned Christmas tradition. However, done right it can also be a lot of fun and a great way to reinforce bonds with neighbors. Here are a few tips my family learned the hard way. People, even Southeast Texas senior citizens, aren’t just sitting around waiting for someone to come caroling. If you just randomly knock on doors during the holidays you’re likely to miss more people than you catch. And some who are home are in the middle of meals, chores, or… (yes, it happens). If you want to carol in your neighborhood, call ahead to make sure you have a willing and available audience. A great alternative for Southeast Texas Christian families is caroling at a Southeast Texas nursing home. Most would LOVE to have you. Just call ahead to set it up – two weeks ahead is great. With SETX seniors they will often assemble EXACTLY at the time you tell them to, so be on time and ready to start singing!
Sharing the Christmas Story: My father is a great guy, but he has a pretty monotone reading voice. He doesn’t make any effort to pull a listener in, but my siblings and I still enjoyed listening to the story of Christ’s birth. If you have young kids, swing by your local SETX library to get a children’s version. Reading straight out of the Bible can seem like a great idea, but the traditional versions of the Bible are really written for adults. A children’s version can absolutely tell the story well and be easily digestible to your kids. A great alternative for Southeast Texas Christians is attending a live nativity. There are several hosted by Southeast Texas churches. If you missed them this year, keep an eye out on SetxChurchGuide.com for 2014 SETX live nativities. We try to have them posted well before Thanksgiving each year. This year they were posted by November 11th.
Candlelight Services: What do your kids really think of church? If you’re plugged into a Southeast Texas church with a wonderful year round children’s ministry, they probably love it. If you’re not, they might not have developed a strong affection for being in church yet. A candlelight Christmas service can be a wonderful introduction to church – it is beautiful, sermons are usually approachable, and there is usually a wonderful spiritual presence. If your kids aren’t in church all the time, it is nice to make the most of the opportunities you get to expose church to them.