Advent Day 3

For our day 3 activity we chose to make a paper chain for decorating the tree.  I admit, I was highly skeptical about our children's ability to maintain interest in such a project, but my dear husband was eager to do this with them.

He won.  They loved it.  The boys glued, he built.  While they built together, Randy told them about when he was a child and they did not have any decorations for their tree one year because they had just moved overseas.  Since they were without, they made paper chains to decorate the house.  I love that as we celebrate advent, the hope that we have in Christ, the boys are able to connect with their own history on a deeper level.

Advent Day 2

Day 2 was "Decorate the Christmas Tree".  We actually ended up with an extremely busy day, so we chose only to put it up and save the decorating for day 4.  The boys were incredibly excited about helping to put the tree together.  Mr. Crum talked with them about the reason we have an evergreen tree.  They really enjoyed this activity and look forward to adding decorations during the advent season.

Azariah hung out in the Christmas tree box while the big boys helped put the branches on (I miss real trees).

The big guys were very focused on making sure the tree branches went in just the right spots.

Of course, they needed a little help!

A picture of all 3, together?  Right!

Thrifty Advent Tools

Here is our complete advent calendar.  This project cost us approximately $3!  The pockets are envelopes, each envelope contains a note card with the activity for the day!

Our advent wreath cost less than $10 to put together.  (I would love to have an expensive fancy one, but it's not currently in our budget).  The wreath was $2.50 at Walmart.  Candles ranged from 84c for a 4 pack to $3 for the larger center candle.  Candle holders are old baby food jars.  Pine cones were collected locally.

Our table, ready for advent.

What thrifty materials have you used in preparing for advent?

Advent Planning

Advent is the season of waiting in expectation for the birth of Christ Jesus.  As Christians, we know that Christ was born over 2000 years ago, and we celebrate his birth because the birth and death of Christ mean that we have the opportunity to know God in a personal way.  We have the ability to go directly to God with needs and concerns.  That is nothing short of amazing.

Many churches celebrate advent by decorating with evergreens (the hanging of the greens), lighting candles in a special advent wreath, and a variety of special events that lead us in expectation as we remember the hope that came in the form of a baby.  Many families have special traditions related to advent as well.  I remember a few Christmas traditions that we shared in our family as we were growing up.  I loved this time of year because it meant time with the extended family.  We have a huge family and I love the smells, the sounds, the chaos at times.  I have such great memories growing up and celebrating the birth of Christ.  I don't, however, remember very many special "advent" activities that helped us focus our season on the birth of Christ.

I want to help my children celebrate advent.  I never really fully understood what the advent calendar was about.  I am learning that it is about helping us focus on Christ and anticipate the celebration of his birth, and our new birth in him!  Today I downloaded Everyday Emmanuel from What's in the Bible (a series that I am extremely fond of).  I have enjoyed reading through it and pulling out so many rich ideas for sharing this season with my family.  I am excited to begin building traditions with my boys.  Randy and I are already working on some activities that we will be doing as we celebrate this season as a family.  

Next week I will share about the activities that we have lined up.  I'll share about our homemade advent calendar and how our activities are going so far.  I'm excited to put things together!  As I think about the upcoming month I am looking for input on 2 main areas.  Please leave a comment below responding to my questions:

1) How do you celebrate the season with your family?  Are there old traditions that you stick to?  Do you have some new things in mind that you want to try out with your family this year?

2) Are there any special meals that you share mostly during this season?  Is there a favorite family recipe that is unique to the Christmas season?  Have you found a great recipe you plan to try this year?

Many blessings.