20 Ideas for Keeping Christ at the Center of Christmas When The Season Gets Busy

Christmas is the busiest season of the year. People are shopping for the perfect gifts for loved ones, attending holiday parties, decorating their homes, and just doing all the things that make the season special and inviting.

While all of that is fine, what’s not is forgetting the real reason why we should be Christmas in the first place. There’s a reason it starts with CHRIST.

Not to get all deep or sound cliche, but Jesus really is the reason for the season. So, rather than just reminding you of that, I wanted to share some ideas for how you can keep Christ at the center of Christmas when the demands of the season tend to push him into the background.

Here’s a roundup of ideas for keeping Christ in CHRISTmas (the first 5 I came up with).

1. Start Your Day with a 5-Minute Advent Devotional

While God should be the first person you commune with each day, the busy Christmas season can easily cause you to skip your time with the Lord.

So, be intentional with spending time with Jesus. There are so many Christmas devotionals that are published during the season. You can easily find one to read for a few minutes at the start of your day.

You’ll find a list of Christmas Advent devotionals here.

2. Journal About Christ’s Beautiful Gift to You

One way to keep Christ at the center of Christmas is to journal about the amazing gift God has given to mankind. It’s a personal gift. For if you were the only person on earth affected by sin, Jesus would still have died for you.

That’s something to meditate on and journal about!

10 Additional Christmas journaling ideas – prompts to get you going:

1. What does “Emmanuel, God with us” mean to me this year?
   Reflect on how you have seen or felt God’s presence in your personal life.
2. How can I make room for Christ in my heart this Christmas?
   Explore what distractions may be keeping you from focusing on Him.
3. What spiritual gift or offering can I bring to Jesus this season?
   Not gold or frankincense, but maybe trust, obedience, rest, or time in prayer.
4. What is one area of my faith I want to grow in next year?
   Use this time to reflect on what God may be inviting you into.
5. Write about a Christmas memory when you felt close to God.
   Revisit that moment and describe what makes it easy to never forget.
6. Who is God placing on my heart to pray for this season?
   Journal out a prayer for someone you love or someone in need of hope. This could even be for a community or group of people.
7. How do I see the light of Christ shining in my life right now?
   Even in small ways, where is hope showing up?
8. If Jesus visited my home this Christmas, what would I want to say or do?
   Reflect on how you would welcome the Lord into your home and what that says about your heart.
9. What distractions or expectations do I need to surrender this Christmas?
   Reflect on the pressure to do it all and how letting go can make room for God’s peace and presence.
10. What does true joy look like for me this season?
    Explore how joy differs from happiness and how you can cultivate it through your faith, no matter your circumstances.

3. Share Your Faith

In the midst of the business of the season, take time to tell someone about the Lord. It would take no time out of your schedule to share how much Jesus loves the cashier who is ringing up your purchases.

If you attend any holiday parties (ex: an office party), share one thing about Jesus with a coworker. You don’t have to preach. Share a short personal testimony about something He’s done for you, and let your life be the living testimony.

4. Decorate with Intention

Instead of decorating your home with reindeer and Santa Claus, decorate your home with a nativity scene or scripture portraits.

When you surround yourself with visual reminders of the Lord and His grace, you can’t help but keep Christ in the center of Christmas.

5. Watch Christmas Movies that Share Jesus

Another way to keep Christ in Christmas is to watch movies that share Jesus and remind us about God’s great love for humanity. Some movies to consider:

• Passion of the Christ
• Journey to Bethlehem
• The Nativity Story
• A Charlie Brown Christmas – yes! There’s a pivotal scene surrounding scriptures from the book of Luke (2:13-21)
• A Christian Carol (available on Amazon Prime)

You’ll find these and a host of other Christian Christmas movies here.

CREATE A NAMES OF JESUS COUNTDOWN

Each day, reflect on a different name of Jesus (for example, Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, Lamb of God, Wonderful Counselor, Light of the World) with verses and prayer.

Obviously, prayer is something we should daily, but during the Christmas season, you can pray specific verses related to Jesus’ name. Here are some scriptures to get you started:

• Isaiah 9:6
• John 1:29
• Revelation 19:16
• John 6:35
• Revelation 22:16

PRAY BEFORE EVERY HOLIDAY ACTIVITY

Whether it’s shopping, decorating, or wrapping gifts, start with a short prayer inviting Jesus into it.

You can pray a special Christmas Eve prayer straight from the heart

WRITE JESUS A BIRTHDAY LETTER

Similar to journaling, you can make it more personal for Jesus. Grab a beautiful blank greeting card and write a Happy Birthday with a short prayer to Him.

