ADVENT
We wish you and your families a blessed and joyful Advent!
What a beautiful season this is! And yet it has become such a whirlwind of preparation - purchasing, wrapping, and mailing gifts; baking cookies and other favorites; mailing cards; attending parties & school plays; decorating our homes, and the to do list goes on and on... It's enough to make your head spin! And all of this is good - after all, it is a time of joyful anticipation! But do you ever wish you could get off the merry-go-round to spend a few quiet minutes with Jesus, and with your family, just enjoying the season? Well, we've discovered some sites that can help you do just that! EWTN offers short mini-reflections and a simple opportunity for putting your faith into action every day, the USCCB is giving us the gift of mini-reflections featuring words from Pope Benedict VI, and there are others that offer great ideas for getting our kids involved, creative gift giving ideas, and more! You'll find links to these sites below, as well as some suggestions of our own for making this a more peace filled, joyful season!
Jesse Tree
Some of our suggestions:
- Commit to eating at least one meal together as a family each week - breakfast, lunch, dinner, it doesn't matter. Spending time together is what counts! Maybe this could be an opportunity to have one of the kids light the Advent candle(s). Some wonderful ideas can be found at: http://gracebeforemeals.com/index.php.
- Do you really have to go to every party you're invited to? Don't feel guilty saying no - spend the time with your family instead!
- Take time to enjoy the simple pleasures -be a kid again - play in the snow, drink hot chocolate, sing carols...
- Avoid the malls, and give a priceless gift: Purchase a gift from an organization that helps people in impoverished areas of the world. Or make a donation in honor of someone to one of these organizations. We've been giving gifts of chickens, goats, clean water, a sewing machine, food for a family, and more from Food For the Poor as gifts to our family members for a while now. They say it's the most precious gift they receive, and eagerly wait to see what it will be each Christmas. We've also purchased Fair Trade gifts from Catholic Relief Services, such as Divine chocolate (trust us, it's heavenly), coffee, handmade crafts, and gift baskets. These items are made by people all over the world, including the USA, and your purchase enables them to be independent and helps them support their families. 94-96% of every dollar donated to these organizations goes directly to the poor. "Give a child a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach him to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime."
- Make time to bake and decorate your favorite Christmas cookies with your kids - you'll be making great memories, and having a blast! Not a baker, or don't have time to make cookies from scratch? No problem - buy ready made dough! Or even easier, buy plain sugar cookies from your bakery and have the kids decorate them with canned icing, sprinkles, etc. If you do have the time, another fun idea is making salt dough or cornstarch dough ornaments. The kids can decorate them with paint and glitter. My brothers and I made dough ornaments with our mom as kids. We enjoyed it so much, I carried on this tradition, and I still have the ones my son made when he was 3 - that was 15 years ago! Every year he laughs when he sees them on the tree (but I bet he is secretly glad). I cherish them more than any other ornament - what memories!
LINKS FOR GREAT ADVENT IDEAS:
Creighton University daily reflections - also provides many other useful Catholic links
EWTN - daily readings and reflections, plus Advent in Action - simple suggestions for putting your faith into action during Advent - a different opportunity every day!
Advent and Christmas with Pope Benedict VI -- a gift from USCCB this Advent: Daily Scripture quotes and mini- reflections for each day of Advent through the Octave of Christmas, featuring short reflections taken from the Holy Father's homilies, speeches and addresses.
Who was St. Nicholas? - Read the true story of St. Nicholas with your children. This site also offers great crafts, printable activities, and other ideas to celebrate St. Nicholas' feast day - December 6.
USCCB - daily reflections, readings, etc.
Catholic Mom - great Advent prayers; creative gift ideas, and more!
