Advent Calendar, and a Santa Invasion

Last year I bought a wooden Advent calender (a little wooden house with 24 doors). We used it last year, semi-consistently, from Dec. 1st to the 24th. I had a piece of paper with a scripture printed on it wrapped around two pieces of candy for each door. We read the scripture, the kids ate the candy, we went on our way.

This year I wanted something a little bit more involved, to really capture the Christmas Spirit. I went to www.sugardoodle.net (WONDERFUL place), and with a little from column A and a dash from column B, I combined a few of her Advent ideas into something I think our family will enjoy. :)

Here's our Advent "to do" list for each door:

DAY 1: Wednesday
Scripture: John 3:16; Moroni 7:22-23

Theme: Represents eternal life, evergreen needles point heavenward

Activity: Sing "O Christmas Tree" Make Christmas chain



DAY 2: Thursday

S: Luke 1:26-38

T: Gabriel visits Mary

A: “Mary’s Lullabye”



DAY 3: Friday

S: Matt. 1:18-23

T: Joseph's dream

A: Sing "Silent Night" Make Ornaments



DAY 4: Saturday

S: Luke 2:1-5; Micah 5:2

T: Caesar's tax/Bethlehem

A: Sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" Set out food for food drive. Walk in Christmas parade.



DAY 5: Sunday

S: Luke 2:6-7; Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6-7

T: Birth of Jesus

A: Sing "Away in a Manger" Draw picture of Nativity



DAY 6: Monday

S: Luke 2:6-7 (again!); Matt. 25:31-40

T: "no room in the inn" vs. "I was thirsty--and ye gave me drink"

A: Drink hot chocolate with marshmallows



DAY 7: Tuesday

S: Luke 2:8-14

T: "Good tidings of great joy"

A: Sing the Angel songs--"The First Noel," "Angels We Have Heard on High," "Far, Far Away," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing...” Make Christmas cards for family.



DAY 8: Wednesday

S: Luke 2:15-20

T: "Let us now go to Bethlehem"

A: Sing "O Come All Ye Faithful" Learn about Christmas traditions in other countries.



DAY 9: Thursday

S: Psalms 66:1-2

T: "Make a joyful noise"

A: Sing "Joy to the World" (Or "I Heard the Bells") Make Christmas cookies.



DAY 10: Friday

S: Luke 2:25-38; John 8:12

T: Simeon and Anna ("a light to lighten")

A: Sing Christmas carols. Go to Ward Christmas party



DAY 11: Saturday

S: Helaman 14:1-6

T: "A new star arise"--a Heavenly promise to ALL of God's children

A: Talk about the star on top of the Christmas tree. Make Honey-Taffy popcorn. Talk about the family history surrounding it.



DAY 12: Sunday

S: Matt. 2:1-12

T: Seeking Jesus

A: Sing "We 3 Kings". Choose a toy for a toy drive.



DAY 13: Monday

S: Abraham 4:24-25; Isaiah 1:3

T: Savior as Creator "Ox knows his master"--do we?

A: Bundle up good and go on a walk to appreciate His other creations!



DAY 14: Tuesday

S: D&C 38: 17-20

T: God's blessings to His people--"land flowing with MILK and honey"

A: Drink eggnog and take turns expressing a blessing you're grateful for.



DAY 15: Wednesday

S: John 6:28-35

T: "Bread of Life"

A: Make Gingerbread men/house.



DAY 16: Thursday

S: Isaiah 61:1-3

T: "BIND UP the brokenhearted"/ tied in bonds of brotherhood....

A: Put red bows on tree, and on top of a treat delivered to a friend.



DAY 17: Friday

S: Ezek. 34:11-16, 31

T: Jesus will seek out His flock

A: Learn how Candy Canes are made. Talk being about being shepherds.



DAY 18: Saturday

S: Luke 10: 38-42

T: Do we "sit at His FEET" or are we too busy?

A: Discuss how we can think of Jesus and serve Him. Do secret service for someone in the family.



DAY 19: Sunday

S: Matt. 21:1-9

T: Triumphal Entry

A: Sing "He Sent His Son"



DAY 20: Monday

S: Mosiah 3: 5-11

T: Red berries/ green thorns-- "blood cometh from every pore"/crown of thorns

A: Hang mistletoe above the door.



DAY 21: Tuesday

S: Isaiah 1:18; Revelations 3:5

T: Forgiveness ("white as snow")

A: Sing "Let it Snow!”, make snowman/snow angels, cut out snowflakes....



DAY 22: Wednesday

S: D&C 49:22-28; D&C 133:46-51

T: Second Coming ("blossom as the rose," "red apparel")

A: Make paper poinsettias



DAY 23: Thursday

S: D&C 135:3

T: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSEPH SMITH!!

A: Watch video of First Vision and eat popcorn.



DAY 24:

S: James 1:17-27

T: "Every good gift from above"

A: Think of a meaningful gift to give to Jesus this year. Go look at Christmas lights and listen to Christmas music. Read the Christmas story.


Aaaaaaaaaand of course, there's still the candy. ;)
In addition to the above, it looks like this year I'm being roped into doing some "Santa" things. In spite of our best efforts to not "do" Santa in our home beyond him being a fictional character in some books and movies, Raia has really latched on to the legend this year, and wants to write him a letter and leave him cookies on Christmas Eve (plus some carrots for his reindeer). I may also throw in a reading of "T'was the Night Before Christmas" as part of our lighter-than-normal December Homeschool schedule. (we'll be doing mainly review work the first couple of weeks of December, then take Christmas Break off with the rest of the school kids) I knew she wouldn't be able to go through life without knowing about the Legend of Santa, and I had no real intentions of sheltering her from him, but I had kind of hoped (perhaps unrealistically) to really keep the holidays focused entirely on Christ in our home. BUT, you can have fun and be Spiritual too, so I'm going to try and work Santa into our holiday celebration this season, and just make an extra effort to keep Christ center-stage.