It’s hard to believe we’re already celebrating our second Christmas on Stuff Christians Like. We had a great time last year, my favorite was the elf on the shelf beat down, but it’s almost time to roll out some fresh Christmas flavored ideas.
What Christmas idea is currently missing from Stuff Christians Like?
What funny Christmas event/food/activity/idea needs to be added to the site?
Let’s talk it out in the comments. Five people who comment by Monday, November 23 will win a copy of “Light up the World,” from the Desperation Band. I’ve been listening to it for the last few weeks and think you’ll dig it.
So, what should we talk about this Christmas?
Comments
One random question. Since you are an author, do you keep a copy of your book in your coat at all times? I need to know, Jon. That way I will know if all authors are alike in that.
Oh, I definitely think you need to address the fact that, for some strange reason, whenever Christmas rolls around, we Christians start acting as if Jesus is still a newborn in a manger. We sing songs worshiping "the babe in the manger", we tell our kids about sweet baby Jesus, some of us even build mangers of our own to put in our houses. It's like we forget that all that was unto an end….which we have right now.
Also the fact that sunday school coloring pages or children's Bibles always seem to make the stable look like some beautiful, warm, cozy room worthy of a heartwarming Reader's Digest article. You know, instead of a run down shack where people kept cows.
And I have to agree with JanetInLA about the Christmas sweaters. Those deserve their own post.
Surely you should do something about Christmas music too. Maybe the fact that it always seems to be sung by women with the most annoying, whiny voices possible (or is that just me?) or that we have now replaced the word "Christmas" with "holiday".
Pro "Christmas Shoes" or Anti "Christmas Shoes"?
Christmas pageants . . . i always wanted to be the star, and NEVER got picked to be the star
Instead i was an angel, every year of my childhood. which was fine, i guess. except when i was in high school and it was a competition for who was going to be the HEAD angel (which was always a high schooler). I never got picked to be head angel either 
I'm just saying – traumatizing. I guess it's not different than any normal play, except for the fact that the star didn't really have to do anything. All they did was parade around the sanctuary a few times with the wisemen following. I would have been really good at that.
That we view Jesus as a blonde haired, blue eyed cutie with killer abs…Being from the middle east I find it hard to believe that Jesus ISNT Caucasian but thats just me. I bet he looks alot like Brad Pitt in Fight Club when he rolls of the guy he just pounded into the ground…maybe maybe not
what about the kid that has parents who don't "do" Santa? You know…the one that then tells all the other children that Santa isn't real and creates tearful chaos in a poor, unsuspecting kindergarten teacher's class. That kid was my husband.
Yep, that was me, except in my case it was in my Sunday school class. And while I may not teach my (future hypothetical) kids about Santa, I definitely won't pound it into their heads that he *isn't* real. There's just too big of a risk of them speaking up like I did in their kindergarten classes, and that's just mean!
My church started singing Christmas carols this morning! It seemed uncomfortably early
Pro-"Christimas Shoes" or Anti-"Christmas Shoes" ?
Stuff Christians Like: Arguing about whether or not their Christian radio station should play "secular" Christmas music.
Stuff Christians Like: Feeling guilty about participating in Christmas consumerism.
Stuff Christians Like: the Living Christmas Tree (if you don't know what this is, oh boy, you don't know what you're missing.)
Not sure if it's been mentioned, but Starbucks holiday cups could be fun mockery.
Here they have a special coffee blend only available at christmas. The passion with which my friends talked about it and went looking for a starbucks store so they could have some was extraordinary.
The fact that my friends and I went shopping at Scottsdale Fashion Square (a GIGANTIC mall) and looked at probably every ornament in the entire place and were still unable to find a CHRISTian CHRISTmas ornament. Talk about leaving the Christ out of Christmas.
Christmas presents hierachy! Especially in church, where you give presents to your closest friends, then closer friends, then friends, and people you forgot to get a gift for.
And the songs that kind of making it to a Christmas song but not really, but the church might sing it anyway (Feliz Navidad for mine).
*Kids' Christmas plays [Side note: American Idol finalist from last season Matt Giraud got his start in the kids' play "Angels Aware"]
*The "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" debate – does it really matter?
*Pumpkin Spice lattes at Starbucks – completely gross concept, but they taste pretty good!
..and eggnog lattes.
Sweet, sweet, eggnog lattes..
Pumpkin lattes?…..Eggnog lattes?……. Really?
Eggnog lattes are the nectar of the gods.
The obligatory small group "Dirty Santa/White elephant" gift exchange party. One year a heart shaped framed photo of the pastor and a coconut bra from hawaii made the rounds.
