On the Way to Bethlehem -- Our 2011 Advent Plans

          Advent is upon us, and our family is on our way to Bethlehem, to give homage to the Christ Child, the little babe dressed in only a blanket who came into the world to save all us sinners.

          I'm joining 5 other Spirit-filled and creative mothers today who are also posting their family Advent Plans for 2011: 

Jen @ Forever For Always No Matter What
Tiffany @ Family at the Foot of the Cross
Patty @ Reasons for Chocolate,
Laurie at Catholic Baby Steps and
Tracy @  A Slice of Smith Life

 . . . and I'm sharing my family's plans for 2011 Advent, how we are going to find our way to Bethlehem to worship the Baby Jesus on Christmas morning.

          My ambitious plans for Advent will be guilt-free if we accomplish just a few of the traditions and projects that I detail in this post.  Because . . .

          I'm praying for the graces to keep foremost in my mind and heart this Advent the humble little baby, the Christ child, who came into the world to save us from ourselves, and to give us a future and a hope for eternal life.  If our family uses this Advent time to prepare our hearts with that in mind, then the birth of Jesus will be our joy and our gratefulness.

          So, here are some Advent projects and traditions we love. and there are a few that will be new to us this year that we'll be trying out.

1.   Our Advent wreath.

          I love the Advent wreath, and grew up with this tradition.  We keep ours in the center of our kitchen table where we eat all our meals.  Last year, we bought beeswax candles that you roll yourself from Illuminated Ink.  We have a special prayer that we read in addition to the prayers that change each week:

I am the Light of the World.

He who follows me shall not walk in darkness

but shall have the light of life.

John 8:12

          It's a simple prayer, and one we've all heard before many times, but it captures the meaning of our faith, the purpose of our earthly life -- to follow Christ -- and gives us the promise of life eternal with Our Lord.

2.   Homemade decorated Nativity candles and one with Baby Jesus for the center of our Advent Wreath.

          Little Flower and I mod-podged some holy nativity images on our candles, and decorated them with little sparkle brads last Advent.  I even found some beautiful dark purple 4-sided candles at the hobby store.

We made some of Mary as well, and displayed them on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8.

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3.   Christmas music. 

         
          I love traditional Christmas music, and we'll be playing some wonderful tunes throughout Advent.  Nothing is more helpful in catching the Spirit of Advent than when you've got playing in the background a little "Away in the Manger" as you're decorating the tree, or "Adeste Fidelis" as you're rolling out the cookie dough.  This Advent, we're going to ((try to)) turn off the TV and turn on the Christmas music.  A simple way to forego the Toys R Us commercials on TV, and place our focus on the reason for the season, the Christ Child.

          I confess I have a Diana Ross Christmas CD called "Making Spirits Bright", that I bought 17 years ago at a Hallmark store. And it's available on Amazon!!  This Queen of Motown's rendition of "Go Tell it on the Mountain" makes the whole CD worthwhile. The other songs are wonderfully sung too.  Here's a list of the songs Diana-Baby sings on the CD:

4.   Indoor and outdoor decorations including decorating the mantle, hanging Little Flower's stocking, and decorating the Christmas tree with special ornaments. 

          By the Saturday following Thanksgiving Day, I'm asking my beloved to hang up the Christmas bows on the outside laterns and garage door lights, and outside the front door.  I want the whole world to know we are Christians getting ready for Christ's birth, and I think that's one way to show it !  

          We like to decorate our Christmas tree the weekend following Thanksgiving Day, because Grandma Nettie usually visits for Thanksgiving, but not for Christmas.  That way, we make decorating the tree a family generational event, and Nettie is included in a little part of our Christmas ! 

I also "decorate" my car with this awesome car magnet:

          The Knights of Columbus sells them HERE.  You can buy one for $4.00, or more for a discounted price.  (I actually had a person roll down the car window at a stop light in the freezing cold and ask me where I got mine).   What a great way to spread the message of the Christ Child. 

