The Meaning of Advent

Advent is the four-week period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is a season celebrated by Christians of all denominations. Advent prepares our hearts of a time of worship on Christmas day.

Advent is a time of remembrance and internal reflection about how we view Christmas in our hearts. The love God showed towards us is the love He wants us to share at Christmastime and the whole year round.

Advent means “the coming.” It is a time when we look forward to and anticipate the celebration of the Christmas season. During Advent season, we are given insight into the giving of God’s most precious gift to human beings, Jesus Christ. Advent can be celebrated at church and also in the home for a ceremony that just involves the family.

Advent season involves the lighting of candles in a wreath. The Advent candles can sit in a candleholder specifically designed to hold the five Advent candles or can be put into votive candleholders surrounded by a green garland wreath symbolizing the season.

Advent candelabras and wreaths range from the very expensive (used in large churches) to the affordable ones used in home celebrations. A family can construct their own Advent centerpiece so that it has the personal touch. The Advent candle setup is placed in a prominent spot in the room so that it can be a constant reminder of the miraculous birth we celebrate on Christmas Day.

Starting with the first Sunday of Advent, one candle is lit each Sunday representing the four virtues of the season: Faith, Joy, Hope, and Love. Different Christian publications list each virtue in a different order.

There are four main candles for Advent: Three blue or deep purple candles and one pink candle. The Advent portion of service usually involves a litany, a song, and the lighting of the candle. Parishioners are welcome to do additional readings on each virtue through the week to get ready for the following Sunday.

Advent can be celebrated at home also. Each night families can light the candle for that week’s virtue, read a scripture and say a prayer. Advent celebrations open up discussion between parents and kids about the real meaning of Christmas and the significance of Christ’s birth.

The last candle is usually the largest it is the white candle that fits in the center of all the others. It is called the Christ candle and is lit on Christmas Day. Some churches hold special services on Christmas and some do not. Everyone can light the final candle in their own homes as a celebration for the culmination of the Advent season.

This year make your Christmas season even more special with an observance of Advent.

P.S. Don't forget to make the memories last. Take plenty of photographs with your Canon Digital Rebel XSi

Classic Christmas Television Shows for Kids

Who says there's nothing valuable on television anymore? Some of the best shows come on regular TV and cable. With the holidays coming upon us and everyone getting ready for decorations and festivities, there's nothing like watching some of these Christmas classics with the kids to help get into the holiday mood.

Check your local guide for days and times. Here's a few to keep an eye out for.

• A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) – Poor old Chuck, no one has invited him to any Christmas parties. But his luck seems to be changing when he is chosen director of the Christmas play. That is, until Lucy decides to offer him her expert advice.
• Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) – Narrated by Boris Karloff, a legendary horror movie icon, this is the story about The Grinch and how he hates Christmas. He despises the fact that the Whos down in Whoville enjoy Christmas and plots on how to ruin the holiday for everyone.
• ‘Twas the Night before Christmas (1974) – Based on the poem by Clement C. Moore, the children in a small town end up on Santa’s naughty list when someone begins sending hate mail to Santa. It is up to the town’s clockmaker, Joshua Trundle to fix the situation.
• Mickey’s Once upon a Christmas (1999) – Several short stories about the Christmas holiday involving many of Disney's characters. Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Donald, and their three pesky nephews (Huey, Dewey, and Louie), and Goofy.
• Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) –The classic Christmas story by Charles Dickens portrayed by the Disney characters. Mickey plays Bob Cratchet to Scrooge McDuck’s Ebenezer Scrooge.
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) – Our favorite reindeer is back again with his friends Yukon Cornelius and Hermie, the elf. Rudolph proves that being different is not a curse, but a blessing.
• Frosty the Snowman (1969) – Who is the fastest belly flopper in the world? It’s Frosty of course. A group of school children bring their snowman to life with the help of a magician’s hat.

So, pull up a chair and a bowl of popcorn to watch these fun family favorites with your kids during the month of December. Sometimes they are repeated so if you miss the first one, you can catch the second airing, or watch them twice.

Christmas Gift Exchange Ideas

With rising costs and growing families, the commercialization of Christmas can get your shopping lists out of hand in a heartbeat. One way to help fray the costs is with the Secret Santa Gift Exchange.

Name swapping is a great way to both keep the spirit of giving alive and cut down on the expenses. The main idea behind it is that you place the names of everyone who's participating into a bowl and each person draws a name out of the bowl. If you draw your own name you need to draw again.

You can do this for families, for the gang down at the office, your Sunday School class, or for whatever group you want.

Each person then buys a gift for the person whose name they drew out of the bowl. As with all activities, there are a few guidelines that everyone needs to follow. This helps everyone get something they like and no one has to go broke.

• Propose the Secret Santa gift exchange before Thanksgiving so people have time to make up their minds about doing it. Everyone who wants to participate has the chance to sign up.
• Set clear guidelines for the gift exchange. Some examples are setting a limit on the amount that can be spent, both a high price and a low price. This is very important, as it will help make sure that the gifts stay on the same level.
• Some people will shop at a dollar store and others will buy a much more expensive gift. If you've set some limits then no one feels "cheated". A limit of around twenty dollars for the office is not unreasonable and for families the amount can be higher.
• Have each person make a list of three things they want for Christmas that fall into that price range. Your Secret Santa gets to decide which of those three you get. If you ask for something that's under the price limit, your Secret Santa can get you more than one thing as long as it doesn't exceed the limit.
• Set the date for doing the gift swapping. It can be when your family normally gathers for Christmas or you can set a special date for it. At the office it can be done at the Christmas party or you can pick a day that is close to Christmas where everyone will be there.

