Christmas season begins right after Thanksgiving. You find all sorts of Christmas decorations dotting every store shelf during the after-Thanksgiving rush day sales. Parents fall in line for hours outside toy stores, braving the snow and cold, to be the first to acquire the most popular newest item. By the next day, people are too tired to go out and celebrate. This year, instead of spending and worrying what gifts to give, Advent Decorations based from your church celebration can be used as a template to create your own home advent celebration. It's a way to bring out the Christmas spirit and also strengthens your faith.
Family Worship
The Advent season (which means coming or arrival) starts on the first Sunday after Thanksgiving and continues to four Sundays. The coming of the child Jesus into the world is celebrated during Advent and values the importance of this event in the lives of every Christian.
The Advent wreath, an important worship centerpiece, is made of a ring of evergreen sprigs and five holders with candles. Three candles are purple or blue color, One candle is rose-colored or pink, and the final central candle is white. The candles are arranged in a ring like pattern inside the wreath with the white candle, signifying Christ's birth, in the middle of the other four candles.
Time for worship and prayer can be done each Sunday before going to church or during the evening before going to sleep. Every week, each member of the family can take turns lighting the candles and reading a prayer and devotional. After that, parents can set aside some time to answer questions that the younger children may want to ask about the celebration.
Family Fun
Holidays are a time for getting together for the whole family, as well as a way to celebrate. With the family gathered together, have a "Christmas for Christ" party. Get the whole family involved in the planning of the party. The main theme is the celebration of the Jesus Christ's birth. Assign every child to make their own special invitations. Invite both Christian and non-Christians alike. You can also shop for game prizes at this time. If you're planning a lot of party activities, begin early so that every activity will fit into the evening.
To lessen the costs, have the people you've invited bring a dish to serve buffet-style. Since different ornaments will already be hung for Christmas, no added display is needed. Also a costume party is fun. Have your guests dress as a character from the nativity scene. There will be prizes for the best costume. The games that are chosen should fit the Christmas spirit theme. Have trivia games, charades, and puzzles at parties; everybody loves them. Kids will be the ones to take charge of the games while parents take care of the food.
Make sure you end the evening the way you started. A Christmas gathering is not a Christmas gathering without dessert. Be sure you sing some Christmas carols, play games and share the Christmas story around your tree. Sharing your faith this way is fun and special. You might also start new Christmas traditions that will be enjoyed for the coming years.
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© Kerry Beck, 2007
You have permission to reprint this article, as long as you don’t make any changes and include the bio below.
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Kerry Beck desires to give you a free Advent Countdown to use in your Christmas & Advent celebration this year. Her package will also include daily Advent calendar.
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