Advent Traditions...some old, some new

I love Advent...especially the traditions that prepare my heart and my children's hearts for the miracle of Christmas.  This year, we've kept some of our old traditions, but also added a few new ones that I think will become part of our Advent season for years to come.

First the old:

1.  Lighting the Advent candles each week.  The boys love to take turns lighting the candles and blowing them out.  Funny how it's exciting every year to light a new candle each week as we think about Jesus, the Light of the World, entering our world as a tiny baby and wondering when He will come again.  Try to ignore the fact that my candles this year are white...  I couldn't find purple and pink at the store, and I didn't feel like going to search at another store, so I bought what was available.  The kids don't seem to mind, so I'm trying not to mind either :)

2.  Opening up a door each day on our Advent calendar to find the special magnet and treats inside.  Actually, now that we have FIVE kids, I can't fit 5 pieces of candy inside, so we've had to modify the tradition a bit. Nathanael is the one who gets to put the Nativity scene magnet on the calendar, and then each boy picks a piece of candy out of a candy bucket.  Then we read our Advent devotional, which is a new one this year...

3.  A friend of mine lent me her family's favorite devotional for Advent called "Jothom's Journey."  It's a historical fictional tale that really engages kids' minds and points their hearts to the deepest meaning of Christmas.  I know the author is a top-notch story-teller because at the end of each day's "chapter," my boys beg me to read ahead to the next day's chapter because they want to know what happens!  :)   Apparently, there are 3 books in this series that you can use for Advent, so next year we will probably buy one of the other stories:  "Tabitha's Travels" or "Bartholomew's Passage".

4. Another new tradition for our family this year has been the making of a Jesse Tree.  I remember doing a Jesse tree in school as a child and I've always wanted to share the experience with my children.  This year, thanks to my mom buying us a "Jesse tree kit" from the Catholic book store, we are finally making it happen. Dominic is the the most excited about this tradition and loves coloring the ornaments for the tree.

5.  "Nativity Scene Hide and Seek" is a new tradition that we have started which I stole from my dear friend Jenny (she's always full of good ideas!)  For this tradition, you need a child-friendly nativity scene.  You'll need to put the baby Jesus away somewhere until he is born in the stable on Christmas day.  And then each morning you "hide" Mary and Joseph somewhere in your house for your kids to find.  You explain to your kids that Mary and Joseph had to travel many days in order to get to Bethlehem, so for each day of Advent Mary and Joseph will be "traveling" through our home until they reach the stable.  It has turned into such a fun game for each of the boys to find Mary and Joseph each morning.  When Christmas Eve morning arrives, the kids will find Mary and Joseph in the stable with the other nativity figures (except baby Jesus, of course!).  And then on Christmas morning, along with finding all of their Christmas presents beneath the tree, the kids will find baby Jesus laying in the manger---the Greatest Gift of ALL!