Christmas with The Espinelis
Food Pantry Toy Drive, Family Traditions, Activities, & More
Family Traditions & Activities
Here’s a list of traditions and activities that our family has grown to love over the years and have intentionally integrated into our daily and weekly rhythms during the Advent season:
Christmas Tree & Decorations
This year, we decided to go with a potted Christmas tree for the first time. The kids really dug the notion of keeping the tree alive and placing it out in the garden after the holidays are over. We weren’t able to add to our collection of bobbles and ornaments this year, but it’s always a treat to see their little hands hanging them up one by one, each one with a story to tell.
We arranged a myriad of Christmas decorations around the house and placed Advent candles on the fireplace. We also made use of battery-powered lights wrapped around the tree, atop the fireplace, accenting the garlands, and outlining one of the front windows from the inside.
Garlands
I attempted to dry some oranges, but I was still getting familiar with the oven, which has gas markers instead of temperature. It turns out that 105 degrees Celsius is Gas ¼. 🤷♂️ 😅. They came out slightly overdone, so we weren’t able to string them together. At the very least, our house was flooded with that sweet citrus aroma that we’ve grown accustomed to during Christmas.
Steph sent me out to the back garden to clip a few trees and bushes so that she could create decorative garlands to place atop the fireplace and our new advent calendar.
Advent Calendar & Nativity
Daily Scripture, family discussion, and staging a 2-D wooden nativity (one piece each day) help to instruct and clarify what Christmas is really about. Just the other day, the kids were reciting the story from memory as they were playing in the other room, talking about Bethlehem, the Shepherds, Magi, and Angels, all culminating in baby Jesus wrapped in cloths and placed in a manger (Luke 2:7).
We also incorporated a devotional book + letter blocks, which spell out a sentence as we approach Christmas Day. If you ask any of our older kids what “Emmanuel” means, they’ll joyfully reply, “God with us!”
Christmas Films + Hot Cocoa
Check out our list of favorite Christmas films to watch during the holidays:
The family was struck with illness a few days before and leading up to the day of Christmas. Apart from elderberry juice drinks, we also tend to prepare some Hot Cocoa, especially when the kids are unwell.
Gingerbread House
The kids really enjoyed building and decorating a gingerbread house together. Zo placed each individual sprinkle on each line of frosting in a very intricate way, while Steph and AJ showed some creative flair.
Lasagna Dinner + Christmas Favorites
Some enjoy their own personal cheese pizza or a microwavable mac and cheese, but those of you who know Steph will know that lasagna is her absolute favorite dish—especially if it’s homemade. It’s become a family favorite this time of the year.
This year, we got a small store-bought lasagna to share along with a few other favorites:
Garlic Bread
Mac & Cheese
Minced Pies
Gingerbread Cookies
Cinnamon Rolls
Music Time
This year, the kids expressed a growing interest in singing and playing music with me. Each day, we have “music time” together, where we mostly play an ever-growing catalog of worship songs and sometimes add other songs to the mix.
Zo and AJ are learning to play the ukulele guitar and have always loved making up songs on the spot. To encourage them further, I’ve started to record them singing along during our sessions:
“Grace Alone” by The Modern Post
“Last Christmas” by Wham (with a variation lead+rhythm part)
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” by Thomas Helmore
Church Gatherings
Christmas Toy Drive at the Food Pantry!
It was jam-packed on the day, as we anticipated. Loads of mothers turned up with their children to take advantage of the Toy Drive, and others turned up to do a double-shop for their household to store food for the holidays.
We had a good assortment of toys and other items for small children ranging all the way up to teenagers. It’s quite a sight to see families, especially little children, filled with joy receiving a free toy or item of clothing for Christmas. The majority of families registered at the South Aston Pantry are from a Muslim background, so for some, this may have been their first or one of very few interactions with the Christian Holiday.
I also had the pleasure of assisting several people who were coming in to speak to our social worker, Alison. Dozens were looking to access the City Council housing fund while a few had technical questions about their Biometric Resident Permit, which I was able to assist with having the experience of going through the visa application process. Alison was fully booked for the day, but thankfully, some turned up to take up appointment slots from no-shows.
Opportunity to Minister!
