Okay, so other than the little 25 day advent calendars that they sell everywhere, and the wreath that they have at most churches I've been to (protestant and Catholic) I've never really celebrated any Advent traditions. And this year I want to change all that! Soooooooooooo....
What do you do during Advent? What traditions does your family celebrate?
Last year I promised myself we were going to do a Jesse Tree... and it was truly disastrous (bakers dough ornaments... oh they were so pretty before I baked them... and then the cracking started...)... and I promised myself I wouldn't wait until the last minute next year and yet here I am, last minute Jesse Tree-less.
It's also official that the new place we are moving to will be vacated on December 22nd (the floors have to be ripped up and repaired though before we can move in and I think it's a little over optimistic to think we'll be anywhere near moved in before Christmas). And Paul is taking his LSATs mid-month (all prayers are appreciated!)! So it's busy, busy, busy! But I definitely want celebrate Advent more fully and begin traditions that the girls will remember when they're older!
Now I need to start searching for that book I have around here somewhere full of Catholic traditions. I bet I find it when we're moving! Unfortunately Advent will be pretty much over by then!
We're doing Holy Heroes Advent Adventure this year. Sadie should be able to color in the ornaments and coloring pages. She won't be able to to the puzzles and activities for the older kids but there's enough to keep her involved. Each of my girls has her own Advent calendar. We're also going to do a manger craft where they can place hay (yellow paper) in the manger when they do a good deed or work of mercy (the good deed will be written on the paper). You could do that with Sadie and just let her put in a piece of hay when she does something good, like handing her baby sister a toy that's out of her reach. There's just so much you can do to celebrate Advent and make it meaningful.
ReplyDeleteHey!
ReplyDeleteWe'll be trying to do as much as we can. Our staple is Holy Heroes Advent Adventure - LOVE it. I agree with Karen on all the above she said. We'll also be picking and choosing from these great books from the library, traditions, and links:
http://www.elizabethfoss.com/reallearning/advent-and-.html
http://ebeth.typepad.com/reallearning/advent-and-christmas-with.html
http://www.familiausa.net/sunday
http://new.catholicmom.com/faith/advent/
http://catholiccuisine.blogspot.com/ (great for food making ideas for the feast days!)
I'm trying to get better every year about adding traditions. I love Karen's idea about the cradle and straw for sacrifices. GREAT!
Blessing Cam!! Love your blog!
Don't worry too much- just try to do the Advent wreath- your traditions will build.
ReplyDeleteFor Byzantine Catholics, Advent (starting Nov 15) is a fasting time, not quite as hard-core as lent:
http://remnantofremnant.blogspot.com/2010/11/psalm-31-philips-fast-advent.html
We're still trying to figure that out. 2 "extra" weeks of Advent (so our trees been up awhile) but I know nothing to do during that time beyond that. I'm bringing back the Advent Wreath this year even if its mixing traditions... and not sure what else.
ReplyDeleteOne of my friends just started an Advent blog, if you'd like to check it out:
ReplyDeletehttp://familyadvent2010.blogspot.com/
Our Catholic school has published a calendar of Advent activities before, too... they're always full of good ideas. =)