Manger in Danger: A Christ-Centered Christmas Tradition for the Whole Family

A Note from Marci: As we prepare our hearts and homes for the Christmas season, I’m delighted to share a special guest post from my dear friend, GraceAnna. Her family’s tradition, which they lovingly call Manger in Danger, is a beautiful reminder of how we can keep Christ at the center of our holiday celebrations. GraceAnna’s heart for teaching her children about the true meaning of Christmas shines through in this story, and I know you’ll find it as encouraging as I have.

So, whether you’re looking for a new family tradition or just hoping to keep the joy of Christ alive in your home this season, GraceAnna’s story will bless you. Let’s dive in and be reminded of how even the smallest traditions can point our families to the Savior.

Christmas has always been a joyful time in our household, as my husband, Grant, and I, along with our kids, celebrate Christ’s birth. We put up the Christmas tree, decorate it with lights, and, as Christian parents, seek to keep Christ at the center of our Christmas traditions. 

A number of years ago, when our children were all still quite small, my oldest daughters asked me if I would purchase the game, Elf on the Shelf. They had seen it at a friend’s house and thought it looked like so much fun. Of course I had heard of the game, but I pulled it up online to read more about it. 

Grant and I are not opposed to talking with our children about Santa Claus (St. Nicholas was a real person after all), elves, and some of the fairytale like stories associated with Christmas. However, we have always been truthful with our children and never made those the center of our celebrations. 

So as I considered my daughters’ request to incorporate this game into our family traditions I asked myself, What are the Christmas memories I want my children to remember? What are the moments they will think back on with fondness when they are grown and out of our home? As I stared at the red elf on my computer screen, I knew there had to be a better way to incorporate a fun game into our Christmas celebrations and yet keep Christ our focus. 

That fall in our Bible curriculum, I had been teaching the kids that the Christmas story actually goes back all the way to Genesis, when God promised that a child of Eve would crush the head of the serpent, who is Satan (Genesis 3:15). I had shared with them how the theme of Satan’s opposition against God’s Kingdom and God’s promise of a Savior-king was woven throughout Scripture. Specifically how the wicked King Herod the Great was used as a tool of Satan to try and destroy Jesus and all the babies under the age of two. The kids had been horrified, thinking of anyone wanting to hurt someone the age of their little brother, Patrick. “But God protected His Son!” I told them. “And through Jesus, brought salvation to the whole world, to you and to me.” 

Because these truths were fresh on my own heart, as I sat there pondering at the computer, it hit me what I should do. That night, after the kids went to bed, I borrowed the manger from our nativity set. When the kids got up that morning I told them, “The manger is in danger. You have go to find it!” 

A flurry of chaotic activity ensued as the kids raced to find the manger. After it was found, I gathered them around and reminded them of God’s promise of a Savior. “God always keeps His promises doesn’t He? Nothing can stop His plans.” That morning the kids asked me to hide the manger several more times, the simple game never seeming to grow old. We then repeated it every morning in December, then again the next year, and a family Christmas tradition with Christ at the center was born. 

In the book of Deuteronomy, there is a famous prayer in chapter six called the Shema. These verses give an all-encompassing picture of a life of discipleship with our children. Verses 6-7 say, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

This passage reminds us as parents that teaching our children about the Lord shouldn’t just happen during isolated times of “family worship” or on Sunday mornings, but in all of life. When you lie down at night with your children, or go on an afternoon walk, or when as a mom, you desire to point your children to Christ in a seemingly small and insignificant way. When I hid the manger that December night years ago, I had no idea the massive spiritual impact it would have in the lives of my children. God is able to take what little we have to offer and turn it into something so much bigger. 

That is my prayer for Manger in Danger this Christmas. I pray that God would use the efforts of a mom, or a dad, or a grandparent to make a spiritual impact in the lives of children in the ordinary moments of the Christmas season. As children around the world get excited about Santa Claus, elves, and reindeer, maybe in your home, there will be laughter and joy and lots of discussion about the Savior who is Christ the Lord. Grant, has written 25 daily devotionals that will take you deep into the theological truth of Christmas and we hope and pray that these lessons will bring you closer to Christ and one another. We are also praying that this Christmas tradition will help families who do not know Christ, experience the true meaning of Christmas. Knowing God is truly the best and most joyful life any of us could ever know and is our greatest reason to celebrate.