One of the prices we pay in our profession is that our family can feel neglected during such high stress times as Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. It is important to carve out some special time for the family. Let me suggest some possible events for an evening with the family that can be refreshing. Because I believe in the stress reduction of laughter and playing, I want to suggest that it be an evening of fun. Of course it depends on the age of your children or if there are only you and your spouse in the home. Regardless of the circumstances, an evening should be set aside for the gift of laughter.
First, there is the meal to be considered. The meal should be constructed in such a way that every member of the family can participate in its preparation. It might be a good time to have some recorded music playing. Small children like to decorate cookies or make candy, older children can help with such items as making pizza or preparing a salad. This meal especially should have a dessert that helps make it special. Maybe someone can even prepare that as a surprise. Be creative and imaginative in what you do.
Next, there should be some fun activities. It is time to be silly and even to make fun of some of the stressful features and people of the church. With proper caution that the family must keep what happens during the evening as a private family conversation, there are some ways that can allow the whole family to respond to the stresses they have experienced.
One possibility would be to have a game of charades in which one or more family members might act out some characteristics of a church member and the others have to guess who it is. Or they could recall an event during the church year and see if others could guess it. If this is done with good humor and confidentiality, it might be a good stress reducer.
Another possibility would be to have the family describe how they would construct a perfect Christmas season that emphasized the joy of the event. What would they leave out and what would they add. Birthdays are supposed to be joyous celebrations. How might you increase the pure fun of celebrating Christmas?
A third possibility would be to take two or three Christmas hymns and have different members create silly verses that talk about the church and ministry or their family. Then sing them as a family.
After the laughter and the fun, it might be good to conclude with a family prayer that both recognizes God’s gift of laughter and expresses gratitude for the anticipated birth of the Christ that liberates us from the weight of sin and allows us to laugh even at ourselves.
