Family Christmas Online™ was formed to help your family to have a joyful and meaningful Christmas, even if your life is going in thirty different directions.

Welcome to our growing library of stories, ideas, and songs to enrich (and in some cases simplify) your Christmas season. We spent much of 2007 getting the "framework" of the site built and making many resources available. Last year, we added many more stories and additional resources. This year we have already added more stories, as well as new sections that feature Christmas poems and reviews of family-friendly Christmas movies and books. We have many more resources and ideas planned, so please bookmark this page and check back every once in a while.

Also, please don't let the Victorian look fool you - we like old-fashioned Christmases, but we live and work in the twenty-first century. Most of the tips we pass on are things that we or our closest friends and family members have learned first-hand. If you have a tip you'd like to share with your fellow readers, please let us know.

Update for Southwest, Ohio readers, November, 2009: Scroll down for a special announcement.

Here are some areas we hope you find interesting, helpful, and encouraging, in or out of season.

• The Bible Story of Christmas - The most important Bible passages about Christmas, with illustrations
• Other Stories of Christmas - Christmas stories from diverse sources, including Charles Dickens and O. Henry, as well as original stories by our own editors and authors.
• Christmas Poems - This page contains links to uplifting or humorous family-friendly Christmas poems. Many are classic poems by well-known authors. New for 2009!
• Christmas Memories - This page represents the beginning of a new collection of special Christmas memories, from our family and from readers. Your special Christmas memories are welcome as well. New for 2009!
• Christmas Musings - This department contains articles that answer common questions about Christmas and Christmas traditions, as well as articles about topics that don't fit anywhere else on the site.
  • The Line for the Family Stable Starts Here - A funny and touching look at the way children perceive Nativity sets in their homes.
  • A Brief History of Christmas - How did a midwinter feast become the most celebrated Christian holiday?
  • Why Do We Celebrate?/Why Celebrate Christmas - Early Christians didn't celebrate the birth of Jesus in any way. Have we taken a wrong turn, or is celebration a fundamental part of our human condition?
  • Could Christmas Possibly Come at a Worse Time? - A different way of looking at holiday stresses
  • What do Trains Have to Do With Christmas? - We examine a century-old tradition that has made many family Christmas celebrations richer.
• Christmas Craft Resources - Original resources to help you plan and complete Christmas craft and gift ideas. Features include:
  • Craft Wrapping Paper - Free vintage-looking, color-coordinated printable wrapping paper patterns you can use for crafts (or even for wrapping small presents). Note: Many of these patterns can be used year-'round.
• About Christmas Decorations - A discussion of when, how, and why Christmas decorations have been used; including articles that should give you ideas for decorating your home. Features include:
  • Traditional Home-Made Ornaments
  • Don't Try This at Home (Anymore) - Dangerous Decorations People Used to Use
  • New for 2009! - Articles about historical outdoor decorations, including:
    • Folk Art Outside Santa Displays
    • Popular Mechanics™ Christmas 'Project-a-Plans'
  • A Brief History of Christmas Villages If you enjoy setting out a holiday village of any kind, we think you will enjoy learning about the deep roots of this multicultural tradition.New for 2009!
• About Christmas Trees - Describes the history and other aspects of Christmas trees
• About Nativities - addresses the history and variety of nativity displays.
• Family Christmas Music - A small but growing collection of traditional Christmas music from various countries, with descriptions of regional practices and of the songs' histories. Many of the songs include mp3 arrangements for listening to an instrumental verse and chorus.
• Christmas Recipes - A resource for folks who need to prepare a holiday dish in a hurry, or for folks who want to make some item that Mom or Grandma used to make, but you don't remember how - mostly still in the planning stage.
• Christmas Movies - This page is the beginning of a collection of Christmas movie reviews, focusing on movies worth watching with your family. Your suggestions are welcome as well. New for 2009!
• Christmas Activity Ideas - Family-friendly activities you can do during the Christmas season, including day and overnight trips.

As always, our hope is that the resources we have so far can continue helping you and your family (as Dickens said of Scrooge):

Honor Christmas in your heart, and
"try to keep it all the year."

In the meantime, please keep in touch, and let us know what you'd like to see added or changed.

May God grant you joy and wonder every season of this year,

Paul and Shelia Race

Announcement: November 15, 2009 Open House on the New Boston and Donnels Creek

On November 15, 2009, we plan to have our southwest Ohio-area garden railroad decked out for Christmas and running trains that feature a lot of red and green. Thomas and James will probably make an appearance as well. We now plan to be running trains from 1:00PM to 7:00PM. Rain/blizzard date is November 22. The railroad is between Donnelsville and Springfield, Ohio. if that helps you plan your trip.

The railroad itself is wheelchair accessible (unless it rains or snows the yard gets muddy), but the house and bathroom are not. :-(

More details and signup sheets are provided in the following link:

http://www.btcomm.com/trains/outside_resources/openhouses/christmas_open_houses.htm