Advent Rant’n’Plan

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As soon as Thanksgiving is over, all the everything is engulfed in red and green.  Giant inflatable reindeer and snowmen and stacks of presents pop up all over.  Stores start piping in Christmas music.  But not lovely, beautiful Christmas music.  Somehow they’ve managed to extract any actual meaning from Christmas.  Is it just me, or does it seem like these five songs are on repeat in stores from Thanksgiving to December 25th?

All I Want for Christmas is You
Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time
Last Christmas
Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Santa Baby

Sometimes you might get a little I’ll be home for Christmas action or maybe some Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, but for the most part, it’s those five songs.

Those songs.  Those songs drive me nuts by the time actual Christmas comes along.  How does a breakup song that happens to include the word “Christmas” put everyone in the holiday spirit anyway?!?!  Okay.  End of rant.  Here’s the real point:

 

Advent requires a lot of effort to be Advent and not just a month of secular Christmas.  Here’s how our family makes an effort:

 

1.  Picture Book Presents

I wrap all our seasonal books/movies, and the kids take turns opening a book each day.  Here’s our list, in case you’re looking for ideas.

 

 

2.  Advent Wreath

We light the candles on our Advent wreath at dinner.  This year we’re trying purple and pink votives.  Maybe we were doing it wrong, but when we used regular candles, we ended up with melted wax everywhere.  Our wreath still has purple wax stuck between some of the inner branches.  This year will be better! These aren’t exactly what we’ve got, but these candles from Leaflet Missal would work the same way.

 

3.  Travelling Nativity

We set up the stable and a few animals from our nativity at the beginning of December.  The rest of the characters get set up around the house.  Mary and Joseph do the most wandering during Advent and arrive at the stable on Christmas Eve.  Poor Baby Jesus spends all of Advent waiting in a cupboard until Christmas, when he appears in the stable.  Then the Wise Men start their journey and arrive on Epiphany.

 

4.  Celebrating Special Days

* December 6th: We celebrate St. Nicholas’ feast day with little presents and chocolate Santas that I’ve bishop-ified by putting on a little paper miter.

* December 8th:  We mark Immaculate Conception with Mass and a special dessert.

* December 9th or 12th: We celebrate the feast of St. Juan Diego or Our Lady of Guadalupe with tacos.

* December 13th:  For the feast of St. Lucy, we’ll make some sort of bread-ish thing and go for a Christmas light drive.

 

 

5.  Adventing as an Adult

Now that I’ve got a ten-year-old, I feel like she’s able to help me be on top of all the planning for the traditions we already established.  That means that this year, for the first time, I’m hoping to have the brain space do something spiritually enriching as an adult.

A few weeks ago, I reviewed Journey Through Advent, which lists the weekly readings, a reflection, and an action step for every day in Advent.  I committed to myself that this year would be different, and I would try using Journey Through Advent as a way to dip my toe into Adventing as an adult.

And then I saw this lovely study by Jill Simons:  A Beauty Full Advent:  24 Days of reflection on the beauty around us that points endlessly to God. 

 

Here’s Jill’s description of this “low key and easy to follow” workbook:

Beauty is so misunderstood in our world. It has been co-opted – replaced with the false beauty of flashiness, possession, and pleasure.

Few places do we see that as clearly as in the celebration of Christmas. 

It’s all about ads, newness, bigness, and flash. The best decor, the best gifts, the best holiday looks. You know the drill.

And while it’s fine to appreciate beautiful things it’s not all there is. There is beauty that is deep. There is beauty that lasts into eternity. There is beauty that shows us the Light.

So that’s what we’re doing this Advent – looking for the Light. Waiting for it. Searching for it. Trying to uncover it in the places it might be most hidden: in the world, other people, and in ourselves.

 

Doesn’t that sound dreamy?!?!  Doesn’t that sound like *exactly* the sort of thing needed to combat the over-stimulation of presents! presents! presents! lights! lights! lights!  Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time on endless repeat!!!  Sorry.  I got a little rant-y again.

So.  I think I’m going to start both, because the focus and structure are different.  And if one works better than the other, I’ll give myself permission to drop one.

 

6.  More New Things to Try

We’ve tried and failed at Jesse Tree-ing several times.  The kids lose interest, we miss days, and it becomes a burden.  Other families love theirs, so maybe we’ll try it again in a year or two.  But I do want to incorporate another element of faith as the kids get older.  Just not the Jesse Tree.  For now.

Have you heard the new daily podcast for Catholic kids, Sprouts?  We haven’t been great about listening regularly, but this Advent, I want to make it a priority.  It’s free.  It’s online.  And I don’t have to do anything but click “play.”  Yesssssss.  That’s doable.

 

 

 

On Christmas Day evening, I am beyond excited to try Kendra Tierney’s An At Home Nativity Play.  We’ll see if we just do it ourselves, or if we get brave enough to invite the grandparents to watch.  Kendra gives great tips on easy (sew and cut -free) costumes and how to adapt the play for littles who can’t read, smaller groups, larger groups, etc.

 

 

7.  Crowdsourcing Ideas/ Wishlist

– I’d really like to find some non-metal Nativity cookie cutters.  They’s be great for tracing, playing with play doh, and actual baking.  Any leads?

– Do indoor solar powered Christmas lights exist?  Because those would be awesome.  We love the lights, but I hate using electricity.  Because I’m secretly Amish.  Shhhh…don’t tell David.

– An outdoor Nativity that can withstand our cold, cold windy, windy weather.  Any recommendations for DIY plans to make one out of wood?

– Some great ways to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas.  How do you keep the party going?