I must admit that I struggled putting up a post about Christmas this early in November. I love Thanksgiving and I hate that it is almost forgotten because as soon as the Halloween candy goes on sale for 50% off in the stores, the Christmas decorations come out and the busyness of the Christmas season is upon us. But the busyness of the season is exactly why I wanted to go ahead and put this post up. I will be sharing some of my ideas and hoping you will share yours over the next several weeks. Let's share how we can work on keeping the month of December focused on adoring, honoring, and exalting Christ before calendar rolls to December and the season is upon us.
Just like with most of the training and teaching we do with our children, focusing on Christ during the Christmas season takes preparation. This year, we are planning on celebrating the full season of Advent which will begin on November 27th(yikes,the Sunday after Thanksgiving!). The Advent season is something neither Hal nor I celebrated growing up, so I have been doing a little research.
"Advent, which begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, is a time devoted to waiting, as believers anticipate the hope that comes in the form of a Savior. The name Advent is derived from the Latin word adventus, which means "arrival." This season anticipates the arrival of Christ! Advent not only looks back to the birth of Christ more than 2,000 years earlier, it also remembers Christ's presence here with us now, and it anticipates His promised return." 27 Day Advent Calendar: Thriving Family by Focus on the Family
A few of the ways to celebrate the Advent season are with calendars, wreaths, and actives. I am sharing a few of the ideas I have found. You can see many more by looking at my Advent Calendar board on Pinterest. I loved looking at the different ideas and designs of the wreaths and calendars. Some of them could be done with things you already have in your house and others would require a trip to Hobby Lobby or Michael's (yippee!). If you click on the links from the Pinterest board, you will see instructions on how to make many of them. You will also notice that some of them offer Advent Calendars/activities that are not based or focused on Scripture. On the Pinterest board, I was primarily looking at different designs not necessarily the advent schedules. :)
Advent Calendars
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| Wooden Advent Calendar |
Last year we decided we wanted to do an Advent Calendar. I naively thought I could run out and buy one. I quickly learned they weren’t easy to come by and I didn’t have Pinterest to supply me with ideas this time last year! I did manage to find one at Hobby Lobby. We are looking forward to continuing the tradition this year. I found a resource for preschool age children and wrote the verses out on a piece of paper. We also placed a piece of candy behind each door. Last year, D was more interested in the candy than anything, but I am hoping as he grows each year he will get more and more into the story!
Advent Activities
This Advent Activity resource from Focus on the Family looks awesome and would be really great for school age kids and maybe even preschool children. Each day has an activity and a scripture reading.
Advent Wreath
This year, we are planning on having a meal each Sunday night together and lighting a candle on the advent wreath. This article by Noel Piper talks about the tradition of Advent wreaths.
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| Advent wreath |
Yes, all of these different things will be great traditions to start with our boys, but we pray that they are way more than traditions. We pray they will really celebrate and honor what Christmas really is ... the season we remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. I shouldn’t say “they” because I need to remember and celebrate as well. There is the temptation at every turn to focus on anything other than the Savior. I pray that as mothers and wives we can have the correct focus this year and can help guide our families in worship. I am going to begin preparing for us to celebrate Advent, BUT I am still going to enjoy this month of Thanksgiving!
How does your family celebrate the Advent season? Share your Advent traditions with us!
I love Advent!
ReplyDeleteBecause we grew up in Canada and our Thanksgiving time is in early October, we never had the rush problem that's here in the USA. (although it did annoy me that most of the energy in the stores and at the kids' schools was spent celebrating Halloween and NOT Thanksgiving - but I digress...)
As a child, I had an Advent calendar - 25 doors with little chocolates. Oh the FUN opening it up every morning! We carried that on with our kids as they grew up. My husband grew up with Advent Sunday(s) candles in a wreath. We also did that with our kids.
When our kids were preteens, I found this book: http://www.amazon.com/Story-Christmas-Book-Advent-Calendar/dp/1563055473/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320711262&sr=8-1 in our local Christian store - and we added that to the days before Christmas. They're little booklets with the Biblical story of Christmas. When the kids had read the words for that day, they'd hang the book on the tree.
I still love to give our grown kids chocolate Advent calendars... but I found out last year that they opened all the doors at once and ate all the chocolate! LOL (I guess as adults we can do what our parents wouldn't let us... :-) )
I love all these advent ideas and new traditions that you are starting as a family, and I am actually encouraged to start some too! When I lived in Germany I saw advent calendars everywhere, but of course, I'm not sure there was much significance behind the tradition for many. Also, as a Catholic, I remember advent candles, but again, not a lot of significance behind the tradition. I am looking forward to researching more, and getting "contagious" right along with you on preparing our hearts for Christmas! Thanks Lindsay!
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