Wednesday, December 5, 2012

A Cluster Of Christmas Countdowns: 3 Advent IDEAS



Today I'm sharing 3 NEW Advent/Christmas Countdown Traditions and ideas!


I'm alil late on sharing our Advent calendars this year.  It's only the 5th and it's been all BUSY stuff.  I try to post nearly every day in December so we'll see how that works out!  My #1 fan (in every true sense of the word) has been instructed not to read this post yet.  Chris truly supports me so well with my blog journey!  He reads every single little word and every single little post, not because he feels like he "should" but because he WANTS to read each detail and know my heart.  It's one of my very favorite and most appreciated attributes about him.  That boy knows my love language.  ;)  However, he can't read this post because I'm spilling some surprises.


COUNTDOWN IDEA #1: 
25 Days of Love Notes

Christmas isn't just for the kids.  If Christmas is REALLY about love, then one of the best ways to celebrate that is by showing some love to our husbands.  You could check out a past blog post here: HOW NICE IS NAUGHTY? where I share a fun sexy 12 Days of Christmas to do for your main squeeze.  

Another idea I've done for Chris is this 25 Days of Why I Love You Calendar.  A lot of you know that I've rolled up love notes and tied them onto this quilted tree advent calendar almost every year since we've been married!

O how I love you, let me count thy ways...



This year, I wanted to gather the kids in for the fun.  Instead of filling out 25 notes from ME to HIM, the kids and I all divided the notes and we all wrote little love notes to Chris.  This has been an exciting change for Chris to find this year!


The boys putting pen to paper, sharing what their Dad means to them...



It was so heart warming to read what they wrote about Chris.


"I love how your very presence brings me comfort"
- Cameron

"You work hard for your family! And I like that!"
- Kotah


"You are there when I need you."
- Titus



In the midst of this busy season as Chris is working-working to make lots of that green stuff for us to buy lots of shiny new toys with, I hope he soaks up those brief moments of love that he reads every December day as tucks them into his pocket and heads out the door to work.



Chris also surprised me again this year with a Christmas Countdown to open!  He recently started doing this and creatively designs new Advents for me every year.  A lot of his countdowns give clues that lead up to my Christmas gift on Christmas Day.  


From him....
To me...


He told me that he knew I liked miniature stuff so he made a MINI Advent this year!


He drilled holes into a piece of cedar wood and rolled up scrolls for each day. 


At the risk of being too sappy, have I mentioned how cool I think this guy is?!



COUNTDOWN IDEA #2:
Advent Wreath

You all are familiar with the traditional Advent Wreath!  It's a beautiful symbolic tradition of anticipating the birth of Baby Jesus the 4 Sundays before Christmas.  Each Sunday we light a candle.  When I was growing up we did the Advent Wreath.  Well...My super fun Mom surprised us this year with our own Advent Wreath for our family!  



The circled evergreens symbolize Jesus' everlasting love for us, with no beginning or end.  I decorated my Advent Wreath with a scoop of origami stars.  



It has been special to teach the boys the meaning of each candle, to calm our hearts into a true holiday spirit.  The candles stand for: hope, peace, joy, and love.



COUNTDOWN IDEA #3
Christmas History Countdown


Every year, the kids enjoy a Christmas Countdown or Advent.  When I was a little girl, my Great Grandma would give me the most beautiful Advent calendars from Germany, her homeland.  The calendars were beautiful, glittered scenes of Christmas with numbers and doors to open each day.  Finding the right number and carefully peeling it open is one of my most cherished holiday memories.  

The kids and I have done a big variety of Advent Calendars through the years.  I've included links at the bottom of this post to see some of them that I've shared online.  This year I wanted to focus on learning.  Learning is a valuable gift and an exciting one!  This countdown focuses on learning facts, trivia, and the history of Christmas.  



I clipped tiny envelopes to a long ribbon.  Each day, one dotted envelope gets opened! *Note: I have 2 ribbons of envelopes to equal 24.




A select few envelopes will have a note that says, "SURPRISE!".  There is  nothing to learn on these days {wink}, just a mad rush to their mailboxes to find a surprise.  The surprises include holiday pencils, holiday Kleenexes, etc, etc.


However, most of the days will be filled with notes that simply give a page number to a book!  We will then gather together and turn to the correct page of the book we are using and start to LEARN.


The book that I am using to teach the kids Christmas History is Lisa Whelchel's ADVENTure of Christmas.



 Each day, as the kids are given a page number, we'll flip straight to that page and READ together.  We'll learn about the first outside Christmas lights on houses, how Christmas caroling started, the history of the tree, the candy cane, and more!  We'll even learn how to say MERRY CHRISTMAS in many languages.


 We are only on DAY 5, but so far, ALL of us have completely enjoyed and anticipated this countdown!  Christmas Countdowns and Advents are a popular December activity.  I would LOVE, LOVE to hear about your own traditions and countdowns.



For a full archive of Advents on Moore Minutes see links below:

Knit Stocking Advent: 25 holiday ADVENTures

Sexy 12 Days of Christmas: How Nice is Naughty?

Three Advents: Traditional, Romantic, and Surprise TICKET bag Countdowns






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This post is linked to: Under the Table & DreaminNifty ThriftySeasonal SundaysMade by You MondayMet Monday, Tuesday Tutorials and TipsHOMEWORK: Be InspiredTasty TuesdayTip JunkieGet Your Craft OnWorks for Me WednesdayOrganize and Decorate EverythingCelebrations at Home,Transformation Thursday,Tablescape ThursdayStrut Your Stuff36th AveFoodie Friday, Frugal FridayI'm Lovin ItTickled PinkFriday Flair, Design Dazzleeighteen25Be Different Act NormalFunky Junk Interiors, Weekend Wrap Up sew many ways Six Sisters Saturday 

11 comments:

Jenny said...

You are.

Without a doubt.

The absolutely handsdown, most wildly creative family I know!

Judy@cutest-little-things.blogspot.com said...

Merry Christmas to you and your guys, Lisa!

Judy@cutest-little-things.blogspot.com

Gail @ http://biblelovenotes.com said...

What great ideas. I love the polka dot envelopes...they look really sweet.

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