I know it is really important to have traditions in your family and I know that we already have many of our own nuances that are special to us. This year, however, I kept seeing more and more things I wanted to try and since I have time, I gave them a shot! I kind of hope the kids don't remember them ALL next year because I don't think I can keep up this much stuff each year!
-- We wrapped 25 books for each of the days of December. The books were about different Christmas traditions and other faiths as well, and of course lots of Frosty, Rudolph and other cultural icons. The kids got to unwrap a book each night to read. I labeled the first and the last book but the rest was fair game. The nice part was that we read the book together instead of each child having a separate book in their room.
-- We did our Advent wreath. We made our own and then our church Advent Festival made one too! So we had two Advent wreaths. Each night we sang the Advent song we were using at church. The kids were most excited to blow out the candles each night!
-- We went to our Church Advent Festival. We have had churches that have done this for a few years and we love it. At our current church we did the wreaths but then there was a dramatic experience with Gabriel, a candle making station, an ornament making station, a huge dinner with everyone, a live nativity, and then Christmas caroling. The funny part was that through the whole Gabriel thing Maeve was facing backwards and laying upside down. The angel was talking about how when "God says GO, you GO!" and how she had to go to Mary and Joseph. Days later, Maeve was eating lunch and looked right at me and said, "Mommy... When God says GO, you GO!" I guess you never know when they are listening.
-- We did the traditional chocolate Advent Calendars.
-- We did the Elf on the Shelf (gasp). This was a HUGE leap for me. I saw lots of families doing it. Both kids had an elf in their classroom. I secretly loved the idea of staging and moving the elf. However, I despised the idea that the elf had a job to report naughty behavior to Santa. So.... I bought the elf and re-wrote the book. I wrote it to be about an elf who is friends with St. Nicholas and how the elf is sometimes naughty and needs the kids to help him understand God's grace. The kids were more than happy to clean up his messes every day. The elf also came with a note each day that gave them a servant task... sometimes they memorized scripture, sometimes they gave extra hugs and kisses, sometimes they had to do random acts of kindness. The elf did not lose any magic if he was touched and if he fell down I would just tell the kids he'd get back up when they weren't looking. The elf was also connected to ANOTHER advent tradition....
-- The year we moved from Oxford the kids received these AWESOME large elf gnome things that are probably 4 feet tall. The gnomes have 25 pockets on their clothes and so the Elf on the Shelf put a gift in the pockets each day. Tiny stuff like candy canes and quarters. The fun part was seeing the kids find simple joy over a long period of time. Christmas morning can be such a blur and they don't cherish every little thing, but this was a month long process of loving and exhausting each toy. I liked it.
-- St. Nicholas Day. On December 6th I told the kids the story of St. Nick and the Veggie Tales movie about it is amazing. We talked about who St. Nick was and where the story came from and that the legend was that boys and girls who put a shoe outside on Dec. 6 would get a special surprise. Both kids picked the biggest tallest boot they could find! Sure enough December 7th was an icy cold morning and their shoes were filled with baubles and candy.
-- Philly Trip. This year we took a grand trip into Philadelphia and saw the Wannamaker lights and the Comcast lights. There was also a Christmas Village and lots of festivities. The kids love being in the city and they feel like it has a magic. I'm not sure if that will be a tradition, but it was fun!
-- The Chestnut Lights. It just so happens that in another section of our neighborhood a home has designed a crazy Christmas Experience. You drive there and park outside their house and tune your radio to a certain station. Millions of lights all around this house are synchronized with music perfectly and appear to dance in front of you. It is really mesmerizing. The show goes on for about 20 minutes!
-- We continued our practice of making gifts to give. The kids and I spent an entire day making bird seed ornaments and melted snowman ornaments to give out to family and friends. They had a great time making them and were so proud to hand them out.
-- Christmas Morning. The very first thing we did on Christmas morning was sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and eat cake for breakfast!!!!
So, while I LOVED each experience so much, I don't think I can do all of these things every year!!!!! We'll see what makes the cut!
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