Keeping Christ in Your Child's Christmas, Part 3

Last day of ideas. Hope something has jumped out at you as something to try this year.

·Make a Jesse Tree:
Origin:
The Jesse tree represents Jesus' family tree. The name is taken from Isaiah 11:1, in which Jesus is referred to as a shoot coming up from the stump of Jesse, the father of David. The ornaments on the Jesse tree tell of Jesus' ancestors, and of the events leading to Jesus' birth.
Symbols
Adam and Eve Apple (Genesis 2:4-3:24)
Noah Ark or rainbow (Genesis 6:11-22, 7:17-8:12, 20-9:17)
Abraham Knife (Genesis 12:1-7, 15:1-6)
Isaac Ram (Genesis 22:1-19)
Jacob Ladder (Genesis 27:41-28:22)
Joseph Colorful coat (Genesis 37, 39:1-50:21)
Moses Tablets of the law (Exodus 2:1-4:20)
David Harp (1 Samuel 16:17-23)
Isaiah Lion and lamb (Isaiah 1:10-20, 6:1-13, 8:11-9:7)
Mary Lily (Luke 1:26-38)
Elizabeth Small home (Luke 1:39-55)
Joseph Hammer or saw (Matthew 1:18-25)
Make a Jesse tree for your home. First, take a large, bare branch and secure it in a pot of sand or rocks. (You can also use a large potted plant or evergreen.) Create ornaments that trace Jesus' royal line by making symbols for some of the people found in the Hebrew testament. Make the ornaments out of cardboard or construction paper and decorate as you like. Instead of hanging all the ornaments on the tree at one time, you may want to hang one on every other day of Advent. Read the Scripture citation given here as you hang each ornament on the tree. Read more: http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2000/12/The-Jesse-Tree.aspx#ixzz1erlEaIcI

· Make a Chrismon Tree, a tree with ornaments that reflect the real meaning of Christmas.
A chrismon, a combination of the words "Christ" and "monogram," is a symbol that represents Jesus. The very first chrismon was the Chi Rho, a combination of the first two Greek letters of "Cristos," or Christ.
A Chrismon Tree is a tree decorated with such common chrismons as crosses, stars, angels, doves, fish ("icthus"), and triangles representing the Holy Trinity. Chrismon ornaments can be made from any type of material, whether paper, cloth, Styrofoam. The chrismons are often white and gold--white to represent Jesus' purity, gold to represent his sovereignty.
Read more: http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2004/11/How-To-Make-A-Chrismon-Tree.aspx#ixzz1erlaVhZ1

Great websites with lots of ideas!
· http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/Christmas/21-Ways-to-Keep-Christ-in-Christmas.aspx

· http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/nativity_printables.htm

· http://christianity.about.com/od/holidaytips/p/keepchristmas.htm