Day 4 Christmas Countdown 2022

Here we are on the second Sunday of Advent. I feel that this month of December, as well as the eleven months leading up to it fly faster every year. 

As a child, it seemed that time moved more slowly. School activities and church events, plus all the baking and wrapping and such at home filled the days and made them special. 

When I think of celebrating an actual Advent, I know we had the big candles and readings on Sunday, but I don’t think we ever did that at home. 

My mom did do a countdown that was 100% her crafty creativity. She made 25 small construction paper works of art. There was a candle and holly, a Santa face and a star, a wreath with berries from the paper punch glued around the edges, a tiny wrapped present with ribbon were among the ones I picture in my mind. The last one was a miniature letter to Santa she had penned. 

She would scotch tape them under one of our cabinets in the kitchen and each morning we got to move one to a different cabinet. My sister and I had to take turns, but once she left home I was able to move them myself. 

My mom kept them in an envelope in her desk and pulled them out every year. 

She also made our Christmas cards every year. Yes, out of construction paper. And she sent a ton. She would have us all dress for a picture months before that went with her theme and then she would set to work with her piles of paper and scissors and rubber cement. 

She worked diligently at our dining room table in the evenings putting her cards together and believe me, people really appreciated them. I have a small collection of them saved somewhere in this house of boxed memories, but couldn’t put my hands on them to share a photo.

I am thankful for my mom more each year. I see how she instilled in me the importance of being creative and of staying connected with people. She would never have said she was artistic but she was indeed.

We all are.

We all have creative ways that we do things.

God is Creative and He made us in His image.

So as you sit and look at your tree or the way you put a centerpiece on the table or fixed a fancy cookie or whatever your thing is, I hope you let the joy rise upward in thanks to the One who made you and loves you so very much <3