It’s BEAUTIFUL! Colorful and magical.

It took a bit of discussion to agree on which candle to use for Hope. By the time my husband finally struck the match and spoke those magic words, “I light this candle for Hope.” the thin green taper had definitely earned its name. With its light, we could feel the magic settling in as we shared our hopes for the season and pulled our first Activity Card from the bag.

My husband humored me and instead of closing with something serious we kept it light and sang Jingle Bells – alternating the syllables between us. I laughed with delight, he couldn’t help but laugh at me. The forest green candle, our symbol of Hope, created sparkles of purple, red, gold and white as it’s flame danced to the rhythm of our laughter. As he placed the candle snuffer over the flame and spoke the final words, “I put out this candle, but the Hope doesn’t go out. Because we have the Hope inside us.” I could still feel the colors dancing in my heart.

You have six cars. Your spouse and daughter each take one to work. One of your sons takes one to school.
How many cars are left?

You have an important meeting. You dress carefully and are ready to walk out the door right on schedule.

Today, you are choosing to feel peace, so you breathe deeply to help you remain calm as you dig through the bowl of keys and attempt to ignore the keys for the car that is missing a rear wheel, a wheel that mysteriously flew off while one son was “just” driving along. The car, not the son, is in the shop receiving expensive repairs.

You find the keys to your car. The same car that, out of kindness, you let the son of the mysterious-rolling-tire fame borrow the night before to go to work. Head down, you scoot through the pelting rain, jump into your car and splash onto the front seat. But something’s not right. The sunroof is open… all the windows are down.. there’s a Starbuck’s lid floating in a puddle on the floor…

Determined to feel peace, you take a deep breath but your pants are getting wetter by the second. You take a deep, deep, deeeeeper breath and close the roof and windows.

You are now running late and scurry back to the house to find the keys for another car. You open the door to this car and are hit with the overpowering aroma of the skunk the other son “forgot” to tell you he hit.

How many cars are left?
Can I remember a time when I chose to laugh rather than rant or cry at the blows of life?

In this first installment, I’m going to share a list of 25 + activities you can choose from so your Advent Bag & Box Tradition won’t cost a penny. This will allow those of you making your own cards to get started. If you have a set of Advent Bag & Box Activity Cards use the blank cards for activities listed below that aren’t already in the set.

• Use Saturdays to hide the candle for the next day and play a game like hot /cold to find it. That’s three fun activities right there!
  • December 4 ~ Find the candle for Peace
  • December 11 ~ Find the the candle for Love
  • December 18 ~ Find the the candle for Joy
• A story to share
  • Use Stories!! Whether you are young or old – everyone loves being read to. Use your local library to find children’s books, or adult books of short stories, to read to each other.
• Let’s Make Our Advent Wreath
  • Use only items you already have in the house. Be creative and open to the possibilities. The more out of the norm your wreath, the more you will treasure the memory!
• My Wish for You
• Good Deed Day
• Family Game Time
• I Appreciate You
• It’s _____ ‘s Special Day
• Be Christmas Angels
• Add Some Sparkle to Someone’s Day – Give a compliment or two to brighten their day
• Let’s do something nice for our neighbors
  • Do something in secret like bringing in their trash cans, raking their leaves, or just leave a sweet note of appreciation anonymously on their door.
• Go see the lights
• We Gather in Prayer
• It’s Time to Decorate the Tree (or the House) with whatever you decorations you have available.
• Surprise!
  • Sleep together under the tree or do something together you wouldn’t ordinarily do!
• Make your Christmas Gift List and give it to an organization willing to help you this season.
• Bubble Bath Day
• Give the Gift of Listening
• A Family Treat
  • Take a 20 minute walk together around the neighborhood or borrow a favorite movie from the library to watch together or…
• Make a Gingerbread House – if you don’t have the supplies then draw one!
• Go to a community sing-a-long or tree lighting or …
• Have a tea party
• Play Day all Day
• Invite a friend to play
• A Story to Share – Twas the Night Before Christmas
• Gratitude Journal

Over the last month I’ve been blessed to meet the most wonderful people as I gave workshops in California, Missouri, Washington, and Oregon. I have a few more scheduled, one as far away as Virginia, but now it’s time to shift gears and start preparing newsletters so I can share more ideas and stories with everyone.

