I had this talk with my 6 year old last week:
Me: “What do you want for Christmas?”
Him: “MOMMY! Christmas is NOT about toys. It is about
family. Being together as a family is ALL that is important”
Me: “Well, yes. It’s really *all* about Jesus. And He wants
us to celebrate His birthday with Him … which means you get presents! What
would you like?”
Him: “MOM!” {now sounding like a annoyed teenager} “It’s not
about TOYS!!”
So Thanksgiving night I gave him a Target ad and told him to
“want” away ... I need a wish list!! J
Sweet boy … what a
problem to have, right?
For advent this year, we are using this: Truth in theTinsel. Click on it and read.
I love, love, love, love me some of this as well: A Jesus Advent, but if I am honest it was often difficult last year to take it to
my preschoolers level. The Truth in the Tinsel eBook was MADE for my
preschooler {now kinder and a added toddler}.
Bible. Talk time. Crafts. Um, yes please. I think we are even creating a special place
for our advent ornaments.
In addition to the readings and crafts we will also be doing
service projects. This is something we started several years ago, and I adore
the idea of showing my kids how to LOVE. We talk a lot about what Jesus wants
for his birthday … what can we give Him? Well, we can love his people. So, I’ve
reworked our servant calendar and have attempted to make our service acts correlate
with what we’re learning about {for instance one day we talk about the census
and how people traveled, so that day we will be blessing our crossing guard}.
Some days are random acts, but the majority has a tie in.
Our servant acts look like this:
Day 1 – be a light by making something
for your neighbors
Day 2 – give a care kit to a homeless
person, include several names of Jesus in it.
Day 3 – use your mouth for good.
Compliment 3 strangers today.
Day 4 – go shopping for food bank
Day 5 – take a meal to a family in
need
Day 6 – actually go donate food to the
food bank
Day 7 – write a letter or song to
someone who makes a difference; mail.
Day 8 – take flowers to an elderly
person
Day 9 - write daddy a letter telling
him 10 things we respect about him
Day 10 – leave a thank you card &
candy for the postman
Day 11 – pay for the order behind us
in the starbucks drivethru; asking the clerk to pass on a card where we explain
that Jesus means “God saves” and Immanuel means “God is with us”.
Day 12 – take some goodies to our
crossing guard.
Day 13- make homemade bread for a busy family.
Day 14 – make Christmas cards for the
NICU parents.
Day 15 – take cards to hospital
Day 16 – take a stuffed stocking to
the LB Rescue Mission
Day 17 - Do a 30-minute beach clean-up.
Day 18 – Leave $1 bills w/ “Merry
CHRISTmas” post-its on them in hidden places at the Dollar Store
Day 19 – Make thank you cards for our
firemen & deliver them
Day 20 – Collect & return carts at
the grocery store.
Day 21 – Sort through old toys to
donate {if you read above, you’ll realize this will be a HARD one for my boy! Lol}
Day 22 – take goodies to Daddy’s
office {aka: the church office} for staff
Day 23 – donate a toy at a toys for
tots location
Day 24 – buy homeless guy by the
church dinner / make Jesus a b.day cake.
I have said this before, but at the end of the day *all* that
matters is how we can answer the question “Lord, did I love well today?” …
How will you love & share this Christmas season?
I LOVE this! I've already printed out your list, and am editing it for our family (as we have no beach to clean)! I also linked you in my post, I hope that's okay. Thanks for the inspiration!
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