Church Christmas Traditions: Ornaments

If you haven't noticed this about me already, I love traditions. It is exciting to have something you are looking forward to, and at the same time look back at with fond memories. I have lots of Christmas traditions within my own family, but I also love sharing and beginning traditions with my church family.
One of the traditions that I joined in on at my previous church was having each of the children's Sunday School classes make ornaments for the Christmas tree in our lobby. This was a tradition that I absolutely loved and so I brought it with me to this church. I am not sure what the teachers first thought when I told them that this was something I would like to do this year but so far I have not had any tell me I am crazy and refuse to participate. This past Sunday we had a few of our classes bring down their ornaments for the tree and I have to tell you that it made me feel like Christmas was finally here! Seeing the ornaments that the kids created and watching them find the perfect place for them on the tree was a joy to see. Both the kids and the teachers were very excited by the making and hanging of the ornaments. And one of the best parts was seeing the kids drag their parents and families over to the tree after they were picked up to show off the ornament that they had made. I heard so many little voices saying "That one is MINE!"

Yes I love seeing kids artwork and creativity put into motion, but most of all I love the kids having a bit of ownership within the church. This is our tree, and the ornaments on it are only from our kids. You will not find store bought ornaments adorning this tree, only handmade works of art from the very children that attend here week after week. All too often kids are made to feel like the church belongs to someone else, the grown ups, the pastor, or by some unknown entity. But the truth is we are the Body of Christ, we are The Church. Every single child that steps foot into our building each week is part. And as part, gets some little bit of ownership. No we won't be invading Big Church any time soon but we do have a place that is ours, a place where the Nativity scene can be touched and played with, a place where the ornaments may all be clustered in one area of the tree. But also a place where the Birth of our Savior can be celebrated in a real way, and a place where we can together experience the wonder of God coming to earth as a tiny baby.
There are many Christmas traditions, but I can honestly say that my most favorite ones include children.

So what are some of your church Christmas traditions?
What part of Christmas gets you the most excited?

Faithfully Growing at The Grove!

Miss Megan