First night of Advent

Years ago, when our oldest was just a baby, we ran across a pamphlet from Focus on the Family, talking about Advent. We decided it was how we wanted to celebrate Christmas with our growing family and it has been our tradition ever since.

We start our Christmas celebrations the day after Thanksgiving, pulling out all of the ornaments and spending the day eating leftovers and decorating.

This year, we decorated the tree 3 times. THREE. It was so beautifully decorated....and then it fell over. We redecorated, re-centered, and tightened the base...and then it fell over again. We propped it up against the wall for the night. The third time, we tied it to the window. It's not going anywhere!

The celebrations begin in earnest on Sunday, the first day of Advent. We gather together and read, this year from Ishtar's Odyssey. The reading gets tricky during the chaos of Christmas, but we try to make it a priority. Sometimes we have to double up on chapters to keep up. 

At the end of the evening, we light the Advent candles. Daddy reads some verses and prays. And they all take turns fighting discussing whose turn it is to  light and blow out candles. 

If Advent is new to you, I encourage you to give it a try. You'll thank me. I promise! As my daughter said tonight, "I feel sad for the people that don't know about Advent. They're missing out on the fun!" It isn't complicated at all, just pausing to light a candle, read scripture, and say a prayer each night. We add in a chapter from a book each night, so ours takes about half an hour, but it could be easily finished in five minutes. Five minutes enjoying each others' company, soaking in peace during the craziest time of year, remembering the foundation of our faith, and anticipating the coming of Christ.