Advent Day 25: Guest of Honor

Thank you for joining Keys for Kids Radio’s Countdown to Christmas Advent Activity! Read the story below, answer the questions on the discussion guide, and send us a voice message on the Christmas Message Machine!

“We’re still at the mall, Mom,” Soren said, frustrated. “The car won’t start, and a guy from a garage across the street is working on it now. Dad says we’ll be there as soon as we can, but it’ll be a while. He said to tell you the show must go on, whatever that means.”

Mom knew what Dad meant. He was talking about the surprise birthday party they had planned for Soren. Dad had taken Soren shopping just to get him out of the house. The guests were in the living room now, waiting for him to come home. Mom knew Dad was telling her to go ahead with the games and food.

An hour later, Soren burst into the house. “Mom,” he called, “we’re home. You’ll never guess—”

“Surprise! Surprise!” his friends shouted, interrupting him. Soren was surprised!

“About time you got here,” said Patrick, one of the guests. “We were about ready to give your birthday presents to somebody else.”

“Nuh-uh! They’re Soren’s,” protested Soren’s sister, Penny. She slipped her little hand into her big brother’s. “It’s his birfday.”

“It’s okay, Penny. We wouldn’t give his gifts to anyone else,” Patrick assured her. He handed a present to Soren. “Here, open mine first.”

“Glad you finally made it, Soren” said another friend after Soren had opened all his gifts. “Your birthday party just wasn’t right without you.”

After all his guests were gone, Soren sat down to eat a piece of his birthday cake. “I wish I hadn’t missed the games, but at least the car was fixed in time for me to see everyone and open my presents.”

“I’m glad too,” said Mom. “As Penny says, it’s your ‘birfday,’ and a birthday celebration without the guest of honor—the birthday person—just isn’t worth much.”

“Happy birfday, Soren,” Penny said, grinning. She pointed to the nativity set on a nearby table. “And happy birfday, Jesus!”

Mom laughed. “Thanks for the reminder, Penny. With everything going on this time of year, it can easy for us to forget that we celebrate Jesus’s birthday at Christmas and how He became human so He could save us from sin. Let’s make sure He’s our guest of honor at Christmas and celebrate the wonderful gift of His birth.”

How about you?

Is Jesus the guest of honor in your Christmas celebration? Without Him, there would be no Christmas. In all the excitement of gifts, parties, and other Christmas events, don’t forget Jesus. As you go about your holiday activities, celebrate the gift of His birth. Jesus is God, but He became human so we could be saved through His death and resurrection. Now that’s something to celebrate each and every Christmas!

Key Verse

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11 NKJV

Key Thought

Christmas honors Jesus’s birthday.

Further Reading

Luke 2:4-11