Planning Ahead for Advent

Thanks to Lindsey at Enjoy the Journey, I'm putting a Christmas post up before I have a Thanksgiving post. And one of my pet peeves is Thanksgiving being crowded out by Christmas. But sometimes you just have to plan ahead for good things, and Lindsey's new blog, Advent for Evangelicals looks like a very good thing. I was so excited the first time she mentioned it, and it is beautiful! I'm looking forward to garnering many more ways to share advent with my family.

Here are some of my family's favorite ways:

1. Brian has really enjoyed Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas, an advent book with readings from many different authors with many different backgrounds.
2. When I got married, I wanted a nativity set like my mother's. A wooden building with moss and ceramic figures. I was student teaching that first year and my sweet cooperating teacher got me one as a Christmas gift. It's always given a place of honor, lately, on top of the piano, in the living room in front of the window.
3. I searched high and low for a nativity playset safe for the under 3 set, and finally found this one. It is a huge hit every year when the Christmas things come down from the attic.
4. My piano students always look forward to putting aside lesson books in mid-November and learning Christmas music for our annual recital at the nursing home.
5. We love to invite over our little friends and have a birthday party for Jesus complete with balloons, streamers, and a birthday cake. We've missed it the past couple of years due to illness and babies, but I'm excited to plan this special celebration again.
6. Reading our huge collection of Christmas books. I'll post a list of favorites later.
7. My favorite new find is Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration. This compilation of Advent devotions by James Dobson, Chuck Swindoll, James Montgomery Boice, and R.C.Sproul has a devotion and family activities for each Sunday of Advent and daily Scripture readings, along with songs and instructions for an advent wreath. The readings are already written into my lesson plans.

Now I'm really getting in the mood. I feel like I could go on forever. I keep thinking of more "favorites" I'd like to share with you. But first things first. I'll try to stick with Thanksgiving posts for now - just watch out the day after!