5.   Manger Scenes. 

          Part of the decorating process in our home is displaying our manger scenes.  I like to collect creches, and when I take them out of storage to display during Advent and Christmas, I'm reminded of the places we've gone and how I came across each particular manger scene.  This one is a favorite of mine, because I brought it home from Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis who created the tradition of the Christmas Creche that continues today.  St. Francis of Assisi introduced the Christmas creche in 1223 to the townspeople of Grecio.

          We have one central nativity that we look at and touch and sometimes even play with in our home; and, while my manger collection is pretty to look at but not meant to be played with, this central nativity gets lots of attention and hands-on visiting !  

         

          My dad and I made the manger in 1990, and then I added some hay from the barn and the resin ((unbreakable)) Fontanini Nativity statues. We leave the crib empty throughout Advent, and then on Christmas morning, Little Flower carries the little Baby Jesus-- which we've kept tucked down in the middle of our Advent wreath on our kitchen table -- kisses Him, and places Him in His manger crib. We sing Happy Birthday to Jesus too !

Check out this site for free downloadbale printables of beautiful nativity manger scenes. 

6.   Baby Jesus Manger with straw.

          This year, we're going to start this new tradition of having a wood manger crib in our home (maybe we'll put it at the hearth, or under the tree) and making Jesus' empty crib as comfortable as possible with pieces of straw for all our good deeds and intentions. I read about this tradition on many other blogs and think it is such a wonderful way to teach children that our actions should be done for the glory of God.  

          My beloved will be making a wooden manger crib and on Christmas morning, Baby Jesus will appear in His crib, hopefully nestled among an overflowing fluffy bed of straw.  I found this sweet doll on ebay, and he will make the sweetest ((touchable and huggable )) Baby Jesus for our manger crib.  If you want to make a 3-dimensional mini manger out of paper, HERE is a link with easy instructions. 

Update:  here is the completed manger, made by my beloved using the side railings from our daughter's baby crib.

 

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7.   Advent calendar. 

          If you don't have an Advent calendar, here's a site with several to choose from, and another page from that site (the one we chose is the fifth one down).  Using the Advent calendar is a visual way of showing the days leading up to the birth of the Christ Child.  One by one, day by day, the shepherds come, Mary and Joseph come, and the Star shines bright, and then at last the wait is over, and the innocent Baby Jesus arrives. 

8.  Kris Kringle gift exchange for adults and for children. 

          We have a large family, and all of my siblings have children.  So for several years now, we've been picking names among the adult siblings and the siblings' children.  It keeps the gift list manageable, and helps to take some of the focus and stress off the commerical aspect of Christmas. And, in lieu of gifts with my beloved's brother and wife, we make a donation to their charity of choice; and they make a donation to our charity of choice.  What a great feeling that is !

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9.   Christmas card giving. 

          I'm a recovering Christmas card over-achiever.  I used to have a huge list of people I'd send Christmas cards to, personalizing each card with a handwritten note, adressing the envelopes by hand, and I about died when I actually finished the project.  I had unwittingly turned Christmas card giving into an overwhelming job that took a couple weeks, and it certainly wasn't inexpensive.  One year, I decided I wouldn't couldn't do it!   And I actually took the time to appreciate some of the spiritual gifts of Advent.   

          Fast forward to now.  My Christmas card list is now in my head, consisting of my family and a few dear friends.  I feel like I took the chains off !  And addressing Christmas cards to people you really care about and to whom you truly want to send Christmas greetings, is actually meaningful and worthwhile.

          I love these Nativity stickers that I got at an affordable price from Autom.

          They are sold in 12 packages of 4 pages of stickers each package, which sounds like a lot (it is a lot!), but you can save the extras for next Christmas, or for fun art projects throughout the year, and during Advent. They'll look lovely on the back of our Christmas card envelopes this year !

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10.   Give a little help to the helpless or the hopeless. 

          We try to do this every year, whether it is helping out a family who has no money for a Christmas dinner or a present under the tree for their child, or donating some clothes and toys to a community clothes closet or daycare center.  One year we donated some of our many books to an independent living facility.  There are so many options available for helping out, and it can be anonymous as well.  Even when there is not much in the budget for helping the needy, if you clean out your closets of things you don't use anymore, it costs nothing to pass them on to others who could use them.  Jesus loves a giving heart.

