To whom has Samaritan’s Purse, through Operation Christmas Child, delivered more than 135 million “shoebox” Christmas packages in 150 countries since 1993?

Children.

To whom does Prison Fellowship, through its Angel Tree program, deliver tens of thousands of Christmas presents each year?

To the children of prison inmates.

Yes, these great organizations, and many more like them, also minister to adults throughout the year in the United States and around the world. But when it comes to Christmas, their focus is children. Let’s face it: Christmas is a children’s experience!

Theologically, Christmas is for everyone. Christ came into the world at the first Christmas to die for all our sins—adults as well as children. Children and adults alike receive the benefits of the first Christmas.

But experientially, it is children who demonstrate the wonder of Christmas! Who wants to go to bed early on Christmas Eve so as to hurry-up Christmas morning? Who is up before dawn on Christmas morning tapping on their parents’ bedroom door? Who squeals with delight as they unwrap presents? On whom do parents spend most of their Christmas budget?

You know the answer to those questions: children. And rightfully so. Christmas began with the Christ-child and has continued as the provenance of children through the centuries.

But before I go further, let me state the obvious: We know why little kids get excited about Christmas. It’s the presents, okay? And the cookies, the fudge, the tree, the bright lights, Santa Claus, and the whole thing. That’s okay—they’re children. It will be a while before they are able to sort out the eternal significance of the Christmas event. No problem—it took you and me a while as well. As we tell our children the story of the first Christmas, and as they participate in church Christmas pageants and services, they will begin to add understanding to their excitement.

In the meantime, while our children and grandchildren bring their joy and enthusiasm to the Christmas holiday, there’s something for parents and grandparents to learn from them: excitement, exuberance, enthusiasm, exaltation, and more.

Should we adults be any less excited about the birth of Jesus than our children? Remember: the adult shepherds hurried to the stable in Bethlehem. The adult magi made a beeline for Bethlehem to find the baby King. And we adult parents and grandparents should demonstrate our excitement the same way. We may not rise at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning (unless our children or grandchildren make us!) and we may not squeal with delight when we open our presents. But we should be no less child-like in our annual wonderment at the glory of what Christmas means.

Wasn’t it Jesus who used children as an example for the adults around Him? (Matthew 18:23; 19:13-14) It is the wide-eyed innocence and joy of children that we adults, unfortunately, can sometimes lose. We can become cynical about the commercialism of Christmas, resentful of the expense, and irritable when our holiday plate overflows with to-dos, commitments, and responsibilities.

But we shouldn’t—so let’s not! Let’s rejoice with our children over the blessings of the season. Let’s join with our children and embrace the wonder of Christmas. Let’s agree that, instead of Christmas being “one more thing” we have to do, Christmas is an annual opportunity to hug and high-five and “Hallelujah!” over all that Christmas means to us and our families.

Recapture the childlike wonder of Christmas this year. You may be a parent or grandparent of small children; you may even be single without children of your own. Even so, you probably have nieces and nephews or knee-high neighbors—it’s impossible not to be around children at Christmas! After all, Christmas is their celebration.

But let’s make it ours as well by joining them in experiencing the wonder of this season. Let’s be like Jesus and welcome the little ones into our midst and catch their infectious enthusiasm for celebrating the birth of our Lord and King.

Start evaluating your C.Q.—your “Childlike Quotient”—as you prepare for Christmas. Help the children in your life grow up with nothing but great memories of this special time of the year.