This weekend we’re decorating the house for Christmas. Since we’re going away right after Christmas, we’ve planned for snow and decorations for the month before Christmas. Luckily for us, even in our mild climate the weather seems to be complying. We’ve had snow all week.
What do we plan during advent?
We live up on a mountain, and although I am not fond of driving to skiing sites, we can go tobogganing, skiing, and snowman-building right outside the front door. We do a lot of this. We also go for walks in the forest near our home.
We play a lot of Christmas music. As soon as we crack open the decorations, we start playing the CDs stashed inside the boxes.
Every year, our town holds a lantern walk on the first night of December. We walk to a local community center, then they turn the Christmas lights on at the community center. It’s simple and pretty and a good way to start the season.
We go to look at Christmas lights. We have a local garden that does a small but pretty light display.
My daughter loves being in the Christmas pagent. Our church has a Christmas pagent, and for most of the children this involves a lot of non speaking roles that are perfect for a preschooler who just wants to dress up and stand on a stage.
My husband’s family is English, so every year we go to a Christmas pantomime. A pantomime is a very silly play that involves a simple fairy tale plot. It’s amusing and very English. Most years we try to do this after Christmas so that it doesn’t interfere with the seasonal get-togethers.
We don’t do a lot of shopping together, but this year my daughter attended our church’s gift-making workshop for kids. She spent $18 and made gifts for just about everyone from the tables staffed with volunteers. Most of the gifts are recycled, like a denim pillow from a leg of some jeans. If this didn’t exist, I’d have to create it- it’s such a wonderful event.
We also sponsor a family during the advent season. We provide gift cards for food and some simple gifts. This year, my daughter is finally keen to go shopping for someone else.
What do you do during advent?