Getting Ready For Christmas

November was a great month of daily thanks.  I think it was a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Starting last Sunday we've been looking forward to Christmas as the holiday season continues. 

We have an Advent wreath on the table and lit the first candle last week, symbolizing the hope of the season.  That's a tough concept for the kids to grasp, but we talked about it all week long, lighting that candle each night.  Tonight we got to light two candles, the second being for preparation: much easier to explain.  Getting ready for Christmas has been the name of the game around here, and today we kicked it into high gear. 

Each day of December we're doing at least one thing to celebrate and prepare for Christmas.  Let's see...what have we done so far?  We've sent all the gifts that need to go out through the mail and started the cards.  Hopefully we'll finish that task this week.  We've also made a batch of cookies and decorated them with friends.  We're doing more of that this week too!  We've read some stories, and checked out many more from the library. 

We got our tree today and Scott's got the lights on it.  The kids and I will be making some decorations and putting them and the ones we already have on the tree this week too. 

See what I mean about kicking it into high gear? 

We've also got plans for going to see Zoolights, go out for a holiday breakfast, finish our shopping, make more cookies, sing more Christmas songs, watch more movies and television specials, and generally have more holiday fun! 

What are you doing to get ready?  Whatever it is, I hope your season is filled with all the love and joy you can handle.