My Christmas Plan

Last year I got frustrated with Christmas.  I lost the spirit of it, being so busy with trying to plan an exciting Christmas morning with all the perfect gifts....

So this year I'm trying to plan activities for the family that will help them (and me!) enjoy the excitement and spirit of Christmas.  I thought an advent calendar would be so fun.  I spent time researching lots of different ones online and only concluded that it would stress me out to be committed to doing certain activities on certain days.  What if our day just didn't work out for whatever was on the advent calendar! 

Here is the plan that I put together that seems easy and stress-free to me.

First I collected Christmas books.  (I already had some, found at few more at DI, and supplemented the rest with library books) and wrapped one up for each day of December until Christmas.  Each one is labeled with a number, and the kids think that it is fun to find the book of the day and unwrap it and read it together.  Even Aaron and Jessi are excited about this!  So easy!  But so exciting!

Next, we have the simple paper chain counting down the days until Christmas.  I decided to do something each day that is Christmas related, and we don't take the link off of our chain until we do so.  We have a bucket list of ideas ready.  The list includes crafts, cooking, service, etc., all those things you find on the cute advent calendars, but this way it's open-ended and we're not committed to doing a certain activity on a certain day.

During my and Amy's homeschool time (while the little boys are napping) we've been following the advent reading/video posts here. This means that everyday we're remembering what Christmas is really about.

I also decided to down-size on the gift-giving.  Less gifts.  Less spending.  More second-hand toys.  Get most of the shopping done before Thanksgiving.

I still want to plan a service project for the whole family to do together.  Maybe visit an old-folks home?  Haven't decided yet.  I'm trying to think of something where we can really make someone's Christmas brighter, but without having to spend a lot of money. (Tight budget.  Can you tell?  Even though we could choose to not be on such a tight budget,  I want to teach my kids that we can make Christmas wonderful without spending, spending, spending.)

Anyway, that's my plan.  It doesn't seem too overwhelming.  Not too much planning involved.  Not too much time.  Not too much money.  But hopefully it will make a big difference in making this season memorable and spirit-filled for me and my family.