I have loved being a mom for the last 33 years. From the time my son was born, I had one goal at Christmas…make it the best Christmas ever. I bought all the toys I thought he would love. Then I bought all the toys that I thought would educate him. Then I bought him all the toys that I received traditionally as a child that made me happy. All together that was a lot of stuff.

That first Christmas was so exciting and so expensive. Needless to say, my husband and I had a conversation that went something like this…

[My Husband] – “Honey the budget? Yes, we have one remember?”

[Denise] – “Oh yeah…I forgot. But it’s Christmas!”

It may have taken some time but I figured out how to make Christmas exciting and wonderful without making it expensive. I learned:

First, “Be Intentional” – I spent money on my boy instead of spending time with him. Playing with him would make the memories sweet, not giving him new toys. Making the time to connect with him took intent!

Second, “Be Relational” – I enjoy baking cookies and other treats at Christmas. So when my son was 2 he started to bake with me. In fact, I have the cutest picture of him standing on a chair next to me in the kitchen with an apron on and his hand in the cookie dough. We had a good time together and these young moments were the building blocks for our relationship later on.

Third, “Be Selfless” – We are called to live the gospel. How do you do that with your children? In my home, we would take the cookies that we baked and give them to the neighbors with a Christmas card that shared the message of the love of Jesus. All four of my children have fond memories of baking and gifting cookies to the neighbors at Christmas with the message of the gift of Jesus in the card.