We decided we wanted to try out a few Christmas Traditions this year. Our kids are getting older, and its getting easier to do more with them around the holidays. They also understand more and are taking this time to really take it all in and learn about why we celebrate Christmas. I saw the idea of a Shepard’s Meal on social media and haphazardly threw it all together, and it honestly turned out to be one of our favorite parts of Christmas this year. We will 100% be doing this going forward.
Important to note the timeline of our Shepard’s Meal. We did this on Christmas Eve. We host Christmas Eve and eat a big meal around 2pm, and then head to a Christmas Eve Service. When we get back home we aren’t overly hungry, but we all need a little something before we head off to bed. So this is where we have our Shepard’s meal. For us it isn’t a huge production, its a very small humble meal, and we focus on the story of Jesus’s birth instead of pomp and circumstance. You could do this any time during the Christmas season. It doesn’t have to be Christmas Eve, thats just what worked for us.
So what is a Shepard’s Meal?
For my family, this was a loose recreation of what the Shepards would have eaten, the night the angels came and shared their news about baby Jesus. If we look at things historically, the Shepards probably would have carried dried meat and cheese with them, possibly some bread or crackers, and maybe a small amount of fruit. So that is what we tried to recreate. We gathered some charcuterie type food, spread it out on the table and had it as a small meal before bed.
We also turned off all the lights and ate by candlelight for two reasons. The Shepards were sleeping outside. It was dark. The candles can also symbolize the bright angel or the bright star in the sky shining and standing out against the darkness. This part is optional but made it really fun. We also made our own candles which was a really fun Christmas craft. The girls loved the candlelight, and it just made it feel really intimate and special.
Then we read a Christmas book about the birth of Baby Jesus. The book I read was completely random, but it was actually perfect! Like I said this was a very last minute idea and I was just working with what I had. Luckily, I picked up the cutest book for the dinner. This book would have been a really good option too, or just reading the story directly from the bible.
How it went
We got home from our church service, and I left my kids a Christmas Eve Box in the living room. It had their PJs, the book we read, an ornament, and a pair of fuzzy socks for them to wear to bed. While they changed into their PJs and got ready for bed I got the food ready. I picked up some cold cuts, a variety pack of cheese, some crackers, some fruit, and some fun sweets and laid them all out on the table on some parchment paper. I lit the candles and we all came and started eating. While the girls ate I read them the book I picked out and we talked about what Christmas really meant. We also talked about all kinds of funny things, and typical toddler things too.
While we were enjoying our meal my husband and I both looked at each other and agreed this was really special. We loved this tradition and will be doing it over and over again. It is so simple and has such an impact. My girls have been talking about it more than any gift they were given. My oldest even wants a Shepard’s meal for her birthday! All in all we really loved it. Its very simple and any level of effort would make this really sweet.
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