No, this isn’t from Christmas last year. Back at the Atlanta Botanical Garden for a Fall Festival Family date night last Monday.
Yes, it was a school night, and yes the kids went to bed late, but it was worth it…
Sometimes the best memories are not the big, fancy, perfectly planned moments. They are the simple ones.
A walk outside. Fresh air.
Holding hands. Laughing about life.
Remembering how blessed you are to have someone beside you through every season.
Those little moments of connection matter more than we realize.
Life is better together...
We celebrate the Prince of Peace. So why do the holidays bring so much stress into Christian homes?
From Thanksgiving to New Year’s, we’re celebrating God’s provision and the greatest gift the world has ever received: the birth of our Savior, the night heaven announced…
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” — Luke 2:10
Yet somehow we’ve turned the season into a marathon of shopping, spending, decorating, cooking, traveling and trying to make everyone happy.
We sing about peace while running ourselves ragged. We talk about gratitude and generosity while worrying about the credit card bill, and we celebrate family while becoming too exhausted to enjoy the people God has entrusted to us.
Then January comes.
We take down the decorations, catch our breath, and promise ourselves that next year will be different.
But what if the problem isn’t that we’re doing too much? What if we’ve forgotten what we’re celebrating in the first place?
The short answer: holiday stress in Christian homes usually comes from letting the world’s expectations, pace and spending replace God’s purpose for celebration, which is worship, gratitude, generosity, fellowship and rest.
The Biblical answer isn’t to celebrate less. It’s to put Christ back at the center of the whole season.
We’ve been thinking about this as we prepare for another holiday season with our 7 children.
We love this time of year, from the Thanksgiving table to Christmas morning, and we’re not trying to make the holidays smaller or less joyful.
Quite the opposite.
We want more of what makes them worth celebrating, because Jesus didn’t come so we could spend six weeks every year exhausted and just trying to make it to January.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” — John 10:10
That abundant life doesn’t disappear when the holiday season starts.
So this year we’re challenging ourselves, and inviting you to join us, to look honestly at seven ways we’ve traded what God intended for what the world demands…
1. We Forgot That Celebration Was God’s Idea
Long before there were Christmas lists and holiday parties, God told His people to celebrate. He put appointed feasts on Israel’s calendar and told them exactly what the goal was:
“For seven days you shall keep the feast to the LORD your God at the place that the LORD will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.” — Deuteronomy 16:15
Those feasts were commanded to Israel, and Scripture never commands Christians to keep Thanksgiving or Christmas. But they show us God’s heart for celebration, and it looks nothing like a season to survive.
Israel’s feasts were built on worship, remembrance, gratitude and generosity, and they were shared with the widow, the fatherless and the stranger (Deuteronomy 16:14). God wanted His people to rejoice before Him, together, over what He had done.
Live it out:
At your first holiday meal, have everyone share one thing God did for your family this year.
Read a psalm of thanksgiving out loud before you eat. Psalm 100 and Psalm 136 are perfect for the table.
Set one extra place for someone who won’t have family nearby, the way Israel’s feasts made room for the stranger.
2. We’ve Let the Calendar Replace Our Convictions
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” — Psalm 90:12
Most of us say we want to slow down and focus on Jesus, and then we say yes to every party, program and exchange that comes our way. Our calendars end up preaching a different sermon than our mouths.
The issue isn’t a busy schedule. It’s what the schedule reveals about our priorities, because the things we never say no to are the things we’ve decided matter most.
Live it out:
Sit down as a couple and pray over your calendar from now to New Year’s, asking of every event, “Does this bring us closer to God and each other?”
Protect one anchor night each week with nothing on the calendar but family.
Practice a kind, simple no: “We’d love to, but we’re keeping that night for family this year.”
3. We’ve Turned the Holidays Into a Performance
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” — Matthew 6:1
Jesus was talking about giving and prayer, but the principle reaches straight into the holidays. The perfect Thanksgiving spread, the matching pajamas and the photo-ready tree can quietly become a show for an audience that scrolls past in two seconds.
Social media didn’t invent comparison, but it put it in our pockets. Every feed has a better-decorated house, a more creative tradition and a family that seems to do the holidays without a single meltdown.
Performance is exhausting because it never ends. Celebration simply looks at what God has done and says thank You, whether anyone is watching or not.
Live it out:
Choose one tradition to do just for your family this season, with no photos and no posting.
Mute or unfollow any account that leaves you feeling behind instead of grateful.
Ask your kids what they love most about the holidays, then do more of that and less of what they never mention.
“I’m grateful to be here, receiving encouragement, recipes, and whole-body transformation. Even after trying times, I trust you and Mama Z. The spiritual aspect completes the system: body, soul, and spirit.”
— Ellen D.
4. We’ve Confused Generosity With Consumerism
“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” — Proverbs 22:7
Giving is at the heart of the season because God gave first (John 3:16). But somewhere along the way, buying more started to feel like loving more.
When the gifts go on credit, the stress doesn’t end on December 25. It shows up in the mailbox for months, and generosity that turns you into a servant of the lender isn’t the kind God asked for.
Stewardship is generosity with wisdom. Your children will remember your presence long after they’ve forgotten your presents.
Live it out:
Set your gift budget before you shop, and give from what you have, not from what you’ll owe.
