Our Christmas Eve Book

Although Christmas day in our family means excitement, surprises from Santa, visits, gifts, and goodies, we’ve always reserved Christmas Eve as a sacred time with the scriptures. When our children were very young, I realized I needed something to keep their interest, so I created a special Christmas Eve book of my own.

I began by choosing my favorite Christmas scriptures from Isaiah, Luke, and Matthew. Next, since my drawing ability is limited, I found the loveliest Christmas card I could for each section of scripture (about thirteen in all). I then chose a Christmas carol that related to each scripture. Finally, I mounted scripture, pictures, and songs on 8 1/2-by-11-inch pages, covered them with plastic, and put them in a three-ring binder.

The product is definitely “down-home” and folksy, but the combination of scripture, pictures, and carols seems to be the magic formula. Now the written sections, illustrated with pictures, are interrupted at just the right time by carols.

Our children are now eight and eleven, but our Christmas Eve book is still a special tradition. We often invite grandparents in to share a Christmas Eve dinner and our program. We pass the book and give each person a turn reading the scriptures. Marilyn M. Smolka, Salt Lake City, Utah