A Christ-Centered Christmas Eve Tradition: The Traveling Dinner

Throughout this holiday season, I have been hosting various homeschool bloggers. These bloggers have shared with us their own beloved holiday traditions. This series has been great because it has allowed us a glimpse into holiday traditions of all kinds that are enjoyed by homeschoolers all over!

Today, I am happy to introduce you to Meridith from PowerlineProd.com.

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Meridith is here to share with us one of her favorite Christmas Eve traditions – A Traveling Dinner.

I found her tradition to be so fascinating! This looks like such a fun activity. And what a great way to remember and focus on Christ!

I hope you find her experiences enjoyable too!

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A New Christmas Eve Tradition

“How do you celebrate Christmas Eve?” I asked. We had been sharing traditions that we enjoyed with our families.

“Well, we like to go on a Traveling Dinner.” Laura, a fellow homeschool mom, replied.

“Excuse me?” I had never heard of one.

“Well, you see, we were trying to help the Christmas story come alive in different ways. Donald and I were talking about how Mary traveled with Joseph to Bethlehem and they had to stop and eat along the way.”

“Of course.” All Moms realize that you have to stop to eat when you’re traveling.

She went on to explain that the Traveling Dinner would be packing up the kind of meal that Mary and Joseph would have had to eat on the way to Bethlehem. It would have to be finger food and easy to carry along. Then they would go somewhere.

That sounded like a unique tradition. It fit in perfectly with my desire to make Christmas meaningful since Christmas is a birthday.

We decided to spend Christmas Eve together that year and travel, not to Bethlehem, but to the beach which is 45 minutes away.

A Christ-Centered Christmas Eve Tradition: The Traveling Dinner

We loaded up the minivans with kids, finger food, and blankets since it was awfully chilly for a Florida Christmas.

We walked along the beach, ate our food, and snuggled under blankets to keep warm while we read the Christmas story aloud and sang some carols.

A new family tradition was born!

What is Required for a Christmas Eve Traveling Dinner?

• Transportation (car, van, feet, or donkey)
• Finger food to eat (silverware not allowed)
• Blankets/jackets/coats (it gets cold after dark)
• Play equipment (corn hole boards, frisbee, football, soccer ball, etc)
• Camera (to record the memories)

Two homeschooling families have celebrated Christmas Eve together with a Travelling Dinner for almost two decades.

The babies have grown up.

Now, instead of two vans, there are several different cars and grandchildren running around.

Though so much has changed, so much remains the same.

Each Christmas Eve we travel somewhere because Mary & Joseph traveled on the first Christmas Eve.

We have been to state parks where we have enjoyed soccer and ultimate Frisbee. We have taken walks in the woods and played corn hole. We have walked along the beach.

We try to bring things the children will enjoy or go somewhere with a playground.

The beach we visit most often has a playground and bathrooms. Bathrooms are super important when little children are part of the festivities.

One year it rained and we spread our feast out on the family room floor and played some board games.

The Ultimate Traveling Dinner would, of course, include camping and take several days. However, I’m not a nature girl. So, we just stick to Christmas Eve.

We have feasted on appetizers, sandwiches, pickles, crackers, cheese, chips, dips, and all kinds of cookies.

I really enjoy baking cookies each Christmas and the Traveling Dinner is a great time to enjoy eating all those cookies. You can learn all about how the Christmas cookie frenzy got started at Christmas Tradition: Baking Cookies.

In our food prep, we try to stay true to “finger food.” This allows us to talk about the reason we eat what we do.

We are remembering Mary and Joseph’s trip to Bethlehem. We try to imagine what foods they ate along the way.

We Always Remember Christ During Christmas Traditions Such As This

But the magic of our Traveling Dinner has been our times in the Word of God reading the Christmas passages that are forever new because we are all so desperately in need of a Savior.

Celebrating with songs that allow our voices to sing out the joy that is in our hearts because Christmas reminds us how much we are loved by our Heavenly Father.

For us, the Traveling Dinner has been part of our lifestyle of learning with a focus on learning about the Lord who made us and the star that hovered over Bethlehem. 

You can download your FREE copy of our Curtis Family Christmas Devotions here.

Over the years, we have included lonely people and those seeking God. This has been a way to minister outside of our family units.

When people join us, they comment on the simplicity of our time together. It’s not filled with busy preparations and complicated activities. It’s very simple and relaxed. It allows us to rest and enjoy one another.

Yes, we’ve gotten a few stares as we’re belting out carols. We’ve had people stop and listen. Sometimes we’ve been all alone in a huge park.

It’s been awesome to share our faith sometimes with strangers.

Best of all, we get to share our faith in the Christmas baby with our children and grandchildren, to allow them to grow up knowing that Christmas truly is a birthday.

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A Christ-Centered Christmas Eve Tradition: The Traveling Dinner