We made a conscious decision this year to not play into Santa. Gabe, especially, recognizes him, and understands his classmates will anticipate his coming with presents. He accepts that Santa doesn't have a role in our Christmas celebrations and is okay with that. Lily is oblivious and happy to go along with whatever Gabe tells her.
We (Tim and I) will give the kids each 3 presents on Christmas morning. These gifts we give to mark the gifts the Wise Men brought to baby Jesus. This year, having just read Katie Davis' book, I was determined to not spend insane amounts of money on the holiday. All the kids gifts from us come from toy swaps or Craigslist deals - with the exception of a My Loving Family doll for Lily to accompany the dollhouse I scored for her for free. I also had each child sort through their toys. They each had to choose 15 things (sounds like a lot, doesn't it?!, but you would barely notice they're gone) to either sell (if they were in good shape) to put towards our Amazima donation or to give to Salvation Army. They are very excited about the idea of setting money aside for a kiddo across the world. Much talk about flying to meet this child happens around our lunch table.... We would have to sell A LOT of toys to make those plane tickets happen, but surely with God all things are possible!
*We are very fortuante that Gabe and Lily's grandparents are generous and wonderful during the holidays - and all year! The kids will receive gifts from them, as well as have the opportunity to participate in Campbell and Thompson traditions. A tremendous blessing!
We will bake a cake for Jesus' birthday on Christmas Eve. Gabe decided on strawberry cake with chocolate icing this year. Our Christmas dinner will be a birthday party celebration for Jesus. We've had Christmas Eve tacos the past few years - a small gift to Tim as they are his favorite.
To celebrate Advent, we are counting down on our calendars, ripping circles off our Advent loops, and daily reading/crafting from a great little book recommended by a friend, Truth is in the Tinsel. My favorite part of the Advent countdown this year has been having Gabe read us the Christmas story bit by bit each day. He stumbles over a few words in the story from Luke, but overall does a wonderful job.
Toys for Tots shopping and Angel Tree ministries have been completed. Both kids really took to the idea of serving other children less fortunate than them this year. There was some struggle in 2010, so we were so happy for that growth in our kiddos' hearts.
A friend passed this along and I think it is so beautiful, though I'm not sure it will make it into this year's plans.
And of course, there is extra fellowshiping with friends and neighbors, school concerts, church celebrations, and baked goods galore!
Be blessed this season - and always!
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