Christmas is always a busy time. It is also always a balancing act. We try real hard to balance the busy activities, the presents, the fun for the kids, and the needed focus on Christ. I am not sure that we have always won the battle of the balance, but we have tried something this year that has helped.
This year we are doing a family Advent Wreath. Most often, advent and advent wreaths are associated with more liturgical denominations and can become just a ritual. But I have taken the basic concept and adapted it to avoid those pitfalls and make it a way for my family to focus on Christ.
Here is what we do. The first Sunday of Advent we all sat around the table after dinner and made the advent wreath. This wreath is 4 candles on the outside, one in the middle. We simply use the four outer candles as a countdown to Christmas. I assisted one of the girls to light the first candle on that first Sunday showing that there are three more till Christmas. The kids get to take turns lighting and blowing out the candles each day.
Then we have some type of activity to focus on the scriptural meaning of Christmas. For some of these I used a family Christmas devotional book(you can get these at Life Way). A lot of the times I would modify what they had to fit our situation. With my girls being 8 and 4, I didn’t want it to be too sophisticated for them.
I also include some activity for the girls. One day I printed out a coloring page of Joseph and Mary and let them color it while I read the story. Another time I let them pick out one of their Christmas picture books and we read that together.
We have only done this for a little over a week and tried to do it most evenings after supper. I always close with a short prayer.
My hope and prayer for this activity is that it will help us as a family to set aside the busyness for a moment and set our hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father.
This year we are doing a family Advent Wreath. Most often, advent and advent wreaths are associated with more liturgical denominations and can become just a ritual. But I have taken the basic concept and adapted it to avoid those pitfalls and make it a way for my family to focus on Christ.
Here is what we do. The first Sunday of Advent we all sat around the table after dinner and made the advent wreath. This wreath is 4 candles on the outside, one in the middle. We simply use the four outer candles as a countdown to Christmas. I assisted one of the girls to light the first candle on that first Sunday showing that there are three more till Christmas. The kids get to take turns lighting and blowing out the candles each day.
Then we have some type of activity to focus on the scriptural meaning of Christmas. For some of these I used a family Christmas devotional book(you can get these at Life Way). A lot of the times I would modify what they had to fit our situation. With my girls being 8 and 4, I didn’t want it to be too sophisticated for them.
I also include some activity for the girls. One day I printed out a coloring page of Joseph and Mary and let them color it while I read the story. Another time I let them pick out one of their Christmas picture books and we read that together.
We have only done this for a little over a week and tried to do it most evenings after supper. I always close with a short prayer.
My hope and prayer for this activity is that it will help us as a family to set aside the busyness for a moment and set our hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father.
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