Slacker Catholic Family Advent

Someday, our Advent will be magical and holy and angelic.  For the forseeable future, I'm resigned to a houseful of fun and wild with a long wait for the 25th.  Oh well.

As far as decorations, we never can be spiritual and wait to put up/decorate/light the tree, so we do it as soon as possible, then call the children's agony of waiting a whole month for there to be actual presents under the thing, holy awaiting.


Yes, it's tipped.  And fake.  But it's UP.


 

Our other decorations are cheap and easy and transform the whole house: I waltz about, flinging rectangles of red calico and gingham on every horizontal surface, as well as behind glass.  I also wrap pictures and paintings to look like presents.  I do not sew, so the edges are cut with pinking shears (sorry, Mom) ~

 

This is a print of some chickadees and birch trees in real life.  And a thrift store, lysol-ed throw pillow.

This is an East coast beach painting in real life.

Mary Engelbreit card in real life. Towel, $1 at Target.

Sorry about the potty picture, but not even the bathroom is safe.

Tea cupboard with wrapping paper taped inside the glass because I don't have enough cloth.

 

These old Santa prints are thrift store treasures (See the missing bottom edging on the one on the right?) for a couple of dollars, as are the knick-knacks on the mantle.  I did purchase that wise men hinged nativity new a few weeks ago (Wal-mart.  $17.).

 

 

 

 

 

Our Advent devotions are so lame, I hesitate to write this down, but the hope of  uniting with another slacker friend spurs me on.  I only read this book for morning prayers and do not even have a Jesse tree for the meaningful ornaments.


We do pray the Saint Andrew's prayer five times each morning.  I have a kid type it out, make copies, then cut and glue onto construction paper.  We're fancy like that.

 

I never remember about the shoes or coins, chocolate or real, for Saint Nicholas' feast day on the 6th, but we watch this ~

 

 

 

 

And we eat Mexican food for Juan Diego on the 9th and Our Lady of Guadalupe
 on the 12th, so we're good there.


The Advent wreaths some of the kids made earlier in the month fell apart but one gets lit at church so that lets me off the hook.  It does.


Now, the worst and most wonderful thing we do (depends upon if one is a Howell child or adult) is to attend Mass Christmas morning before opening presents.  Yes we do.  We make them wait.  Barreling down the stairs, all morning-breathed and bathroom-needing-but-refusing-to-go is a sorry display and it's all over in half an hour.  So for the past seven years, now that we're Catholic and there's such a thing as a Holy Day of Obligation, we're all over that.  Stockings they dump out first thing, as they find some sort of breakfast in a foil wrapper and juice box.  Then it's back upstairs for decent dressing and washing up; church; and home again.  The mood is much better and it truly, tangibly puts Jesus first (whether they like it or not). 

Why do we give each other gifts when it's Jesus' birthday?  Because it makes Him happy when we love and give to others.



Happy Birthday, Jesus!

It's almost here!
Love,
Allison