Jesus' Birthday Party

Two weeks ago, for the last class of Catechism before the Christmas break we threw an early Birthday party for Jesus with the grade two class. Now, I know some people may say that that's over simplifying the Gospel message of Christmas, but at least it's pointing to the true meaning of Christmas. We had a Birthday cake that said "Happy Early Birthday Jesus" (because it wasn't Christmas yet and we wanted to speak about Advent as well) and had balloons and even party hats. The kids made crafts that said "Happy Birthday Jesus" and then inside cards that were decorated to look like presents they wrote "This is my Birthday present for you. I will..." and completed the sentence with the gift they wanted to offer Christ for his Birthday. They were quite creative in what they came up with, everything from "I will sing you a song" to "I will talk to you every day" to "I will be nice to those who are mean to me." It was actually quite humbling.

This brings me to ask, have you considered what you are giving Christ for His Birthday? In the midst of all the shopping and Christmas preparation we often loose sight of who's Birthday we are celebrating.