We started two new traditions at our home this year for Christmas. In a previous blog, I wrote about a new Thanksgiving tradition. It has been fun and meaningful over the past year or two to consider what we want to teach our children about holidays and how to carry out that teaching. The boys have loved these new Christmas activities.
This is a Noel Calendar. Noel Piper used to make these advent calendars which had an accompanying story that involved all of the parts of the nativity story. I had really wanted one a number of years ago, but then she stopped making them. Last fall, Noel posted a blog saying that she had some of the burlap screen-printed backgrounds left over and was giving them away. I got two of them. This fall, I collected all the animals, painted old-fashioned clothespins to look like people, and sewed lots of little velcro pieces onto the banner to create this advent calendar - one for us and one for my sister and her family. Along with the story Noel provided, I added a short Bible reading to each day that takes us mostly through Luke 1 & 2. We have had a wonderful time using this calendar!
Our other new tradition has been to read a Christmas book every night. I collected Christmas books from ones we already had and ones I found at our library's annual book sale. I wrapped them up at the beginning of the month. Now, the boys take turns each night picking out a book that we can read together. I would love to be able to put all of the books under the tree, but I know that at this stage in life they would not stay wrapped. So, we have a box we pull out every night. Maybe one day I can trust them to stay under the tree...
Much of my desire to develop meaningful traditions for our family came from reading the book Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper. It is a great, simple, encouraging read!
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