Monday, December 12, 2005

how to avoid Christmas season Headaches



These are my four boys on the first day of snow fall. (my daughter was inside helping me make hot chocolate)

When the Christmas season approaches my husband and I start getting alot of questions. People seem very curious as to how with 5 kids we keep our sanity over the holiday season.

November 27th 2005, was the start of advent. We light candles- the first week Hope, the 2nd Peace, 3rd Joy, 4th Love and on Christmas eve we light the Christ candle. Doing advent is a very sobering reminder of what the holidays is all about. We light the candle(s) read a passage from the bible or a short Christmas story, a poem, or quiz the kids about the Christmas story. We tell the legend of Santa Claus and various other stories of generosity. My husband and I share stories of our childhood Christmases or we make plans to go caroling or help at a homeless shelter. Then each one of us picks a Christmas carol either traditional or modern, youngest to oldest and we sing them all. At the end the kids take turns blowing out the candle(s).

This is a grounding tradition in our household. It teaches our children about family quality time, about giving and loving. It reinforces the true meaning of Christmas, a beautiful story about the quiet arrival of a very special baby.

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