Getting Ready for Advent + Link Party

Advent is now just around the corner. And here in Germany, where our Thanksgiving (Erntedankfest) was in October, the Christmas markets are already being built, and the smell of Glühwein and Lebkuchen - very Advent-y things - are in the air.

I know that many of you are already getting ready for Advent. How does one get ready for a season of "getting ready"? I've thought about this a lot in the past few years. Let's face it, Advent can be a mountain of stress for most people. What helps me is to keep the idea of "waiting for the King" at the center. Advent is a time of waiting for and anticipating how Jesus will come into our lives in a fresh way.

Another thing that helps me is to decide beforehand what I can and can't do during Advent. I can do a few things: a few art projects, read some special books and tell the story of Christmas in creative ways to my kids. I can't however send out mounds of Christmas cards, buy presents for the whole extended family, or give Advent parties.

Despite what the commercial calendar tells us, it isn't all over on Dec. 25. That's when Christmas actually begins, and then we have all the time in the world to celebrate after Christmas Day. In fact, it's a great idea to leave many activities until the days following Christmas when you have time off and things are a little more relaxed.: )

In case you want to go ahead and begin planning, I'd like to share with you a few ideas from Advents past and are looking for a new idea.

The top of my list is the Godly Play Advent story. You can tell it in one setting or split it up into 5 parts.  For children under 5 years of age, I would definitely tell it in more than one sitting. Also, if you don't have time to learn a long story, telling it this way avoids stress. The English version is in  Godly Play Vol.3: 20 Core Presentations for Winter and the German one is in Godly Play 03: Gleichnisse und Weihnachtszeit.

Also, I'll be telling the enrichment story, "The Mystery of Christmas" about some of the lesser told parts of the Christmas story this year as well.  It features Giotto paintings and can be found in both of the above mentioned books as well. This story is better suited to children 5 and up.

If you are looking for art projects, there is the Nature Nativity

and this Nativity Collage Silhouette

and Stacking Christmas Trees for the little ones.

You can also make Beeswax Ornaments

and, if it's cold enough,  Ice Ornaments.

I'd now like to invite all of you to a new link party:

Please feel free to share with us your wonderful ideas for Advent and Christmas! 

I'll be posting each week until New Year's. We all love to have a pool of ideas to gather from, so please share old or new posts.

If you participate, please link back to Explore and Express. Feel free to grab the button above or in the side bar. 

By participating in the link party, you give me permission to share your photos in weekly highlights.