Waiting for Christmas...

Chris and I have talked often of the traditions we want to make and experience year after year with our kids.  I personally felt convicted prior to the start of the Advent season to make this year different.  As the hype of the season began, I could quickly see that without some intentional move on my part, Santa and presents were going to be the default reason for the season in my 3 year olds sweet little mind.

My first move was to buy the kids (yes, ironic that my first move is buying something...) their own nativity.  Alyssa is such a visual learner, I knew that books and hands on experiences would be the key to her embracing the story.

Both kids have played countless hours with this.  It will be hard to put it away after Christmas.  It's easily their favorite right now.

Next I armed our Christmas book collection with stories that focused on the birth of Christ.  Here are a few of our favorites:

 

I really wanted something that we could read each night after dinner during the Advent season to keep us focused on the right thing.  This proved to be more difficult than I ever dreamed.  There are just not a lot of Advent books geared towards young families.  I did however find one that has been wonderful for our family, and will only get better and inspire great discussions as the kids get older.

Last year I put a piece of candy inside each day of the our Advent calendar, but I was really dissapointed with the experience, so this year I tucked a piece of paper inside each day.  On the paper is an activity that we do together as a family that evening.  It has been so much fun to eat dinner, read the story, and then continue our evening together participating in that night's event.  One evening we went for a walk and looked at Christmas lights.  Another night we had a fire and made s'mores.  One night we played games, and one night we just danced to Christmas music.  You'll see more of our activities in posts to come.

I hope you too are enjoying the Advent season as you prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!