When I was a kid mom made a felt advent calendar. I remember being so excited every morning, to come down stairs to put a new ornament on that tree…well, okay I was excited every other day when it was my turn to put the ornament on the tree, when it was my brother’s turn I was less enthusiastic about the whole thing, especially when I disapproved of where he decided to place his ornament…aaah the plight of the control freak older sister. But moving on the happy parts. I liked being involved in the countdown, and all the excitement that went with the holiday season.
Now that I’m a parent I want to give that to my little girl. I also want her to understand the bigger meanings behind the traditions, and Christmas in general. I like the idea of the advent calendar, but didn’t want to do the standard thing that is out there right now. I like the idea of the advent wreath, but it’s not as interactive for the younger set, as a calendar. I poured over several different sites with readings and ideas for advent. I decided to be unconventional, and make up my own thing. I’ll chronicle here as I go along, in case anyone else is interested.
I have started with some embroidery which will become little ornaments of sorts. I found the images online. I’m going with redwork, partly because I love the look, being a big fan of red, and the simplicity. I also like the idea of the red for Christmas. These are the first 4 images, I need to still turn them into the ornaments, but I like how they are coming out.
My responsibility is to do the physical part of the project, and hubby is going to sort through and decide what scriptures to include. I’m thinking this will evolve over time, but I’m excited about what we decided for this year. Mini is already excited about the embroidery, so hopefully she likes the whole plan when it’s done…which must be within 18 days, since our countdown begins on December 1!
Mini had a fun day at the library today. She and husband go almost daily, to the library. Today they happened to be there during story time and were invited to join in. After a couple stories were read, craft time began. Mini made a darling little turtle. Husband says she had very little help and that she was very focused, but did have a good time. I present to you Lance (sometimes referred to by the artist as Lancey)…
Artist: Mini, age 2 years, 3 months
Adorable turtle!
Miss Wendy is awesome. I miss going to the library with C and seeing everyone and enjoying story time….
do you put your advent ornaments on the Christmas tree? i’ve been pondering the advent traditions as well… last year i made my own advent wreath but i have yet to find a good reading/devo to go along with the lighting of the candles… that is a goal for this year.
we had an advent calendar growing up (a paper Christmas tree and we turned over a paper bulb ornament to see what it said each day… sometimes a verse, sometimes a little gift, sometimes a special activity)… i like the more tangible, interactive calendars… i have seen a felt one that has little cloth nativity figures in each day’s pocket and when you reach Christmas you have a full nativity that the child can play with and move around. but i also like the idea reading verses, or having special activities to do as a family. we’ll see… i imagine that i will need to create my own the way my mom did for us.