I am all geared up for the season, and by that I mean ADVENT, of course! Must be something about being a mother now, I'm all anxious to create family traditions and make this a meaningful time of the year. However I am also quite aware of the fact that my only child is 8 months old (8 months already?!) and pretty much won't get anything out of whatever I do this year. (Although a package did arrive today, and predictably, John had a good time playing with the box.) Suffice it to say, I am starting small.
Anyway, the small things I have done so far: yesterday I un-decorated the main living spaces of the house. That is, I took down all the knick-knacks, stuffed animals, table cloths, and photo frames that are normally on the shelves, and packed them away in a big box. Of course, the normal clutter is still lying around, so the difference is pretty subtle. :-P Today I pulled out my awesome brand-new Nativity set that's been hidden away in the closet since I received it 10 months ago. The newly-cleared-off mantel shelf was just begging for a new centerpiece! Of course, being that it's not Christmas yet, it wouldn't be right to set up the traditional Nativity scene yet. So, I have the stable set up off to one side, with a family of friendly donkeys hanging out around the (empty, of course) manger inside. Next to that, the "field" where the two shepherds are keeping watch over a rather impressive flock of sheep. (Considering that most Nativity scenes only have 1 or 2 sheep, I'd say 8 is impressive. :-D ) And beyond them, at the far end of the shelf, Mary and Joseph, with their own donkey. Their journey has just started, see; they won't reach the stable until Christmas, when all the exciting stuff happens: baby Jesus is laid in the manger, the multitude of the Heavenly Host (ie four angels) appears, and the shepherds leave their flock to worship the newborn King. And it doesn't end there! We'll also have the wise men, traveling by camel, to arrive on Epiphany and complete the picture. Ooh, the excitement!
In future years, I'm having visions of Mary and Joseph (and their trusty donkey), and the Magi as well, journeying around the room on the way to Bethlehem. Either the kid(s) will think I am a huge dork, or (t)he(y) will get into it because I do. Probably a bit of both. :-)
So... un-decorated the house, got out the Nativity set. We'll put up the tree and the rest of the decorations on Gaudete Sunday. And that's about it, for the formal plans this year. In the future, I'd love to have an Advent wreath, maybe some kind of Advent calendar... Jesse tree, St Nicholas Day, other feasts... lots of ideas, but we'll see what works for our family. Of course, there are still presents to wrap, cookies to bake, movies to watch, stories to read, carols to sing, and all those other delightful little Advent/Christmas things that make this such a fun time of year.
Christmas is officially coming!