My idea was to write down 24 activities on red card stock and slip them into the library pockets. Max would pull one card a day and we would do the corresponding activity to "get ready" for Christmas. For the most part, I kept the cards really simple with activities like "drive around to look at Christmas lights," "bake cookies," and "sing Christmas carols." However, my official opinion of our advent routine is I didn't like it.
Advent is supposed to be a time of rest and watchful waiting, sort of like a mini-Lent. Despite the fact that 90% of our advent activities were really simple, feeling like we had to do something every day was actually sort of stressful. For example, one activity was to go on a Starbucks date. This is something we do off and on anyway, but feeling like we had to do it because it was on the card really took the fun out of it.
Going forward, I think I'm going to keep Advent even more simple in the coming years. Maybe one year I will write the titles of 24 Christmas books on cardstock and we will countdown to Christmas by reading 24 books. We read throughout the day and at bedtime anyway, so our advent countdown will fit organically into our routine. It will also give us the opportunity to have "surprise" cards that instead list a special activity--this year we really enjoyed the Nativity display at the Mormon church and we would also love to take Max to the Santa train at Pullen Park next year.
I would also like to incorporate a Jesse tree into Advent someday and I can use the library pockets to hold small ornaments and their corresponding Bible verses. The point is that 24 days of activities and "have-to's" is exhausting and is the complete opposite of the whole point of Advent. I'm hoping for a more restful season in the years to come!
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