Advent Traditions Old & New

In 2020 all traditions looked a bit different. During the Christmas season I felt like it was especially important to try to hold on to special memories as well as create some new ones.  As part of my job at church I created "Advent"ure Packs for families to work through during Advent.  The packs had coloring sheets and activities, crafts and games, devotional material etc.  We were able to use some of the items to make some new traditions.

On December 1st we decided to make Christmas countdown links.  Interestingly, this was the first time (that I remember) that we did this with the kids.  They each made their own so they could each pull of a link every day. 

M:  I decided to make a pattern of light green, dark green, and red.

The next picture is funny because it has almost become a tradition.  Our church has a very large and heavy cross in the sanctuary.  Each year at Christmas we move it off the stage.  Because the cross is pretty rough, it tends to give those who help move it splinters.  It seems that Brandon frequently gets a splinter, and M (the splinter removing expert according to M) is eager to help remove it!

M: I am not sure why, but I really like doing this!

Some of our favorite items in the Advent pack were the Pictionary and Charades game.  I didn't get any pictures from the Charades game, but it was very fun to watch the kids act things out.  T acts out a scene rather than acting out the direct item on the card.  This adds a unique challenge to the game.  For example, if her card said "Elf" she would choose a random scene from the movie Elf and act that out in detail!

I am not sure what M was drawing, but it was quite entertaining to see Buttercup inspect his work.

M:  I think I might have drawing my favorite gift.

T:  I can't believe you can't guess this!

  

In early December we tried a new tradition, and I think will become an annual tradition.  We headed north to a community that has a park filled with decorations.  A couple of years ago we went to a display like this in MN, but we have never gone to a local one.  It is pretty hard to capture with photos because there is a lot of movement in the lights. 

Adventure awaits!

One of the light tunnels.

Charlie Brown

The final light tunnel.

After going through the park we headed out into the country for a very impressive light show.  A family has many lights programed to different songs. It is impossible to capture with still shots what it was like, but all the lights are constantly changing.  It was a sensory seeker's dream.  I think next year we will try to send T with all of our friends so she can see it over and over again.  I needed to close my eyes at times, but she was in awe of it all! They actually do 6 different shows so many people attend more than one of them.

One view of the scene

Another view of the scene.

This year we started a new tradition of doing an Advent read aloud as a family.  Several families from church joined us in reading through Ishtar's Odyssey.  Each day we read a short section.  The story was fiction, but fascinating.  We were always left wanting more.  We are thankful that this series has four books so we can read another next year.  We are currently reading the one and only Lent book and really enjoying it as well. 

M: Sometimes T wants to cuddle with me during Ishtar.

 

M and T: We loved Ishtar!

T: I made crafts, over zoom with her mentor and with Dad.

Under the tree naps are a great Christmas tradition.  During this year of homeschooling there were a lot more naps than usual.  I think T will miss this next year. 

T: I love it when both cats are cozy with me!

I learned this fall that Blackstrap molasses is gluten free and paleo.  I loved molasses cookies growing up, and was so excited to try to recreate the recipe I remembered.  The final taste was not exactly the same, but it was impressively close.

The ingredients were slightly different than the ones I grew up with!

 

The final product was tasty... and now I am hungry for molasses cookies.

We had so much fun doing the Christmas light scavenger hunt in 2019 that we decided to do it again in 2020, but this time we invited families in church to do it as well.  We competed to see who could find the most items.  Our family tied with two other families finding all but one item within the two hour time limit.  We had great fun scouting things out. I thought of many more items to add to next year's list.

Ready to look at the lights.

2020's list of items.

You might be wondering what the winning family won?!?!  They won a caroling serenade from the church staff and M and T! This was a blessing to us because caroling is usually one of our favorite traditions.  This was the only place we caroled this year, but it still felt special.  We had such a snowy winter, so it is funny to look at this picture and remember that all of our snow arrived after Christmas. 

COVID style caroling.  T decided to wear a tank top and a blanket. 

 

Each year at Christmas time I choose one night where I stay up way too late and wrap lots of gifts.  This year I had so many more gifts to wrap than previous years since we had gifts from others delivered to our house.  It ended up taking me six hours to wrap gifts.  Inside each of these boxes is many different gifts.  I always watch Hallmark Christmas movies while I wrap, so it ends up being a pretty enjoyable night.

 

The calm before the wrapping storm.