Meaningful Advent

“Who gets the chocolate today mommy?”

Isn’t this a common question in December, to every parent who does a chocolate advent calender?

Don’t get me wrong….. I love those sweet calenders just as much as the kids!  In fact they bring back sweet memories of when my siblings and I used to scurry down stairs to find which window to open each morning.

The past few years I have really wanted to do something different for an advent calender that was way more meaningful each morning than just a chocolate.

These days kids are over loaded with flashy things, sugar, media, santa, etc…… They are surrounded with so much ‘stuff’, that this whole season becomes all about them.  I wanted to make something that channeled their attention on others.

A fellow homeschooler, who was raising money for orphans last year, made a huge amount of crafts and games to sell for Christmas with all proceeds going to the orphans. You can find the article here  http://www.hamiltonnews.com/community/events-celebrate-true-meaning-of-the-holidays/

While I was there I saw a cork board and small cut out boxes, which I bought to make our own!

I was able to print off small bible verses that told the story of Jesus birth and cut them out to fold inside the boxes.

On the back of each verse, I wrote a question,craft or prayer that the children could read aloud for that day. This allows them to focus on others for that day, and hopefully not fighting over a chocolate.

It’s the little things in life that we as parents can do, to impact our family’s core values. It may just be an advent calender, but it’s one more small tool to keep our focus on the truth.

So, there you have it. A meaningful advent calender that we’re using over here in our household!

What sort of things are you doing with your family to focus them more on the real reason for this beautiful season?