The Second Post of Christmas: Counters Counting

Nothing helps eager children (and adults) make it through the long wait until December 25th like an Advent calendar. Since Ethan was three years old, we've created our own homemade calendar every year with an activity or special surprise for each day. Past calendars have included little envelopes glued to poster board in the shape of a Christmas tree, plastic ornament balls with slips of paper and candy in them, or decorative gift tags hanging on a miniature tree.

This year, I decided to attempt to make an advent calendar in the style I remember from childhood--a cardboard calendar with a little window or door to open each day until Christmas. A friend had sent me the November 2009 issue of Family Fun magazine where I found instructions for making an Advent calendar using windows and doors cut out from old magazines and a few pieces of colored card stock. Here's the result:






Surprises, activities, and events include:

• going to a performance of The Nutcracker Ballet



• reading a new Christmas book



• making Christmas crafts



• Christmas baking



• celebrating St. Nicholas Day (6th) and St. Lucia's Day (13th)



• making hot cocoa



• extra half hour of Christmas bedtime reading



• family movie night



• family game night



• going to special programs or concerts



• making gifts for Sunday School teachers



• making Christmas cards



• wrapping gifts



• dancing to Christmas music (we've been known to do our own Nutcracker performance)



• shopping together for gifts and stocking stuffers



• decorating for Christmas (if we haven't done it already)



• baking a cake for Jesus' birthday



• having a Christmas sing-a-long after dinner



• inviting a friend over



• acting out The Nativity and . . .



• cleaning the house in preparation of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

I got started a little late on our countdown to Christmas this year. There are only 21 doors, but we are enjoying these special times together. I've found that having an Advent calendar like this one helps me to plan ahead and be intentional about the things I want to do with my children at Christmas--even if we have to adjust things from time to time as Christmas approaches. In the end, it's not really about the crafts, treats, or events but about celebrating--celebrating every day in some simple way the incarnation of Christ and the anticipation of His glorious Second Coming. We're counting down . . . come, Thou long-expected Jesus, come!