So, stay tuned as I do my best to help all of us have a meaningful, low-stress and joy-filled Holiday Season. When I think of the Advent Season beginning, when I think of all of you who are doing it for the first time, when I think of all of you who have made it a part of your Christmas Tradition, it warms my heart. And whether you are doing it alone, with roommates, spouses or families I hope you are feeling the three words that keep bubbling up from my heart, “I’m so excited!”

Hope, Peace, Love, Joy and Light… hmmm…

Hope could be green, Peace – Blue, Love – Red, Joy – Yellow, Light – White…

I’m admittedly a little stressed about getting all the planning and cooking for Thanksgiving done while working full time BUT that stress is ameliorated by knowing how much fun I am about to have as I begin thinking about how to make the Advent Tradition meaningful and fun for my family.

If this is your first year “doing Advent” as we call it, and even if it isn’t,  here are a few suggestions to help you have fun planning a fun and low-stress Advent Tradition:

Make the planning fun. How?

• First and foremost by remembering that you are giving a gift to yourself and your family that will last long after the Christmas decorations have been packed up and gathering dust. You are giving the gift of experiencing the feeling of that elusive Christmas Spirit and we remember feelings long after we have forgotten the specifics of any event.
• Create the Mood. Find or make a moment when you will have an hour or so of interrupted time. Put on your favorite Christmas music, fix yourself a hot cup of tea or coffee, and find a comfy place to sit with:
  • • your calendar
    • the activity cards
    • a pencil and eraser!
    • the Advent 2009 Planning Calendar
    • (Chocolate goes in parenthesis as it is soooo optional)

1. Browse and Allow. Start by browsing through the cards and allowing your mind to settle into the groove of creating something magical. It can take a bit for the mind to release it’s agenda. Allowing it to be inspired and excited by the activities on the cards is fun and you’ll feel the magic beginning to take shape.
2. Commitments.  On your planning calendar make a note of all the things the family or certain members are committed to doing or attending. If any of them can be included in the Advent Activities use the customizable cards from the Activity Card Set for it. This is the structure around which you can now play and create your Advent Tradition.
3. Add the Favorites. Next, add in everyone’s favorites: Special Days, Drop a Dollar, Christmas Journals, Planning SSSS and doing SSSS. Be sure to use pencil as the process is rather organic. I have found that anything I set in ink, changes!
4. Pace Yourself. Start filling in the other activities keeping aware of your personality and your energy level. The point is to add fun and meaning not more stress. So, if you’re a working mom with young kids, include simple activities on work nights like: A Story to Share, Say a Prayer for Someone, Treats to Share, Give to the Food Bank, Choose a Charity to Give to, etc…
5. Prepare Little by Little. Once you know your activities, make a list of supplies you can get in advance and work them into trips you are already making. For instance, on a trip to the grocery store you could pick up a bag of candies or cookies for Treats To Share; or, while you’re in Costco add a Gingerbread House Kit to your cart; or, while at the bank (or check out line) get your dollars for Drop a Dollar Day.

Keep it Simple, Make it Fun, Plan with Flexibility and Advent’s begun!

Wishing you fun and joy in the planning,

Caren

Check out Heifer International and Seva Foundation. Both provide catalogs with color pictures so kids can see what they are giving. Both organizations use the money donated to provide animals and opportunities to help people and communities in other countries to help themselves.

“It’s the best part of Christmas!”

Adults love it because it rekindles that elusive “Christmassy Feeling”.
Parents love it because it takes the focus off “the stuff”.
Kids love it because it’s fun!

Enrich your experience of the Christmas Season and keep the focus on
Giving, Kindness, Family and Fun!

Even “Christmas Curmudgeons” consider the Advent Bag and Box Tradition

“The Best Part of Christmas”