The Christmas season is {finally} here. I sincerely love Christmas, and the Advent that precedes it. To take a season – a month or more – and focus on being still, waiting, watching, being hopeful, anticipating the coming Christ child… it’s a lovely thing.

We’ve always celebrated Christmas and Advent  as two parts of a whole. I wanted to share a few of our Advent traditions with you, and what they’ll look like this first year of being a family of three. side note: ok, techincally it’s not our very first Christmas/Advent as a family of three. BUT I don’t remember much of last year, as The Boy was 10 days old on Christmas morning and my body was so broken and we hadn’t slept and I was on narcotics. So this is the first concious year of three =)

Husby and I bought a $.99 book a few years ago, and it’s become our cornerstone Advent devotional. It’s perfect for us! Each day includes a Scripture, short devotion, family activity, stress-free tip, and easy recipe. We love it so much, rarely miss a day (it’s that short and sweet), and even read the ingredients out loud for the recipe. Even if I don’t have time to bake it, I can taste it in my head =) I wish I could link you to it, but in my search I’ve found that it’s out of print =( Sorry friends!

We have several Advent calendars placed around our home. this one is brand new from DaySpring’s Redeemed Christmas collection –

isn’t it pretty?? And it’s also very accessible. You know what I mean? Short and sweet and not overwhelming. We also have this one from DaySpring –

which is a countdown to Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter!! It comes with a little card for each little drawer, and on the card is a topic and short prayer. There’s a booklet that expands on each day w/a scripture, quick devo & question for discussing. The little numbered drawers turn around to create a lovely little scene for each season. One of the coolest things we’ve gotten for our family. We bought two more for two other families. It’s that cool (and it’s on sale!)

We have at least two more countdowns around the house. We kind of like Advent calendars.

This year, I’m reading along with She Reads Truth and another YouVersion Advent devotional about Christmas carols, both on my phone. It’s so nice to get a shot of scripture anytime, anywhere.

Finally, we’re finding a LOT of great ideas from the Vibrant Faith @ Home website. They have sections with content for families of all kinds (we mostly use the adult couple or young family sections), and you can save the ideas you like to your own personal bin (kind of like pinterest). It’s all family-friendly devotions, ideas and activities. You have to register w/your name and email (or you can login w/your Facebook), but it’s all free and they rarely send emails.

How are you celebrating/observing Advent this year?
-anna
{girl with blog}

*affiliate links used