All Articles for Holidays

As we celebrate MLK Day as a family, we’ll take time to talk about the sacrifice Dr. King and so many others made on behalf of our family . . . and yours.

We’re called to “give thanks in all circumstances…” But with its challenges, it can be hard to name things to give thanks for this year.

Looking for ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve with kids? We’ve got you covered with the #UltimateFamilyNight.

Roughly 2,000 years ago, Israel awaited their promised king. As Christmas approaches, we continue waiting for God to accomplish His plans.

Do canceled plans have you home for Christmas? Grab a few energizing, low-prep ideas to create some unforgettable moments.

Does "peace on earth" describe your relationship with your mother- or daughter-in-law? Here are some tips to keep the peace this Christmas.

Do the holidays leave you feeling empty after ministering to everyone else? Here are 25 ways to bring rest and peace this Christmas season.

Grief at Christmas can bring fresh ache and pain, but the hole grief creates can become a sacred space for the comfort Christmas brings.

If you find yourself struggling to engage your teen this Christmas, here are a few ways to make memories this season.

So many of us are struggling to catch our breath this year. Gratitude might even feel wrong. So how can we be thankful?

There are plenty of things vying for our attention during the holidays. Toxic thoughts don’t need to be one of them.

We know. The idea of your family having a service for Easter can feel weird and even sad. But this Easter at home can still be meaningful, memorable.

Romance is all around. But that only accentuates how hard your marriage feels right now. How do you do Valentine’s Day when marriage is hard?

A new job. Losing a baby. A new house. Or a spouse's confession. We can’t see what the new year may bring, but we can trust God to write our story.

We're in the practice of resolutions. These prayers for the New Year will move us toward spiritual renewal too.

Christmas is for the broken, the lonely and forgotten, and the misfits.

As much as we hope we’ll become idyllic people during this idyllic season, our struggles refuse to take a holiday.

The Christmas season didn’t kick off quite how we had planned after receiving the text from our son … “I’m not coming.”

It’s hard to get romantic in your mother-in-law's living room, kids snoring around you on sleeping bags. Still, sneaking in sex over the holidays is doable.

God gives us eternal treasures, so let’s take time to notice during the season of stuff.

I have a hard time Christmas shopping for my wife. It's not because I don't enjoy giving her gifts. I do. It's just that I don't want to mess it up.

What if we stopped treating gratitude like green bean casserole—something to dish out once a year?

Seven ways to make the holy days peaceful days.

Facing Father's Day as a single mom brings difficult questions.How can I help my kids on this day? What is expected of me? Am I required to honor him too?

We asked kids what they think about their dads. Turns out, they think they’re pretty darn special.

My Pop-pop told stories. About how my Mom-mom fell in love with him. About the Marines. Later I found out there were some secrets he didn't recite.

We give words of affirmation to someone shortly before or after their death. But why wait? Learn to speak life giving affirmations today.

Here are 10 ways to bless a hurting mom in your life.

Every day is Mother’s Day in our little household. Because you do so much. But I want this day to be a reminder of my commitment to you.

I’m hosting an Easter party. You should too. Use these menu ideas and activities for a fun, easy way to share the Easter season together.

This guide will help you reflect on the days leading up to the Cross, Jesus' death, His burial, and the empty tomb. One Scripture. One brief reflection. Once a day, for 12 days.

Togetherness is virtually impossible if one or both spouses feel disgust toward each other.

I always seemed to fail at this holiday until a game-changer idea took me from zero to hero.

Forget perfume and diamonds … give your wife something that speaks to her heart.

The real unexpected gift wasn’t the money or groceries, but an increase in our faith.

What’s a family—one that desires to teach their kids the REAL meaning of Christmas—to do about St. Nick?

A mom’s guide to managing all that the holiday season throws her way.

Long after my husband and I are gone, I want our kids to still have each other.

How do we find the holy balance of treating our bodies like temples, but not to the extent that we become health-obsessed this holiday season?

Sometimes, Grandpa and Grandma Warbucks create unintended challenges by “blessing the grandkids” with so many gifts.

Our kids would only be half as awesome, half as cool, and half as strong without you. And quite frankly, so would I.

Use your position as a mother to inspire your children to honor their father this Father’s Day and over the years.

It’s not about how you feel most equipped to love her, but how she will feel the most loved.

This day was made for you—the tired and weary warrior mom who faithfully trudges on even when no one seems to notice.

The purpose of your marriage is to reflect the fullness of God in an increasingly empty world.

Sometimes a little creativity, maybe a few dollars, and a little foresight are all that's needed to make an unforgettable to say “Be mine, Valentine.”

Two moms discuss ways they have allowed their children to participate in the holiday without undermining their values.

The day we celebrate Christ’s resurrection is the day we celebrate our own.

Start some new traditions with your children during the holiday of love.

After His resurrection, Jesus displayed his scars with confidence, not disgrace. He understood that God often leaves the scars of our past wounds as evidence of His power.

I’m thankful for the incarnation. But without Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, Christmas would mean nothing.

If you find yourself longing for a purer, less commercialized version of Christmas, then you might want to try our experiment yourself.

During this season of Advent, I’m reflecting on how our hope must rest in the fact that God is with us in the waiting.

Slow down and truly experience this special season centered around family, joy, giving, and most importantly—Jesus.

Listening to traditional Christmas hymns is one way to remind your children of the beautiful, gospel-centered purpose of Christmas.

Forget the ties and BBQ apron, your man would much rather see these gifts wrapped up on Christmas Day.

When my aunt and uncle divorced, I had a difficult time adjusting to new holiday celebrations.

This time of year, it’s easy to get caught up in the emotions of “how we used to do it.”