          When it comes from the heart and is given as an offering of our family's love and concern for all of God's people, it's a teaching moment for our children, and fills our hearts with overflowing gratitude and joy.  This Advent, why not call a nursing home and see if books are needed in its library, or a daycare center and see if it could use some toys your child has outgrown.  Or donate your child's baby books to a preschool, or your husband's old winter jacket to a homeless shelter. 

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11.   Unwrap our advent story books each night throughout Advent.

         Jessica and Charlotte have perfected this lovely tradition, and we're going to copy it in our home this Advent.  I've already found all our Advent/Christmas books among the shelves, and bought a few new ones too, which we'll be reading this year.  Some are secular, many are Christian or Catholic stories, and I can't wait to see which ones will become annual favorites.  I've even got them all ready for unwrapping !!  We'll be working our way through the books all throughout Advent, and on into The Feast of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) !

          As a Tomie dePaola fan, I'm inspired by Elizabeth Foss' Tomie de Paola Christmas Unit Study and we may do some of the activities from there this Advent.

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12.   Liturgical table in our family room, dressed in Advent colors. 

          We'll be continuing our practice of setting our liturgical table in our family room, to reflect the liturgical season, with statues and a pretty purple table runner, and some prayer cards.  Children need to see their faith as an active part of their home life, and I think having a liturgical table that changes throughout the year with new images and different colors, and pictures and holy cards is a wonderful reminder for children that God is always present in our lives.

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13.   Prayer and spiritual reading. 

          I'm very excited to begin the personal reading I've chosen for Advent.  I've been interested in going on retreat with "Consoling the Heart of Jesus," ever since reading about Tiffany's love of this book and its Ignatian spiritual exercises.  I've already read the Introduction (once you have this book in your hot little hands, you can't wait to open it and start!) and I believe it will be a wonderful retreat for me during Advent. 

here

Here are some other readings I'm looking forward to delving into during Advent . . .

here and here

here

here

        Having discovered what a path to holiness Advent can be for me, the time I set aside for spiritual reading is one of my favorite parts of my Advent journey.

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14.   Jesse tree.  

          Here's my post on our Jesse Tree plans.  I'm eager to begin this new tradition in our home, as a way to present to my daughter the stories of the Old Testament, of God's undying love for his people despite that we continued to turn our backs on Him, and of His promises for our salvation.

          I found that reading all the old testament stories and choosing the kind of ornament to best illustrate them was so uplifting to my soul !  I'm excited begin this Advent journey through the generations of Jesus' family with my own family.

15.   Making Christmas cookies -- with lots of flour on the counter tops and floor !

(I received this as a gift, but it's available HERE. )

. . . and around the mouth !!

16.   Elf on a shelf. 

          Santa is not a big focus in our home.  My four year old even commented on Santa recently that "he's be-tend, not real, Mommy."   But Santa's elf does visit us throughout Avent, and each morning he's peeking out from a new place.  You can get one here, but, actually, any little elf will do.  

         The common denominator in power rangers, dragon tales, fairies and other fantastical things that have Little Flower's attention is magical powers.  Not long ago, I explained to my daughter that magical powers are pretend, and that the only person in the world who has real power is Jesus.  She agreed, and maybe that's why she told me recently that Santa is not really real.  

          As a child, I delighted in the idea that I might hear reindeer hoofs on the roof top.  I think my daughter may be different that way.  We'll see this Advent when the Elf comes.  And we'll see whether she listens for reindeer hoofs on the roof top on Christmas Eve.

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17.   Birthday cake for Jesus.

          We've not made a cake for Jesus before, but I think we may just try this wonderful idea this year.   I think a red velvet cake with white frosting would be perfect !  Check out the ideas I found HERE and HERE for a birthday cake for Jesus.

          Oh my gosh; look at these cakes !! A little too ambitious for my own abilities but aren't they darling !

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18.  Cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots for his reindeer. 

