Bringing Good Home

Ideally, this is the place I’d compile holiday celebration suggestions and helpful links as we progress through the year. However, I may or may not be consistent with this.

ADVENT 

If you would like to follow along with our Advent plans this year, or if you would like to use this as a starting point and adapt it to for your own family, feel free to print this off or modify as you need to. It’s a fairly safe bet that I will posting about certain activities or projects as we go.

 

December:

 

1. Advent Begins! Put up the Christmas tree with the lights and clear ornaments. Jesus is the light and we are called to reflect that light. (For an explanation of how and why we decorate our tree this way, see here.)
2. Set up Advent Candle Wreath - Week 1 Reading; Set up “Traveling Nativity.”
3. Hang purple ornaments (Jesus is our King) and wood nativity ornaments (Jesus is our Savior) on the tree.
4. Hang wreath and garland.
5. Add the silver ornaments (Jesus is precious) and gold ornaments (Jesus is our treasure) to the tree.
6. Decorate with candles and angels. (Paper Plate Angel Craft)
7. Hang blue ornaments (Jesus is the living water) and green ornaments (Jesus is everlasting life) to the tree.
8. Make a Christmas table runner for the dining table. (I may actually sew something nice, or if not the kids will help me create something fun and crafty.)
9. Put up the outside decorations. (Light up candy canes and lights - we don’t live somewhere for other people to see them, but I like to do a little bit just for us.) Also, Week 2 Advent reading.
10. Put red ornaments (Jesus is our sacrifice) and pink ornaments (Jesus is love) on the Christmas tree.
11. Mail Christmas cards and hang the Christmas stockings (We have no fireplace or mantel so we hang them on our wall as decorations until Christmas Eve.)
12. Make Spiral Star Craft for ornaments or decorations.
13. Make paper snowflakes.
14. Make sheep ornaments. Jesus is our shepherd and we are his sheep.
15. Read a Christmas story. (We have several and always try to rent several from the library - not the only time we’ll read a story, I’m sure.)
16. Listen to Christmas Carols (certainly not the only time we’ll do this either!) Also, Week 3 Advent reading.
17. Homemade Playdough Ornament Party -Have freinds over to make ornaments out of homemade dough that you can bake in the oven and paint.
18. Letters to Jesus - instead of writing letters to Santa asking for gifts, write letters to Jesus to express whatever their little hearts want to say. “Happy, Birthday, Jesus! I’m so glad you came and died and rose again so that I could know God..”
19. Hang candy canes on the tree. Jesus is our shepherd.
20. Read a Christmas story.
21. Give a surprise gift or baked item to a friend or neighbor.
22. Read a Christmas story; make Christmas Wassail.
23. Drive around and look at Christmas lights. Also, Week 4 Advent reading.
24. Christmas Eve - Either attending the Christmas Eve Service at church or celebrating with in-laws as is our tradition.
25. Christmas Day!!Put Jesus in the manger, Christmas Day Advent reading, celebrate with family.
26. Write thank you letters to God, for the blessings he provided, the good time we had with family, and most of all for sending Jesus.
27. Write thank you notes for the gifts we received.
28. Read another Christmas story.
29. _break_ (starting to wind down.)
30. _break_ (winding down..)
31. New Year’s Eve Bible Study

January:

1. New Year’s Peace Dove Craft.
2. Take down some of the decorations.
3. As a family, write down some goals for personal growth (in Christlikeness) for 2008.
4. Take down some more decorations.
5. _break_ (Winding down a little more.)
6. Day of Epiphany: Finish the traveling nativity.
7. Take down the rest of the decorations and store them away for next year.

Check out these suggested Advent readings:

 

• • Daily readings that relate to the Advent themes of waiting, preparation, light in the darkness, and the coming of the promised Messiah.
  • These daily readings are adapted from The Book of Common Prayer, and are on a two year cycle.
  • These weekly readings come in three sets for a three year cycle.
  • These weekly reading offer four themes for variation.