From a strictly liturgical standpoint, the preparations for receiving the Christ Child intensify from December 17th to the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord. This might be a time to begin to set up the Nativity Crib in church and at home. Involve the members of the family in the project. It is a good way to enter into conversation about the true meaning of the Christmas Season. However, until just before midnight leave out the image of the child. In the Liturgical sense He has not been born yet. From the First Sunday of Advent, the Advent Wreath takes precedence. Continue your mealtime prayers around it.

Because some Christmas decorations have often lost their original religious meaning, churches should be rather circumspect about employing them and should do so with great discretion. If used at all, these decorations are best set up on Christmas Eve so as to respect the integrity of the Advent Season. Christmas trees are preferably kept out of the sanctuary and church proper. They are best left in vestibules or church grounds. This has been the practice in St. Peter’s Square from the time of St. Pope John Paul II.

As far as possible, decorations should be religiously themed, leaving plastic reindeer, sugar canes and Santa Clauses in the local shopping mall or at least within the confines of the parish hall for children’s events and not in the church proper.

Within the church proper, apart from the crib, Christmas may be evoked by using, for example, traditional poinsettias, holly and other traditional elements according to the culture.