ok, well a) YAY for your new project - i LOVE advent and christmas. 

and 2) not to toot my own horn or anything, but we do a fun st. nicholas day gift giving tradition in my family that i talk about in depth here:

http://stsebastianprayforus.blogspot.com/2009/12/liturgical-gift-giving.html

we also do a jesse tree, celebrate gaudete sunday, and have a seasonal book basket.  i’d love to see gaudete sunday celebration suggestions, and other stuff for keeping all the feasts during advent and christmas season.

oh and we also love the O Night DIvine Blog’s ADvent Alphabet. 

whew. im done now :-p

Lina, thank you so very much for sharing your blog post! This is exactly the type of inspiration I’m seeking—I love your family traditions!

Hi Lisa,

My husband is from Colombia and since we’ve been married we’ve prayed the traditional Colombian Christmas novena.

Praying the daily prayers and singing the villancicos on the 9 days before Christmas has become an essential part of our Advent celebration! Here’s a good example of the novena, though in Spanish… Google Translate? http://www.elcolombiano.com/proyectos/navidad2001/enmedellin/homenovena.htm

You can watch a family sing one of the traditional hymns on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TR6foTHLZU Yes, my family tries to get as many instruments involved as possible, too! The translation is “Come, come, come, come into our souls, Jesus! Don’t take so long to come, Jesus, come!” and it is sung at the end of each prayer.

Hope this helps! God bless you and this project.

We use the curriculum from the Church of St. Paul in Hamm Lake, MN.  It is full of lots of great Advent ideas.
We have really started enjoying the St. ANdrews novena, which coincides with Advent.  We especially pray for all seminarians we know (we happen to know 3 Andrews right now in the seminary!).

Could you include some suggestions for great Advent board books and stories for littles under age 5?  I have a bit of trouble finding good ones that aren’t too indepth and will be looking for new ones this Advent season.

As far as our traditions, we have an advent calendar, the wreath (and as we light the candle, we sing O Come, O Come Emmanuel), and an advent basket of books.  I’m sure our traditions will become more indepth as our kiddos get older, but right now they’re 2 and 6mo.  Have fun writing!

I don’t have suggestions so much as requests. My children hate to do family prayer related anything. My husband is not Catholic (or any faith) and therefore not wanting to participate in anything God related; projects or activities. He has no problem with my wanting to raise the kids in my faith but he’s not supportive of family prayer “stuff.” My children and I go to church every Sunday, they attend Catholic school and are involved with the school/parish fundraisers, etc. What I need during Advent and Lent is simple things they can do every day that is Jesus inspired without feeling like God is being forced on them. My 14 year old is the worst. Teenager who’s too cool for God, etc. If I had some direction that I could take on a daily basis and give them a task that’s inspired by God’s love for them without it feeling too God-ish, that would be great. I don’t know that I’m explaining myself too well here. I just would like them to experience the peace of the holiday as opposed to the normal craziness that takes place because everyone is overly concerned with cleaning, shopping and whatnot. I want to sneak God into their lives and have them embrace Him on their own terms, sort of. Does this make any sense? As I’m typing and rereading, I pretty much think I sound like a moron. I guess I’m looking for suggestions as to how to get them to appreciate the real meaning of the season in a hands on manner. Thanks!

I love this idea for making O Antiphon ornaments & hope to be organized enough to try & make them this year:
http://starrymantle.blogspot.com/2009/11/o-antiphon-christmas-tree-ornaments.html

I would suggest as a source the Christmas stories of Agatha Cristie collected in the book “Star Over Bethleem and other stories” (it contains poems as well as stories). These Christmas stories are probably the most charming and among the most original of her works. Of course, the Christmas stories and poems are not in the criminal genre which made Agatha Cristie world famous, but they are written with much skill and suspense especially for children. I thing that, except the title story which view to the source of the Bethleem Star i find quite contradictionary, they could fit well in a Catholic family booklet.

I wish you much fun and success with your new project!

In the Eastern Catholic Churches, the Nativity Fast (Advent) is a time to purify both soul & body to enter properly into & partake of the great spiritual reality of Christ’s Coming, much like the preparation for the Feast of the Lord’s Resurrection.  This fast of 40 days was introduced in the 12th century.  The fast begins on the evening of November 14, the Feast of the Holy Apostle Phillip.  As a result, it is also traditionally called Phillip’s Fast or the Phillipian Fast (Filipovka in Slavonic).  The fast is not penitential, but is rather a fast of preparation, like the pre-Communion fast.  By abstaining from certain foods (meat, fish, dairy, wine, oil) on certain days, we are opening up a space in our lives through asceticism & obedience, into which God may enter.  Several important Feasts fall during the first 3 weeks of the Nativity Fast: the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple, the Feast of St. Nicholas, & the Maternity of Holy Anna (Conception of the Theotokos).  As a result, in some places the Fast does bot begin until later, or becomes more strict at a certain point. December 20 begins the Forefeast of the Nativity. The liturgical structure is similar to the Holy Week preceding Pascha (Easter). The Church sees the birth of the Son of God as the beginning of the saving ministry which will lead Him, for the sake of man’s salvation, to the ultimate sacrifice of the Cross.  On arriving at Bethlehem & the Nativity on December 25th, we begin to prepare for the Theophany (Christ’s Baptism in the Jordan).  We do not stop at the Nativity.  In our joy at God’s arrival, we press forward & see the Theophany.  With Theophany we experience the beginning of Christ’s revelation to us of the mysteries of God.  Most important of all, this event points out the Mystery of the Trinity, a mystery long referenced in the Old Testament.