The Ever Thine Home collection, created by Barbara Rainey, helps make Thanksgiving and Christmas meaningful as well as lovely.

Is this your year to make a change and replace some time-stealing activities with something more meaningful?

We asked our readers to tell us about the fathers in their lives.

My first spring after instant widowhood altered my perspective on resurrection.

This Easter, place your hope in the One who paid your debt, bore your sins, and gave you peace with God.

Communicating the most life-changing story ever told in a way children can understand.

Is it time to consider doing something different this year?

The wonder of Christmas is that Jesus became a baby and lived on earth. To understand and know Jesus is to understand and know God.

As family and friends gather, here are some ideas to create a holiday that is memorable and feasible.

The little things you do the other 364 days of the calendar have a whole lot more to do with keeping romance alive in your relationship.

Learn to appreciate the wonder of God actually residing within each of us who believe in Him.

Five reasons why your family should celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Easter should be much more joyous than Christmas because of what Christ did for us on the cross.

If you're looking for ideas to show your love this Valentine's Day, consider going digital.

Try these out on your husband this year on Valentine's Day.

Recognizing expressions of true love ... from God.

Some fun ideas for Valentine's Day.

It's easy to miss what's most important in our Easter celebration.

For most of my life I ignored the Lenten season … until I realized how little time I spent preparing my heart for Easter.

Lent excites me because of its intense Christ-focus and, even more, its focus on the cross.

Ten ideas that can help connect hearts and homes to Him.

With a little investment of time, these ideas can help give your children an "ultimate gift."

A reminder of our need to love others, including our enemies.

Here are seven ideas for traditions you can begin to draw your family closer to God.

In our first Christmas together, we gave the most valued gift we possessed.

Remembering what God has done in my life helped me to recapture my awe of the meaning of Easter.

Resurrection Eggs helped families in our inner-city ministry really understand what Jesus had done.

Focusing on the names of Christ during the Christmas season can provide many opportunities for you and your children to learn more about Him.

The Christmas season reminds us that the God who made it possible for a virgin to conceive can heal any marriage and any family problem.

Here are some ways you and your family can put the spotlight on Christ.

How can you make Easter more meaningful?

Rediscover the beauty of this important holiday.

When you get stuck thinking romance is all roses and bubble baths, it starts feeling like something you'll never achieve.

We don't do our kids any favors by encouraging entitlement.

Before unwrapping gifts this year, take time to ponder the eternal truths found in Scripture about Jesus' birth.

God eagerly waits to meet us when we come with our losses and broken hearts to His welcoming embrace.

Traditions remind us to stop the busy cycle of life long enough to reconnect and build bonds.

FamilyLife Today co-host lists seven great movies to view with your family during the holidays.

Character building is hard work, but it pays off big time in the lives of our children.

Enjoy your holidays this year by simplifying your priorities.

I decided to put away my expectations for the “perfect” Christmas—no more hope placed in conditions or gifts or decorations.

Here are some of our best ideas, plus a few new ones, to help you make this Thanksgiving a holiday to remember.

God’s story for His children isn’t one of loss and despair but one of restoration and hope.

Are you happy with the way your family celebrates the holiday? Here are some ideas to keep it from becoming just another day.

Our problem in America is not that we don't know we are to be thankful, but often we choose to complain instead.

What husbands and wives are saying about each other this Thanksgiving.

Mothering is a ministry to the future. It's a ministry that, in the end, only God fully sees.

Give meaningful gifts this Christmas — Christmas gifts to pass on to future generations

Here’s a list of holiday CDs with songs that focus on Christ’s birth.

Four ideas for telling very young children the truth in a way they will understand.

Formulating a strategy for dealing with the stress of that accompanies holidays with loved ones.

This recipe became a family tradition for Thanksgiving brunch.

Teaching children how to focus their hearts and minds outward on others during the holiday season.

We need to guide our children and grandchildren into the habit of giving thanks in all things.

The same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to us. It can make us new, and it can resurrect any relationship that seems hopeless.

Friends share special ways they have been remembered as mothers and ways they've honored their own moms.

Here are some ways you can thank moms on Mother's Day and beyond.

A beloved Christmas carol, written by a man lost in despair, directs us to remember the living God who sent His Son.

In the November 2004 issue of The Family Room, we asked our readers to send us stories of their most meaningful Christmas gifts.

Use the names of Christ to teach your kids who He is and how to relate to Him.

Tips for making this holiday season more enjoyable.

Our homes can be a tool to introduce Christ to those around us, especially during Christmas.

Encouraging those who have lost a loved one.

If ever there were a truth that needed to be internalized, it is the amazing story of a God who came as a helpless baby to touch us at our point of need.

After several less than "merry" Christmas celebrations, I decided my future Christmases were going to be different.

These activities can become treasured long-standing traditions for your family.

God invites us to Himself every year at Christmas.

Here are a few movies that I never get tired of watching.

When we came to the Savior ornament, God’s Spirit did something wonderful and miraculous.

So you're planning your Christmas schedule? Perhaps it looks something like this...

When was the last time you really listened to the joyful and hope-filled words of this song?

Creative ways to celebrate Father's Day.

At some point most married couples need to create their own holiday plans while also honoring their parents and extended families.

Creative ways to express love and appreciation to the special dads in your life.

Expressing gratitude for all God has done for me.

How to protect your family from holiday stress.

As my children grew up, I was determined to make this holiday a time for celebrating faith, family, and freedom.

The Easter holiday may be the best time to tell your children of their need for Christ.

The story of Easter can be vividly explained through Resurrection Eggs from FamilyLife

I have a complaint about how we celebrate this holiday.