A little early but . . .

So this year little man might be able to participate in some Christmas activities. I am glad that we now attend a somewhat liturgical church because that means they might observe Advent. I think that Advent is a great way to help prepare your heart and life for the real meaning of Christmas. I really hope to make this a special time with lots of good memories for our family. I am still collecting ideas but here are a few that I have found so far:

The Jesse Tree - This is a neat idea because it really tells the whole story of the Bible and God's love for us in the course of the 25 days leading up to Christmas. Although the graphics aren't great on this site they give you the right idea. This site gives you an overview of the days, symbols and scripture readings.

Advent Ideas - this is truly "no frills" but it has some really good ideas about helping families prepare their hearts for Christmas - worth the read despite it's plain presentation.

Sticker Advent calendar - I saw one of these on amazon - but you could make your own from clip art and the self made lick and stick - I honestly don't know how long the adhesive would last but it would be fun. So you could do a bunch of Christian symbols, symbols of the season etc.

Old Christmas Cards - It's probably a good idea to save them for future projects - don't know exactly what to do with them - but they could be used again.

One blog I read last season talked about having a family activity for every day of advent. Some of them were simple like smile at your friends today. Some were memory making like baking Christmas cookies. Other were spritual - read part of the Bible. Anyway, they were all mixed up and each day the kids would pick the activity out and do it. (With older kids they suggest you brainstorm together the ideas at the beginning of December- or maybe during the long weekend of Thanksgiving). There are lots of ways you could expand on this.

Some of these sites are a little more Catholic than what I would pursue - but they have great ideas. So, if the stores can start setting up for Christmas, we can start preparing our families hearts to engage with the real meaning of the season. We'll see what my family actually ends up doing this year!