Homemade Family Traditions

Our family just LOVES the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. They hold such significiant meaning for us and we are SO eager to spend time with family, friends and brothers/sisters in Christ in celebration of so many blessings, including the gift of the birth of Jesus. Plus - we LOVE decorating for Christmas...we plan on starting tomorrow night with the tree trimming, home decorating, furniture rearranging to get the tree in front of the window, hanging the stockings with care, trying to get the infamous "Christmas card photo" and all that goes with it! (If I remember correctly, last year it took approx. 58 photo-takes to get the right one!)
And, I also notice that at this time of year, I become very reflective...family traditions that help us in recalling the importance of the holiday celebrations mean so much to us...and I love to start new ones. So, this year, this is a new one that we are going to start...hope you will join us in this simple activity to count down to Christmas...everyone can participate and enjoy!

Paper Chain Advent Calendar
(c) 2007 Jennifer Wolf, licensed to About.com
This is another easy Advent calendar for children. Simply make a paper chain out of 25 strips of red or green construction paper. (Or consider using strips of old wrapping paper!) Inside each link, you could even write a verse that tells part of the Christmas story. Or, to encourage your children to think beyond themselves, consider writing an idea inside each link for a mini-service project. For example, one day's project might be making a Christmas card for someone in a nursing home. Another day's project might be clearing off the snow from your neighbor's car. Be creative and see what ideas you come up with for supplementing this simple children's Advent calendar.