How about candlelight Christmas services…..and how there's always that one random kid who sets someone's hair on fire. Oh wait, that was me.
White Elephant Gift Exchange! Seriously, I have been doing this every year since I was in junior high. It is old and there really is no need to do it again, but for some reason at every church Christmas party it has to come out. You may not see a Santa, but by golly, the elephant has to make an appearance.
Yeah, and how to remain a "nice" person during that awful game…
Fruitcakes and egg nog
Being six places at once
Bad church skit ideas
How about CHRISTMAS PARADES and the church's involvment…there's only so many Christ centered themes that can be portrayed on a moving wagon….
What about going Christmas music cold turkey as soon as December 26 roles around? There needs to be a support group or 12-step plan or something…the Christmas-to-normal-life transition is painfully blunt.
You have to cover the live nativity! Nothing made my childhood Christmases more memorable than having to dress up as a shepherd, be told to stand still in the biting Nebraskan winter, and not even get to meet the camel the rich family brought in though their llama-raising connections. Also, our wise men were not ethnically balanced
The Christmas program. Period.
Hmm, how about reading the Christmas story from Luke 2, but then everyone rips into their presents and shoves precious little sweet baby Jesus to the back of the tree and bury Him under the paper.
Christmas sweaters
What about those little ornaments or figurines that depict Santa kneeling by baby Jesus? Can we please talk about those?
Yes! We should. Those are scary and just a little bizzare
Birthday cake for Jesus. Ferreal?!?
Isn't any occasion a good enough excuse for cake?
Oh, totally. My mom helped us make one every year on Christmas Eve.
Or how about for every other time of the year it is "normal" but Christmas brings out the need for "TRADITIONS". I loved that my family chose to make the tradition of not having Christmas traditions, every year was different from presents the night before to four days after, to special foods and volunteer activities. Yet our church is the complete opposite, must have the cantata and the children's program and Christmas Eve service and the and the….
Did anyone ever do the lighting of the five advent candles on-stage at Church? At my old church, we used to have a family specially selected by the church: two or three family members would read about the advent story for that week, someone else would read the verses, and someone (usually the anxious mother or the clumsy brother) would have to work the flame to light the candles. I rarely saw a smooth advent candle lighting in the 8 years I lived there
I think we should talk about the possibility of there ever being a greater Christmas album than Mariah Carey's "Merry Christmas." I mean, it's been 15 years and no one has come close yet. Why is hers so timeless and exquisite? Who could trump her version of "O Holy Night?"
Since Santa is a Christian tradition I think we need to stage a national take-back Santa movement. Make people validate that they are a Christian while standing in the Santa mall line.
Let's see. These stand out the most to me.
1. Christmas Programs. Watching little kids prance around when they are supposed to be quoting their ridiculously long speaking parts. Watching the adults that put the program together getting angry because the lines and songs aren't right. There's also the high school kids who feel totally stupid for being in such a production.
2. Christmas karaoke. People singing special Contemporary Christmas tunes at church to the background music tape. "Mary did you know" is a good example. Add in various other duos and quartets.
3. Christmas candlelight service. Darkness + Candles + Church = Special Holy Ambiance
Has caroling been covered?!?! Which songs are appropriate?
how about "be nice to the poor schlubs working in restaurants and retail stores"? Having had to pick up a store job for a little extra money this year, I never cease to be amazed at all the Sunday Morning Churchgoers who instantly become Sunday Afternoon Customers From H*!!. Just sayin'.
wearing bath robes and putting a sheet on your head as a little kid in the Nativity Scene.
The gift-opening traditions:
When do we open the gifts? My family would let each kid open one of Christmas Eve, because we were impatient. I knew another family that would open them all on Christmas Eve so they could focus on Jesus Christmas day (or so their pastor father said. I'm not sure how that worked in practice).
Do you kick of Christmas day by reading the Christmas story? Matthew is plenty long, Luke is agonizingly long, and woe betide you if your father decides to mix-n-match the two to have all the story elements.
Santa Clause as a type of the Anti-Christ. Everyone knows that Santa is code for satan.
Why all 30-something Christian men are obsessed with the classic Amy Grant Christmas album (my husband included). I mean, seriously, let's move on.
Only helping the poor during the Christmas season.
i think there should be some attention to the song 'The Christmas Shoes' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNsvE33pRSw which is the most ridiculous, soul-killing, christmas spirit-killing song to ever be played on christian radio.
Maybe ways to fight the candle holding during a Christmas Eve service?
How unoriginal ugly Christmas sweater parties are?
I know you will have some wickedly awesome posts. 4-eva.
