Thursday, November 20, 2008

Remembering the reason...

Melissa at The Inspired Room wanted us to link to a posting of how we keep Christ in Christmas. When my girls were little it was really important to me to start them off with a Christmas tradition that was special and focused on the birth of Christ. It couldn't be about gifts and it had to center on family time together when we could all slow down and talk and just enjoy the season.
The thing I came up with was our Advent teas. Each Sunday night of Advent, we sit down to a meal very much like a high tea. Little finger foods, special fruits and cheeses and desserts. Hot cocoa or tea. We try to make these things super easy to make because we don't need one more complicated thing to do for Christmas! It has been the most wonderful family time and we spend the time talking about the real reason we celebrate. We have advent readings and prayer, and we just chat about our week too. As the girls got older we each chose a week to plan the celebration so it didn't all fall on one person, and just because it is fun. This has become one of our familys favorite parts of Christmas. We play soft instrumental Christmas music, turn down the lights, light candles and have a relaxing and easy meal. Often we buy some of the fun appetizers from Costco and just warm them up. We make an advent wreath and light each candle in turn. It is beautiful and at the end of each tea we all feel relaxed and ready for another week of all the wild running around that Christmas brings. It's all very easy to do and very relaxed, it would be a wonderful time to have someone over or just be together as a family. I would love to hear what kind of special family celebrations you and your children love too! If you have one to share, run over to The Inspired Room and add your link tomorrow. It's almost time to celebrate, lets share some joy:>)

18 comments:

  1. Kathy,

    This sounds like a lovely idea!! So special.

    ~Blessings,
    Jan

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  2. I love your blog.

    Your story about your Advent Teas really warmed my heart!

    Stephanie

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  3. That is beautiful, Kathy!

    I may need to borrow this idea if you don't mind!

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  4. Kathy,
    What a lovely tradition and way to keep Christ in Christmas. When my girls were little we always had a birthday cake for Baby Jesus. Then we would sing Happy Birthday and remember that was what Christmas was about. They loved it.
    Karen

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  5. What a wonderful idea! I love the fact that you each took turns planning and prepare one of the times together.
    ~Adrienne~

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  6. A lovely and very sweet post Kathy...and what a pretty place seeting!

    Love,
    Sue

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  7. Beautiful post! Thank you for your prayers. It means a lot to me!

    Blessings,
    brook

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  8. Hi Kathy,
    When my children were little they received 3 gifts under the tree. Just like baby Jesus, three gifts and they were happy. For awhile we also had a birthday cake for Jesus.
    Nice button collection. I have a FEW also and like to look at them.
    Deb

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  9. We always did the Birthday Cake and sang Happy Birthday to jesus...m...

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  10. I love this idea! Thanks for sharing it with us. This is the kind of Christmas tradition I could really get into.

    What a lovely blog! I enjoyed my visit today. :-)

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  11. What a beautiful idea. I really like this. I love the picture as well of the table setting. Everything is very lovely!
    blessings,
    Debbie

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  12. Kathy I love this idea!

    Manuela

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  13. I love this idea-we've sometimes done a simple thing on Sundays for advent, but this would be much cooler. My little girlie-girls would love it and I love that it keeps the right thing in focus during what can be such a hectic time! Thanks for sharing!

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  14. I'm not sure how I missed this posting...must have been on one of the days I was RUNNING....
    It is such a beautiful affair that you have with your family. I love this idea so much and how smart and wise you were to get it started early. Wonderful idea for your girls to carry on into THEIR families someday.
    Our family always spends our time together on Christmas Eve and celebrate Christ's birthday with the JESUS CAKE. All of our grandchildren really look forward to that time together...
    love, bj

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  15. What a very wonderful way to remember the reason for Christmas. It's a beautiful tradition.

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  16. Lovely tradition..wish I was joining you!

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  17. Absolutely love the advent tea idea.
    Maybe I need to start a new tradition.
    Sandy

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