Thursday, December 06, 2007

Advent

I love Advent. I have wonderful memories of all kinds of activities celebrating Advent and preparing for the arrival Baby Jesus and Christmas. The excitement has totally rubbed off on Claire and Benjamin and I'm thrilled.

Last year I created an "advent tree" for the kids in the entry way of our home. (We got a new taller tree for the living room and used the older, shorter tree in the entry way. So much *space* in these Texas homes.) Way back in November, Claire and Benjamin were asking me if I was getting all the goodies ready for the Advent tree this year. So, I guess it's become a tradition.

This year I bought Christmas scrapbook papers and cut them into box shapes. I used the nice die-cut and variety of patterns at the scrapbook store. Then I added tags on which I stamped numbers and tied them on the tree with fluffy red yarn.

In each box there is a line from the Christmas story from the book of Luke. Claire is gluing each line onto a sheet of construction paper. There is also a little goodie in each box -- or a note telling the kids where to search for the surprise. The boxes are too tiny to hold much besides a small piece of candy and I didn't want to do candy EVERY DAY.

Yesterday's surprise was a box of 15 glow-sticks. Huge hit! The kids and I spent nearly 30 minutes in the bathroom -- because it has no windows, so it's super dark and perfect for enjoying anything that glows. They were swinging the glow-sticks around, throwing, dancing, juggling, jumping, twisting, looping and giggling.
We also went to our neighborhood Christmas tree lighting last night. Delightful.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

How wonderful that family traditions live on and on. I can't wait to share in the fun on December 20!! Love, Mom

Kristin L said...

Glow sticks!! Love it! Hmmm, I think I know where we can "liberate" a few of those....

.kp. said...

love the advent tree. fabulous idea!

kathy said...

Hooray for Claire and benjamin carrying on the tradition. And I love your boxes with the little message and treats inside. It's such a 'family' time of year and you're making the most of it, tree lighting in the neighborhood included, and grandparents arriving on the 20th!

Sandy said...

What a great idea. I know the kids love finding the surprises. We haven't found our advent calendar yet, didn't get to that box???