Enjoying the Waiting

We are having so much fun this Advent!

Last year, St. Nick brought me a wooden Advent calendar, filled with Hershey's kisses (enough for each child every day til Christmas). This year, the kids have bags of leftover Halloween candy (one piece for each day of Advent) and have been given 2 chocolate-a-day Advent calendars. So, refilling the wooden calendar with chocolates, as the good Saint did, seemed a bit... over the top.

Instead, I filled it with slips of paper, each detailing a family activity for us to do that day.

We've made Christmas crafts, written letters to Santa, and learned a new Christmas carol. And it's only December 3. Some of the activities are more prayerful. Some are service-oriented. Some are just plain fun.

We still do our short family prayer service every night around the Advent wreath. It's particularly sweet this year: the kids really know the process. We sing "O come, o come, Emmanuel," read a short passage from the Bible relating to that day's Jesse Tree ornament, share the prayer intentions from our prayer chains, and end with an "Our Father." The whole thing takes about 5 minutes, and has become a real tradition in our family... something all five of us look forward to.

We're having so much fun this Advent, Christmas can take its time in coming.