Ideas for a Christmas gift exchange don't have to be limited to the Secret Santa. You don't have to keep the names a secret for example. See what other ideas you can come up with. Another example is having everyone make a gift from a specific list of things.

Get creative and have a wonderful Christmas.

P.S. Capture these memories with a digital camera. Try the Canon Digital Rebel Xsi.

Christmas Party Games

Many gatherings around Christmas, whether it's a family Christmas morning or your office's Christmas party usually has plenty of food, fellowship, and is an enjoyable event for all. But do you have games?

Christmas party games are great not only for getting a little friendly competition going, but also can help people grow a little closer. There's nothing like fun to help break down the walls we put up.

Choose games that will work for adults and some to include the kids (if there's going to be any there). Some games can work for both. Here's a few to get you going.

Adult Christmas Games

Grinch – The object is to end up holding on to the gift you want. Everyone brings a wrapped gift and puts it into a designated area. It's best if they are all in the same price range.

Everybody draws a number from a hat or a bowl. When it's your turn, you can either take a present and open it, or you can take a present from someone else. If you take a wrapped present, you must open it.

The first person to go gets a chance to either keep the gift they have or to take a gift from one of the other players once the last player has had their turn.

The reason this game is for the adults and not for everyone is that in all the years my family has played it, young children don't quite understand that having their gift taken away is part of the game. Nothing puts a damper on a party faster than trying to console a crying child because their present was taken away.

White Elephant Variation - Instead of regular gifts, everyone should bring a gag gift.

Christmas Trivia Games

Group Trivia – Who knows the most about people in the group? Everyone writes down one true thing that happened to him or her and gives it to the person in charge of the game.

The person in charge reads one of the entries and everyone writes down who they think it is. The one with the most correct answer wins.

Name that Christmas Carol – Read, sing, or play a line or two from a Christmas carol. The contestant (or victim as the case may be) must correctly come up with the next line of the song. Start off with well-known carols and progress to harder ones.

Timed Guessing Games – You must come up with the most answers in a certain time frame. Make the time long enough for people to have a chance, but not so long that they sit there bored while waiting for the timer to run out.

Things you can do are naming as many Christmas carols as you can. Name all the gifts in the song 'The 12 Days Of Christmas'. Take a word and rearrange the letters to make as many words from them as you can.

Charades – What's a party without Charades? A person silently acts out the topic and everyone else tries to guess what it is. All of the topics have to relate to Christmas. This can include a cartoon, movie, book, song, or event. If you divide up into teams then the team with the most number of correct answers wins.

Enjoy the fun, laughter and memories that will be made! These are a few of the great Christmas games you can do to keep your guests in stitches this holiday season.

P.S. Some of these games are great for capturing on video and showing later on, especially if these were family gatherings. Use the Canon ZR 500 or the Flip UltraHD Camcorder to capture these moment forever.

Christmas Party Tips

If you want to host the Christmas Party of the century then you are going to need to start planning as soon as possible. Don't wait until the week before to plan what you are going to do.

Remember how busy people get the closer it gets to Christmas? You'll want to send out your invitations early. This way, people have plenty of time to schedule their other activities around your party.

Who to invite? Anyone you want. Friends and family are usually the first picks, but you can also invite neighbors, coworkers, fellow church members, or anyone else you think would enjoy coming. If you feel really generous, invite the scrooge you know and maybe they'll catch the Christmas Spirit.

Here's a few things to speed you on your way:

1. Do your planning now. What games will you have? Are you serving finger foods or a catered meal? Is the dress casual, dressy or to a theme? Will there be recorded music or a DJ to play requests? Is this a party with alcohol or non-alcoholic beverages? Are kids invited? What is the capacity of your home? All of these questions will get you started on the planning.
2. Try to have your party on a Saturday afternoon a week or so before Christmas. As Christmas approaches, other people's time (and yours as well) become busier.
3. Get your invitations ready. You can get programs for your computer that will print up cards, or you can have a print shop do it. You can always create your invitations by buying a stack of blank cards.
4. You'll want to send your cards out no later than right after Thanksgiving. Essentials for invitations include the party theme (if you have one), a menu (if catered), the address and time frame. It's not unusual to put an ending time as well as a starting time. Most importantly is to ask for their R.S.V.P.
5. If you are going to have catering, then the responses to your invitations are important. You’ll need an accurate headcount for ordering. If everyone has not responded by the second week in December, call the non-committed invitees and ask for a response.
6. Buy your decorations. Be festive, this is a party, so your home needs to look the part. If your party has a them then you'll want to decorate according to the theme.
7. Many Christmas parties are for adults only. If this is the case with your party, be sure to have included that in the invitation. If children are welcomed then you can decide if the parents will be responsible for looking after the kids or you could have someone provide child care and activities for the youngsters.
8. It's a good idea to move your breakables out of the party zone, especially if there's going to be games. Something is bound to get knocked over or knocked off and break. If there is a bar, offer to drive your guests home if they get inebriated. No one wants their friends to drive drunk and hurt themselves or someone else.
9. If you are serving the food, then try to have as much done ahead of time as possible. This will reduce the amount of stress caused by getting everything set up.
10. Set your house up early that day so that you have time to dress before the caterers arrive (if it's catered) or before the food is ready. Have a list of games and supplies ready beforehand to play at the party.
11. Capture the event forever. Use a digital camera like the Canon Rebel XSi
    

Christmas parties can be so much fun. Make yours a party to remember and more importantly one you as the host can enjoy without stressing over every single detail.