          (((If we remember to do so))) we'll leave a plate of cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer on the fireplace hearth, and a big glass of milk.  All that travelling makes a pretend guy hungry !

  

          Maybe we will make this reindeer food, too, which I found at Families with Purpose.com:

"Combine 1/2 cup of dry rolled oats and 1/4 cup of either glitter or colored sugar (more environmental friendly) in a either a sturdy plastic bag/bowl, paper bag (no larger than lunch size), or glass container. Use this graphic to add a decorative label and hand them out as gifts to your friends and family.  On Christmas Eve, let the kids sprinkle the Reindeer food on the front lawn, so that the Reindeers can enjoy a snack while Santa is working."

19.  Gingerbread house. 
 
          Our first one debuted last year, actually at a cousin's birthday party.  Use a 1/2 pint milk carton and paste graham crackers to the side and roof using white frosting. Then decorate.  Easy and fun for all ages.

20.  On the way to Bethlehem Arts and Crafts.

          We love arts and crafts.  And we'll be crafting again this Advent.  Because my daughter really enjoys making art, I seize the opportunity for formation in our Catholic faith by making crafts based on Bible stories, Saints, and Mary and Jesus, and the Holy Family.  Here are some simple crafts we've made in years passed.

          I save previous years' Christmas cards I've received and use them the following year for Christmas crafts.  It's fun to cut out the images and paste them on cardstock or construction paper, and hang them in our windows.  Little sparkly self-adhesive gems add to the festiveness.

          Another craft we like to do is the Country Angel Christmas with cut out stars like the ones that hung from the Christmas night sky in Tomie de Paola's "Country Angel Christmas" book.  We'll try to fit this activity in this year again.

          We string the stars with a needle and thread, and drape them from the mantle.  All the stars over Bethlehem are lighting the shepherds' way to the tiny stable where Jesus lays.

          I've also picked up this cute double-sided puzzle and these puffy pillows that can be colored with markers and hung on a door knob.  I found them at our local Catholic bookstore, but they are also available at Catholic Child.

21.  We'll be celebrating some feast days during Advent as well.

St. Nicholas on December 6th

Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on December 8th

St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe December 9th and 12th  (scroll down a bit in that post)

My Nativity of Our Lord folder (with lots of coloring pages) is HERE.

22.   Take in a little culture.

          Meme (Flower's grandmother) takes all the little ones to see The Nutcracker Ballet each December.  We're fortunate it comes to our city every year.  You may want to see if one is performing near you.  And new this year, we'll be attending a St. Lucia Concert in which one of Flower's cousins will be performing. 

23.   We'll also remain open to new ideas we read about on other blogs.  Mothers have such great ideas for living out our faith right in our own home.  Check out these wonderful Advent posts by other creative mothers, in years passed, for more ideas on preparing our hearts for the Christ child:

Our Sunday Visitor's Definitive Guide to Advent and Christmas

Catholic Home and Garden

Mother Huddle

Sarah Reinhard's Seven Tips for Advent (plain and simple advice!)

Mary Ellen Barrett posts at O Night Divine

Meredith's post on Advent ideas at Sweetness and Light

Jennifer G. Miller wrote out her plans at Feast and Feria

Jennifer Fulwiler's post at Conversion Diary on Baby Steps to Celebrating Advent

Elizabeth Foss's Christmas Unit Study with Tomie de Paola

and also Elizabeth's 2011 Plans for Advent and Christmas

Don't miss Karen Edmisten's No Panic Advent Series

Jean at Catholic Fire compiled many Advent resource links 

A beautiful adaption of the Jesse tree into an Advent wreath at Feast and Feria

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Don't forget to check out these 5 blogs for new posts today to see these mothers' 2011 Advent plans for preparing for the coming of the Christ Child.

Jen @ Forever For Always No Matter What

Tiffany @ Family at the Foot of the Cross

Patty @ Reasons for Chocolate

Laurie @ Catholic Baby Steps and

Tracy @ A Slice of Smith Life

Also, check out Ten O'Clock Scholar, where Kerry is hosting an Advent party link up.

Blessed Advent to you and your family !

Gardenia