This week, meet the Watson family from southern California. They are a typical Seventh-day Adventist family that works hard, is involved with school and other activities, and is active in their church community. The Watsons normally celebrate Christmas with the usual presents and holiday traditions, but one year, they were inspired by a family friend to try out a different kind of Christmas. The Watsons and their friends went on one of Maranatha’s annual Family Projects, and it changed the entire family’s perspective on service and family traditions. Your kids will see how much the Watson family was impacted by volunteering, and consider how they might also start new traditions in their own community.

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Pre-video Discussion Questions
- Do you remember what you got for Christmas or birthday presents last year? If you’re not able to remember all of the gifts you received last year, what do you think that means?

Introduce the Video
In today’s video, the Watson family tries a new holiday tradition by serving on a Maranatha Family Project.

Post-video Discussion Questions
- Why might a Christmas mission trip be more memorable than presents?
- In the Bible, there were many religious leaders in Jesus’ day that had lost sight of what it meant to be a follower of God. They thought that the more rules they followed, the better they would be in God’s eyes. Jesus taught that the love you show to God and to people are the most important things we can do (you can read about it in Matthew 22:36-40). Just like these religious leaders, sometimes we also get distracted from what is really important to God, especially at Christmas time. What are some of those holiday distractions, and why is it important to remember the main reason we celebrate Christmas?

Prayer Points
- Help us to serve You and others no matter what time of year or what holidays we are celebrating.
- Ask kids what they would add to the prayer list.

Did You Know?
- Maranatha normally offers at least two Family Projects—one in the summer and one at Christmastime.