With Christmas fast approaching, setting the atmosphere in my home is forefront in my mind. For many, Christmas can become almost robotic – a series of boxes to check, a program to run – execution complete, Christmas achieved. 

Instead, Christmas should be a time to become more fully human – if we give it room to breathe. So, with that in mind, I’d like to discuss some ideas on how to have a “Classical Christmas,” or a Christmas that leads you to being a flourishing human being, more fully aware of God and your fellow man.  

The first thing is to acknowledge that Christmas is not one day, or even only Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; it is a feast of twelve days. After a long season of preparation, trying to cram an equivalent amount of feasting into one day would be both wild and bacchanal, and simultaneously unfulfilling. There are many things you can do to feast each day of Christmas. Perhaps you plan some special meals during this time. In my family, we give a book to each child during the twelve days of Christmas. I start hiding away special books in the summer, and my joy at finally being able to give them may even exceed the joy of the child receiving them!  

You can also continue your Christmas read-alouds during this time. If you were very, very, good during Advent, perhaps this is the first time you are actually reading them! My family’s favorites are Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien and A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus. Every child on my Christmas list will be getting copies of both this year (shhhh, don’t tell). 

It is also a great time to memorize some Christmas hymns and poems. Yes, memorize, not just look up and read once! The power of the memory is immense when it is exercised. You could do this individually or as a family. A good technique for memorization is to write out the piece by hand and keep that piece of paper in your pocket. When you are standing in line, waiting for the coffee maker or microwave, or just have a moment where you might otherwise be tempted to scroll through your phone, pull it out and read through it. It’s amazing how quickly it will be committed to your memory. Perhaps your whole family could memorize different poems and then share them one night during the Christmas season. 

Because we are gloriously created as both body and soul, it matters how we celebrate. It matters the things we create with our hands, the words we fill our minds with, the sounds and smells our homes are permeated with. So, this Christmas, try and pick carefully the stories and songs in your world. Knit a sweater for a loved one, bake some cookies for a feast. And remember that Christ is Born, Glorify Him!