This is a creative worship idea.

PLAY CHRIST-CENTERED WORSHIP

Here are just a few:

• O Holy Night
• Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
• Joy to The World
• Silent Night
• What Child is This

You’ll find a host of Christian music for Christmas here.

GIVE A GIFT THAT HONORS GOD

Giving doesn’t always have to be tangible. In fact, it’s the intangible gifts that make the biggest impact.

Support ministries, sponsor a child, or give Bible-based gifts that encourage spiritual growth for others.

FAST FROM SOMETHING THAT WILL HONOR GOD

Sacrifice something that gives you pleasure by fasting from it for a period of time. This could be fasting from TV, social media or turning down your plate. Then, in turn spend time with the Lord.

WRITE SCRIPTURES ON HOLIDAY CARDS

Write meaningful Bible verses inside of cards to plant seeds from the Word of God about God’s love and forgiveness. Here are some verses to consider (reworded for writing personal messages without changing the meaning:

1. Isaiah 9:6
   “May you find peace and strength in the truth that a child was born for you, a Son was given to you, and His name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
2. Luke 2:11
   “Rejoice, for a Savior was born for you, Christ the Lord!”
3. John 1:14
   “Jesus, the Word made flesh, came to dwell among us, full of grace and truth. May you see His glory in a fresh way this Christmas.”
4. Matthew 1:23
   “God is with you. That’s the miracle of Christmas. Immanuel has come.”
5. Romans 15:13
   “May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, and may you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
6. 2 Corinthians 9:15
   “May your heart overflow with thanks for God’s indescribable gift, Jesus, given for you.”
7. John 3:16
   “God loves you so much that He gave His only Son, so you can have everlasting life through Him.”
8. Micah 5:2
   “Out of the small town of Bethlehem came the One who rules with love and truth – just for you.”
9. Luke 1:78–79
   “May God’s tender mercy shine on you like the rising sun, bringing light to every place in your heart that feels dark.”
10. Galatians 4:4–5
    “When the time was right, God sent His Son so that you could be fully His – chosen, seen, and loved.”

DO A DAILY CANDLE LIGHTING

Each day of advent, light a candle, reflect on the light of Christ, and what it means for the world today.

VOLUNTEER / SERVE

One of the best ways to keep the light on Christ during the Christmas season is to be an example. Jesus came to serve a broken world, and you can do the same by volunteering to do something like wrapping gifts for under-served youth, serving meals at a food pantry or visiting those in a nursing home.

MEMORIZE SCRIPTURES ABOUT CHRIST

You can search the Bible for verses about Jesus and commit to memorizing them over the entire advent season.

CREATE A PRAYER GARLAND

Solicit prayer requests and write them on slips of paper. Then, hang them like garland. Pray over one each day until Christmas Day.

CREATE A “JESUS” STOCKING

Have family members write notes to Jesus and place them inside. Open and read them together on Christmas morning. This is a very easy way to honor the Lord.

START A CHRISTMAS PRAYER CHAIN TEXT

We usually spend a lot of time on our phones. So, why not make it Christ centering?

Kick off a group message with other believers, where each day, someone texts a short prayer or verse to encourage everyone in the group. It’s a low pressure way to keep Christ in Christmas.

TURNING WRAPPING TIME INTO WORSHIP TIME

When you sit down to wrap Christmas gifts, turn on some worship music to set the mood. Then, praise and worship God as you wrap.

MAKE A GIFT TO JESUS JAR

Throughout the month of December, drop in slips of paper with things written on them that you’re offering to Jesus. These will be intangible things like:

• Obedience in a specific area of your life
• Faithfulness to reading His Word
• Gratitude
• Trust

On Christmas morning, read all of them aloud or silently as an act of worship.

This doesn’t have to be fancy. You can use a mason jar and keep it in one spot where everyone in the home can contribute to it. Or, to make it extra special, take a jar and decorate it with garland or wrapping paper.

Turn This All Into a Christmas Advent Calendar

If you were looking for Christmas advent ideas and ways to celebrate in a way that honors God, considered taking all 20 of these ways for keeping Christ in Christmas as your framework for a Christmas advent calendar.

While advent is typically 24 days, you can repeat some of these activities more than once. Here’s an example of how to make this into a Christian Christmas advent calendar.

Check out more ways to focus on Christ

• Bible Reading Plan: Risen with Christ
• Finding Beauty in Christ When Struggling With Identity
• Inspiring Christian Quotes and Scriptures