My Christmas Favorites

Is there anything more wondrous than the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords being born in a manger?  I don't think anything or any one moment can quite compare to the birth of our Savior aside from His death and resurrection.  The Christmas season reminds of us the peace, hope, joy, and love that we have through Christ, and I pray that all of you will be renewed and refreshed for a new year of serving and living for Christ's glory.  I believe that 2011 will bring all of us new and unique ways to serve Him everyday!


I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite ways to prepare for the celebration of Christ's birth, and I would LOVE to hear all of yours as well.


1.  Christmas music!  I love Christmas music...I can't help but purchase 1 or 2 new Christmas albums each year, but my all time favorite album is The Carpenters: Christmas Portrait.  I know every word of every song on that much loved CD, and it is the first one I listen to every year.  My favorite Christmas song is "Little Drummer Boy."  Here is one of my favorite versions of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2sZFL3Y6Do
2.  Christmas movies!  My favorite is "White Christmas."  My aunt Kathy and I used to act out a scene in the movie with the help of my brother (forced help I should add).  What can I say, he was smaller that us at the time...
Of course we both wanted to be Mandy, so Travis had his work cut out for him.  We would pin blankets to our butts and everything...here is the real thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MMJmK2V_hQ&playnext=1&list=PL5C6EEDF8A51EE435&index=42
3.  Reading Christmas stories!  The real Christmas story in the Bible is a must, but I have a couple others that I read every year as well.  The book "Skipping Christmas," by John Grisham.  If you haven't read it than you should.  It is both funny and heart warming.  other Christmas books that we love to read are "One Wintry Night," by Ruth Bell Graham, and of course "The Night Before Christmas."
4.  Baking goodies!  My absolute favorite is homemade gingerbread cookies, but as I have stated in previous posts, Kristi's sugar cookies are hard to resist, and she was right, they cannot be duplicated.
5.  Christmas Eve candle light service.  It just isn't Christmas without it!!!


I hope that all of you are taking a moment or two to enjoy the wonders of this holiday season.  Please share your Christmas traditions with us as well!