As a Catholic, we were brought up to celebrate Christmas every year. It’s a season of celebration for the coming of the birthday of Jesus Christ. It’s the season of sharing, giving, love, hope, and peace. A lot of people decorate their homes and prepare good meals on Christmas ever , December 24, to welcome December 25 which is the birthday of Jesus. It is said that the Philippines has the longest Christmas season which starts as early as September for some.

With so much happening around us-  Christmas parties, Christmas programs, Christmas lights, Christmas sales, Christmas shopping, receiving and giving gift- it’s so hard to explain Christmas to those with small kids like us. But how do we do it? Allow us to share some simple things you can say to your 3 or 2-old kids or even a bit older kids to explain what Christmas is all about.

• We tell our kids  that Christmas is the birthday of Papa Jesus (Which is true!)
• We tell them we are preparing the home and everything else so that Papa Jesus will be happy on his birthday. (It’s not just all for the visitors)
• It’s a happy time so everyone wants to see each other and greet everyone a merry Christmas because we’re all invited to Papa Jesus’ party! (Explaining parties and reunions)
• Papa Jesus was born in a small place with the animals around him and then people came like Kings on a camel to give gifts for his birthday. (explaining gift-giving a little)
• Gifts are for those who are nice and behave the whole year.
• Santa is the friend of Papa Jesus and he loves to give gifts to nice kids who write to him. (Explaining who Santa Clause is. He is really Jesus’s friend because he is St. Nicholas. This is also to explain why we will be writing a letter to Santa).
• Christmas wreath with candles is a way to count how many days and weeks before Christmas, the birthday of Jesus. If we light one candle, it means, we’re closer to his birthday (this is the best explanation of now).
• The Christmas tree has a star on top of it because when Jesus was born, a very bright and big star was on top of the small place where he was born. We decorate the Christmas tree for Papa Jesus too! (Christmas tree explanation).
• Mama Mary is the mom of Papa Jesus and Papa Joseph is the dad of Papa Jesus. Mama Mary carried Papa Jesus in her tummy for a long time. (explaining the Holy Family)
• Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer helps Santa Clause to give gifts to a lot of kids in the world. (Explaining the song Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer and who he is)
• A lot of people are happy and singing Christmas song during Christmas because we are happy for the birthday coming up (Explaining Christmas Caroling)
• Tell the nativity story in the simplest way you can.
• Giving gifts is sharing too.
• We allow them to give the gifts and say Merry Christmas.
• Gifts are kept simple and reasonable.

That’s it for now. We don’t want to bombard the kids with so much information. The Christmas season and Christmas day basics are the ones we explained for now. We keep repeating this to them everyday now. And our eldest at 2.9 years old seems to understand and remember already. She reiterates a lot of our bedtime stories and other stories too.

This year, we decided to cut down on a lot of things and start showing the kids how Christmas will be celebrated as a family. We’ll keep it simple, meaningful, and solemn. We hope to continue doing this until they’re old. It’s a time to bond with family and loved ones. We’re not rushing anything but taking things one a time- enjoying every day and witnessing every milestone they have. Different family have different ways to celebrate and our unique ways will always be precious and memorable. But let’s not forget the true meaning of the season okay?

Come to think of it, the explanation above was the simplest and truest way to explain Christmas and everything we do this season. Maybe you can explain it in other nice and creative ways too?

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Thank you for making this year great and to all my readers and friends, for letting me know how my articles have helped you one way or another!

Cheers to another year of more stories and more adventures for all of us!