Kari Decker
For our Happy Birthday, Jesus party each of my kids invited three friends. The invitation explained everything we would be doing. I said in the invitation this would be a party for Jesus and mentioned what we can do for Jesus:
We can give Him our time. We all helped a handicapped woman decorate her home for Christmas. She is very laid-back and did not care that the kids’ decorations were not perfect.
We can give Him our money. I asked that everyone bring a gift that matched their age and gender. I took a picture of each child holding his or her wrapped gift and attached it to the present. The gifts were shipped to South Africa to a friend there who gave the gifts to needy children. She told the children they were from Jesus. She said the kids were amazed that Jesus cared about them so much!
We can give Jesus our love. We delivered plates of goodies to people who had lost loved ones over the past year. We made cards up previously that said we were thinking of them during their first holiday season without their loved one and were praying for them. All the kids signed the cards. I also asked the children for suggestions of people who needed the cards. Many of the recipients were non-Christians. It was a wonderful witnessing tool. One neighbor called in tears to thank me for such a thoughtful gift.
We ended the party with pizza, birthday cake, and a movie. The kids all had a ball. And, I think it made an impression on my children about what Christmas means.