Another tradition is the Eastern Catholic Advent Wreath, which uses different colors than those used in the Roman Catholic tradition.  Advent for Eastern Rite (Byzantine) Catholics begins after vespers of the Feast of St. Philip the Apostle (November 14).  Seven candles are needed: Green, Blue, Gold, White, Purple, Red, & the White Paschal Candle for the middle of the wreath. Each week, a new candle is lit & each week the meaning of the previous candles is reviewed.

Week 1: GREEN for FAITH - Reminds us of the faith we have that God will keep his promise to send His son (Read: Isaiah 9:2, 6-7, 40:3-5, 52:7)

Week 2: BLUE for HOPE - Reminds us of the hope we have that Christ will come again to bring new joy into our lives & that we may recognize that he is already among us (Read: Luke 1:1-31)

Week 3: GOLD for LOVE - We remember the words “God so loved the World that He gave His only Son” (Read: Luke From the Annunciation 1:26-38)

Week 4: WHITE for PEACE - Reminds us of the message to the shepherds “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men”. (Read: Luke 2:1-18)

Week 5: PURPLE for REPENTANCE - Reminds us that we need to repent before we can meet the coming Christ. St. John the Forerunner (John the Baptist) calls out “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” (Read: Mark 1: 1-8, 14-15)

Week 6: RED for HOLY COMMUNION - Reminds us that Christ, who came to Bethlehem and who will come again at the end of time, comes to us now in the great Sacrament of His Presence, the Eucharist. The reason He was born in Bethlehem was that we might allow Him to come and be born in the manger of our hearts. (Read: John 1:1-18; 6:52-58)

7th Sunday of Advent: WHITE Paschal Candle Representing CHRIST is lit. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given and His name shall be called Wonderful” (Read: Luke 2: 1-7)

Prayer

Rejoice, O faithful, and make ready for the feast of the birth of Christ
The King of Kings comes to live with His servants.
Behold, a most wonderful mystery: the cave will become a heaven;
the manger a room where Christ the Savior will be laid in swaddling clothes.
Come people slow of heart, and cast away the veil of sin that lies upon your heart;
recognize the Maker Who comes to dwell among us.
Let us make ready to praise Him and say:
Blessed are You, O Lord, God of our fathers,
Who is born of a virgin!
Praised and Glorified is Your name Forever!
Amen.

I’m sure you’ve heard that Advent & Christmas are for children… I do a lot of celebrating with my children during Advent (here are some photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/19337958@N02/sets/72157622747594301/ ), including:
Jesse Tree:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19337958@N02/3074239071/
Simple homemade advent calendar that turns into a kid friendly Nativity scene:
http://nestfullofeggs.blogspot.com/2009/11/day-19-repurposing-jar.html
Saint Nicholas Day:
http://nestfullofeggs.blogspot.com/2010/12/saint-nicholas-day.html
Saint Lucia wreath centerpiece:
http://nestfullofeggs.blogspot.com/2010/12/st-lucia-crownwreath-centerpiece.html
Saint Lucia program:
http://nestfullofeggs.blogspot.com/2010/12/st-lucia-program.html
Saint Lucia smorgasbord:
http://nestfullofeggs.blogspot.com/2010/12/st-lucia-smorgasbord.html
Saint Lucia books:
http://nestfullofeggs.blogspot.com/2010/12/scandinavian-books.html
It really is a lovely time of year, even though it is very busy

I have little computer time left, but here our our Advent traditions:

1) Jesse tree
2) Advent calendar
3) out to the forest to cut down our tree (and we live in the desert!)
4) preparing the manger for baby Jesus.  We begin with an empty manger, and next to it is a basket of straw.  Whenever one of the kids do something charitable, they add a piece of straw to baby Jesus’ bed.  By Christmas, He has a nice, soft bed.
5) Nativity scene (a nice one to look at, and a plastic one to play with)
6) A “gratitude” chain.  This is one I made up, so perhaps it is a new idea to you.  I cut a LOT of strips of construction paper, and place then in a basket on the dining room table.  Each night, everyone takes a slip of paper and rights on it something from the day that they are thankful for (or has mommy or daddy do it for them).  We then make a paper chain with them.  Come Christmas, we have a great decoration for the tree!
7) Path to the Nativity poster.  Another one I made up.  I copied and colored a picture of the nativity scene and glued it to the top of a poster board.  I then drew a winding path up to the nativity, with 28 steps along the way.  Each step has something written on it which every one is able to do (“pray for our parish priest”, “give an extra hug today”, etc.)  As God is showing us His love for us on Christmas, I really try to focus on charity during Advent.
8) And, of course, the wreath.  We read pertinent Scripture passages each night.

One thing we do with our Christmas cards, which begin arriving during Advent, is keep them in a small basket on our dining room table.  Each day, we choose one card and pray for the sender at each meal that day.  We include Christmas cards, birthday cards, newsletters from organizations we support, etc.  (I am then able to easily throw the cards away, knowing they have served a meaningful purpose).

We put up our Christmas tree in the beginning of Advent, but do not fully decorate it until Christmas Eve.  We put the lights and purple ribbon on the tree during Advent. On the 3rd Sunday of Advent we put a few ornaments on with the purple ribbon- usually ones we have begun to receive as a gift or the kids made in school. 
It really adds to the anticipation of Christmas, and is a visual reminder that Advent is a time to prepare our hearts, minds, and home for the birth of Christ.

Families should be sure to have a nativity scene that the little ones can play with. Like “A Little People Christmas”. 

My children love putting pieces of hay in a manger for baby Jesus when they make a sacrifice.

And we try to offer up something as a family besides individually.