Advent

We're using a mix of Tired, Need Sleep's ornaments and Feel Like Home blog's Jesse Tree PDF.  The latter has a song and a verse to go with the ornament and scripture story of the day (He's got the whole world in his hands for Day 1, Jesus Loves Me for Day 2, Arky, Arky for Day 3 and so on). We love the addition of songs.

I started using Tired, Need Sleep's ornaments in 2009 when I didn't have a printer, so our ornaments are watercolors done by me, based on the other ornaments.  I love that you could just print them out and have your child color them though.

We're also using Truth in the Tinsel - instant love.  I got in on the Black Friday deal, but it is very much worth the full price (and that is not an affiliate link, although you can get one).  I won't be photographing us doing this though, as it wouldn't be fair to Amanda to give away all her ornament crafts! 


I also won an advent spiral last year from Nicole at One Hook Wonder.  I was wondering what we would do with it, as I hadn't purchased the wooden stars to affix to the little dowel pieces, when the kids started playing with Santa Lucia and Saint Nicholas along the "path."  This gave me the idea of making some wooden peg people for each day of December until Christmas. 
 

 I attempted to see if it might be doable with Bear.  We had just read Merry Christmas, Strega Nona and Country Angels, so we made angel peg people.  Bear's is the one with the smudged face.  I had to salvage the eyes a bit :)

 I was thinking we'd do people from the Nativity (Mary, Jospeh, shepherds, kings) and maybe some other saints who have feast days in December.  I haven't made a list though, or even looked into it.  It may indeed be a project that gets started this year and finished the next.  Or perhaps, I'll make two peg people per year to give the kids on December 6th (Saint Nicholas' feast day).  I haven't worked it all out, obviously.

A closer look at Saint Nick.  I made him last year, after drooling over the expensive (and sold out) Ostheimer figure. 

 A closer look at Santa Lucia.  I want to try to make a boy one (they wear tall conical star hats) this year for J-jo.

 Do you have a link to your Advent activities you would like to share?  Leave it in the comments.  I love to get new ideas to add to our traditions.