Give at least one gift to someone who can’t give anything back, like a widow, a neighbor or a family in need.
Try a simple gift rule for the kids, like something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read.
5. We’ve Let Other People’s Expectations Steal Our Peace
“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.” — Proverbs 29:25
The holidays have a way of turning grown adults back into people-pleasers. We go where we’re expected, stay longer than we should, and agree to plans that pull our families in five directions at once.
Loving people doesn’t require pleasing everyone. Jesus loved perfectly, and He still withdrew from the crowds to be with His Father (Luke 5:16).
Boundaries spoken with kindness aren’t unloving. They protect the peace of the home God gave you to steward.
Live it out:
Decide together what your family’s yes and no will be this season, before the invitations arrive.
Plan visits with a clear arrival and departure time, so you can be fully present while you’re there.
Pray for each person you’ll see before you walk in the door, especially the ones who are hardest to love.
6. We’ve Confused Feasting With Neglecting Our Health
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” — Romans 12:1
Feasting is Biblical, and so is caring for the body God gave you. The problem isn’t the holiday table; it’s treating six weeks of the year as a break from stewardship.
Bible Health has never been about earning God’s approval through what’s on your plate. It’s about honoring Him with the body He gave you, so you have the energy to love the people He gave you.
In our home, the pies, cookies and cinnamon rolls are homemade, and our kids enjoy every one of them. Stewardship and celebration were never enemies.
Live it out:
Plan your holiday table now, so the feast is built on real food your family loves.
Make one favorite treat at home this season, so celebration and stewardship sit at the same table.
Take a family walk after the big meal, and use it to talk about what you’re thankful for.
“Thank you so much for everything you all do, and especially today for the Scriptures. I really needed those today.”
— Mary G.
7. We’ve Made Room for Everything Except Resting in Christ
“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28
The holidays are when most of us need rest the most, and rest is usually the first thing we give up. Even our Sundays fill up with errands and catch-up.
Jesus didn’t invite the weary to a better system. He invited them to Himself, and the rest He offers runs deeper than a nap or a day off.
This season celebrates the God who provides and the God who came near. We miss Him when we never sit still long enough to notice.
Live it out:
Guard one day each week this season for worship, rest and unhurried time together.
Give God the first few minutes of each morning, before you pick up your phone. Bible Health Daily gives you one verse to start with.
End each evening with a few quiet minutes and a short family prayer, even on the busiest days.
What We’re Reclaiming This Year
Here’s the conviction we’re carrying into this season, and we’d love for you to carry it with us:
We’re done treating the holidays as something to survive.
We believe celebration, rest and feasting were God’s ideas first.
We want generosity without debt, fellowship without performance, and feasting that honors the body God gave us.
We want our children to see a home where Jesus is the reason, not the decoration.
Three Questions to Talk About as a Family
What are we doing this holiday season simply because we’ve always done it?
What is stealing our peace that we actually have the power to change?
What would a season centered on Christ, rather than expectations, look like in our home?
A Few Honest Questions
What does the Bible say about holiday stress?
Scripture doesn’t mention modern holidays, but it speaks directly to worry, rest and celebration. Jesus invites the weary to come to Him for rest (Matthew 11:28), and Paul tells us to bring every anxious thought to God in prayer, with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6).
Is it wrong for Christians to celebrate the holidays?
Believers land in different places on specific traditions, and Romans 14:5 gives each person room to be fully convinced in his own mind. Scripture shows that God loves celebration centered on Him, full of worship, gratitude and generosity.
How can Christians keep Christ at the center of the holidays?
Start with what you’re celebrating. If your celebration is more about an “all-knowing” fat guy from the North Pole who puts kids on a naughty or nice list than it is celebrating Jesus’ birth, then you missed the mark.
Give thanks as a family, read Luke 2 together, keep one day of rest each week, give to someone who can’t give back, and let your calendar reflect your convictions.
Don’t Lose Sight of the One You’re Celebrating
This holiday season, we don’t need more traditions to maintain, more gifts to buy, or more expectations to meet. We need to remember Who we’re celebrating.
The world will tell us to buy more, do more, spend more and somehow make every moment magical. But Jesus never asked us to manufacture the perfect holiday; He invited us into an abundant life rooted in Him.
So set the table and decorate the tree. Invite people over, give generously, sing loudly, and laugh around the table.
Just don’t let the celebration become so consuming that you lose sight of the One you’re celebrating. The greatest gift your family receives this year may not be under the tree.
It may be a home where the peace of Christ is lived, not just sung about.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” — Isaiah 9:6
A Prayer for You. 🙏
Father, thank You for Your provision this year and for the gift of Your Son, the Prince of Peace.
Forgive us for the ways we’ve let the calendar, the crowd and the shopping list push You to the edges of our celebrations.
Teach our families to rest, give, feast and rejoice in ways that honor You and draw us closer to You and to each other.
Let our homes be places where Your peace is lived, not just sung about.
Amen.
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As always, our hope and prayer is that you experience the abundant life.
~ Dr. Z & Mama Z
Thank you so much for this article. It gives clear direction on how we should celebrate the holidays, it can also be applied to our daily life. Thank you and your family for consistently showing and sharing a path of peace.