Christmas newsletters, aka 'Look at all the fabulous stuff God has blessed me and my family with this year'. Some of these have turned into 'brag letters'. With all of today's modern technology such as e-mail, social networking, etc, are newsletters really necessary?
Not responding angrily to the poor clerk who says "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". They are told by their managers how to greet people. It isn't their fault. I big smile and a "Merry Christmas to you too!" goes a lot further than a lecture.
That's what I'd like to read about here…
Happy Thanksgiving!
We sometimes used dyed coconut as "hay" in the "manger scene" on the cake.
Stalking Women Who Are Hugely Pregnant In November. And pre-claiming their only begotten sons to play Jesus in the Christmas program/living nativity. Stacy FL mentioned Those Women doing that to her in October one year, and it happened to me last year. My son Joshua was born just before Thanksgiving last year, and as soon as I let it be known I was expecting a BOY in the FALL I was approached by the Christmas play director. "You're having a baby? A boy? In November? And your husband has a beard? Of course you all will play Jesus, Mary and Joseph in the play."
So three week old Joshua made it through multiple performances as baby Jesus, and no crying he made.
The best part was when all the pastors, as the wise men, bowed down to him. How is he ever going to top that?
How about what makes for a BAD christmas carol recording? there are so many perfectly good recordings and yet people insist on using terrible ones
A post worth writing would be about the irony in the signs that the Salvation Army bell ringers put up — "Need knows no season" — when the only season that needs are collected for is November through December.
How about everyone writing about the Most Outrageous Christmas Pageants they have ever Witnessed?
I had the Honor of directing quite a few, but none, absolutely none compare to…’The Wisguy In The Manger’ Yes, that would be correct.
After securing a 99 year Old Shetland Pony named ‘Nipper’(Yes he bit)! For our Live nativity Scene…(all the Donkeys were already at every other Christmas Gig in Town.) We were set…The Choir was well rehearsed, The Pony was busy munching Hay in the Manger…Two magnificent Morgan horses stood ready to
pull Carolers up and down the Bullevard to announce Our Living Nativity. The moment had all the Promise of Sheer Magic. The street was packed, and I busily checked my Clipboard, when, The Giant strobe like a thousand tiny Candles, lit up the night sky.People stood in wonder, their breath frozen, suspended in the Crisp December air.
I cued the Procession. The choir filed into the Manger, and onto the Riser’s…Hark The herald Angel’s sing… we were off. Mary & Joseph took their place, and Shepherd’s…Yes, yes it was going wonderfully.
Still, I was just a little uneasy about the one, who used swear words over ‘bein humiliatin in a Purple Bath Towel…c’mon ya gotta do bedder Den Dis right…? I didn’t understand half of his vocabulary, it was “eastern’ and I joked about how fitting that he should be a Wise man From The east…! He corrected me with…’Dat’d be Wiseguy Jo,Da term is Wisguy’ said the one in the Purple Towel.
I laughed it off.
And, as The choir broke into The halleluia chorus, here came the Three Wisemen…One, two…the third, each laying their treasures in front of the baby Jesus, and then… it happened.Loud & Clear came a shriek from the Sacred Nativity Scene…S–t,S–t…Jo! and he was swatting at his robe …’Jo, Jo…Da Pony done S–t all Ober Da Manger and I’s jus knelt in a big pile…More expletives…!!
I tried to retreat into the crowd, when laughter started to break out…actually Hysterical laughter was breaking out everywhere. A man standing next to me was bent over trying to catch his breath…he looked at me, tears rolling down his face, from laughing and said…’and you’d be Jo?I nodded…’Oh hey I’ve never seen anything like this in my life…he could barely speak, He continued…’Ya know my wife forced me to come to this thing, and I obliged her…for the sake of Peace, but in my Wildest Dreams, I never have sene anything like this Nativity…It’s great…Oh this is great…I’ll never forget this as long as I live…Thanks a million, he said!
This is just one Christmas Reflection of all that I would learn over a five year period of time with one very real, ‘Wiseguy’ who went to my church.
To this very day, my son and I carefully put all the figurines into our handmade Manger at Christmas…and there is one ‘Wiseguy’ who goes, right about…here. People always try and correct us, ‘You mean Wiseman don’t you…? We look at each other with a knowing grin and laugh.
Merry Christmas to all, and may wonder be mixed with Laughter…Truth really is, Stranger than Fiction…!
The "pre Christmas Eve service" children's piano recital, where practically every kid in the church is drug out to play their Christmas piece, dooming the congregation to a half hour of "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly" and "Jingle Bells"
advent conspiracy
Have you done a post on the significance of "X" in Xmas? Oh, I wait every year for the theological debate on that. Never disappoints.