Advent begins this Sunday!

The season of  Advent begins this Sunday. This is a great opportunity to remind the kids that the Christmas season is about more than Santa - it's about waiting for the birth of Baby Jesus. The Advent Wreath, or Advent calendar if you have one, becomes sort of a Christmas countdown, and provides a great opportunity to talk about what we're waiting for and what Jesus' birth will mean.

At our house, we light the Advent wreath every night at dinner. I usually have to replace a few candles along the way, but the kids love it. I was a big fan of Advent calendars, but I must admit I'm not so good at remembering to buy them until Advent is already upon us...

Other ideas for this season - we have a nativity set with many pieces. We set out a piece every day, saving Baby Jesus for Christmas Eve. This particular set is wooden - and Baby Jesus proudly sports Grace's teeth marks from that time long ago when biting Baby Jesus seemed like the right thing to do. The kids carried Jesus around well into Epiphany - and that is why my mother bought us two spare Jesus's. She was sure Jesus was going to be lost!

Another countdown tool is to make a paper chain. Using construction paper, you attach a loop a day - and by Christmas you have a chain that is 25 loops long. And of course there are always those chocolate Advent calendars... But there's always this question: are those calendars for grownups or kids?! (I would say it depends on the quality of the chocolate...)

Any other ideas?
A blessed Advent to all!
Rev. Meredith