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 things organized and publishing the resources we thought would be most helpful first. We have many more resources and ideas planned for 2008, 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.

Here are some areas you might find helpful, 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. New for 2008! We have added several more stories from prominent writers, including Booth Tarkington and Louisa May Alcott.
• 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. New for 2008!
  • 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? New for 2008!
  • 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
• About Christmas Trees - Describes the history and other aspects of Christmas trees
• About Nativities - addresses the history and variety of nativity displays. Just added:
  • The "Little Saints" of Provence, a new article about traditional nativities in the French region of Provence.
• 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 Activity Ideas - Family-friendly activities you can do during the Christmas season, including day and overnight trips.