When we were closing down shop, I was in the middle of putting all the tables away and sweeping up the floor in the gymnasium (the hall where CCB meets for Sunday gatherings). Mary, one of the regulars who gave her life to the Lord this year, comes over to me with tears welling up, asking if I’d be willing to hop on a phone call with her daughter, Kerry, and her daughter’s Nan (grandma), Ann.
I asked how Mary is related to Ann, and she said that Ann is her ex-husband’s mum. She quickly gave me a rundown of what was transpiring. Ann (who is in her 80s) was rushed to the hospital with pneumonia, and the doctors took her off treatments and other support after she was not responding adequately. The doctors and staff informed Kerry that she may not have long to live, so Kerry asked her mum, Mary, if she could speak to her or find someone who could speak and pray.
After a momentary delay, I was on the phone with Ann. I began sharing the Gospel in light of what the Holy Spirit was bringing to mind and directing me to say. I had no time to collect my own thoughts and just relied on what the Lord wanted to communicate to her. Mary started to burst into tears as Kerry was on the line. Kerry spoke of Ann’s acknowledgment that if this was to be the end, this was the opportunity to turn to Jesus and put your faith and trust in Him.
Reflections & Ongoing Prayer
When I arrived home, I debriefed with Steph, who spoke of feeling a wave of spiritual warfare during the block of time I interacted with Ann. Mary messaged me on behalf of Kerry, saying there was much I shared that really struck a chord and resonated. It’s in these moments that the nearest and most intimate truths well up inside my heart. Isaiah’s prophetic words:
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
Isaiah 53:3-4
The Jesus we know and love—the Alpha and Omega, the Almighty Ancient of Days, the Creator of the Universe—condescended to be born in finite human flesh to an unsuspecting couple, laid on a dirty feeding trough. The God who spoke everything into existence subjected Himself to growing, developing, and learning to speak. The One who created the air that we breathe took his first breath as a baby. The Lord, who is sovereign over all reality, wrote Himself into the pages of human history.
Jesus was no stranger to sorrow. He knows our plight and is well acquainted with our grief—He has experienced the utmost of human pain and suffering, stared into the eyes of the most grievous of evil and malevolence, and chose to love; He is the God who became incarnate as the matchless epitome of empathy.
*I’m reminded of this devotional that Steph filmed for a social media-based ministry we were once part of called Synced Culture. Check it out! It’s a powerful reminder from a Titus 2 woman of God that, years later, speaks directly into our own present experiences.
CHRISTMAS CARD
We were unable to send out individual Christmas cards to our Sending Team this year due to various factors but we wanted to share it here.
ENORMOUS THANKS to…
Amanda Torre Counseling & Associates
Coastlands Community Church
LB Charitable Foundation
Love of Christ Fellowship
Moser Family Foundation
New Life Church
Restored Church South Bay
Revival Church Bozeman
The Walk Church
And our friends (and their families) who have consistently stuck by us and continue to support our ministry. We pray that the Lord takes all of our successes, and everything we aim to accomplish here in the UK and credits it to you!
Our familia (my parents, Steph’s parents, my brothers and sister-in-laws, the Titos and Titas, and the multitude of cousins, who have shown constant love (especially for our children)!
Our paid subscribers on Substack who have used this platform as another way to support our ministry and charitable / humanitarian work here in the UK!
END-OF-YEAR GIVING
If you would like to make an end-of-year gift or set up a recurring donation to our mission, you can click on the button(s) below.
*All charitable donations given to our ministry are tax-deductible / can help reduce tax liability.
*Coastlands Community Church has graciously allowed us to use their giving platform to cover Christ Church Birmingham UK expenses to have me as part of their diverse staff. This also includes any work I do within Birmingham & Beyond, at any of the sites across the West Midlands, UK.
*Coastlands Community Church is also in direct partnership with Redemption Hill (Birmingham & Beyond’s church plant in Walsall).
*Gateway Leadership Initiative (GLI) handles our general ministry and church planting fund. We are accountable to their funding parameters, which are based on / structured from mission organizations like Greater Europe Mission and others.
*In 2025 we will prayerfully set our eyes on a new focus city and begin to develop a plan, build a team, establish partnerships with other planting networks, and faithfully continue the process of training and development.
