2018 Home for the Holidays

2018 Home for the Holidays LINCOLN DAILY NEWS November 21, 2018 Page 13 Instilling the awe of holiday magic in children W hen we look at Christmas through the eyes of a child, we find something special within ourselves. This Christmas season, if there are kids in the house, take advantage of time spent with them to give yourself a boost of Christmas spirit. Children take things at face value and are filled with wonder at the smallest of things. That makes inspiring them a Christmas time pretty easy. To help your child (and you) find the awe in the magic of Christmas start with a few simple activities. First, give them their own nativity set. In many households, there will be a nativity set put out to commemorate the birth of Christ, the true basis for the holiday. Those sets are often “look, but don’t touch” for children. While they are pretty, for a kid they aren’t much fun. By Nila Smith This year, add a second nativity to the household. Purchase an inexpensive set with individual pieces. Make sure there is a barn and animals if possible. Let your child act out the birth of Christ, the arrival of the shepherds and the gifts of the Magi. They can start with just the barn and some animals and then one by one add the pieces. Put the barn on a coffee table or on the floor, then get down to their level. Sit with them as you share with them the story of the birth of Christ. For young children they really only need to understand the concept of the birth of Christ. So, paraphrasing the story into language they understand is perfectly acceptable. They don’t need the finite details, but they do need to know that the birth of Christ was special and that the child was a special gift from God. Continued u