Family Advent Nights

Posted by on Dec 1, 2014 in Dadhood | No Comments

Christmas is right around the corner, and this is a season that seems especially designed for dads!

The opportunities abound to spend some quality time with your kids. Let me give you a few examples.

The day after Thanksgiving is our family’s tradition of decorating the house for Christmas. Our kids are getting older, and as a result are becoming more and more involved in that process. Right in the middle of that busy and cluttered day, my wife had to run and meet someone. She took a couple of the kids with her to help her out, leaving the rest with me. While the younger kids watched a movie, my oldest daughter and I decorated the downstairs. That was great opportunity to spend time with her.

We finished the day by watching It’s A Wonderful Life together as a family. It was a great day!

We also got a new dog, a boxer, that day. The next morning, my son and I took her for a walk. It was kind of cold, but we had a good time together, walking the dogs, and visiting about the Christmas season.

And, the next month will offer numerous opportunities to share moments like those.

One of the things we do every year is develop a series of Family Advent Nights. These nights have several elements, and we vary them a bit to mix things up each year. Over the next few weeks, I want to share with you some of the things we do, and the tools and resources we use to make our Family Advent Nights a success.

Each year, the kids are excited about the season. Part of the fun is decorating the house the day after Thanksgiving. Part of the fun is Christmas morning itself. But each of the kids look forward to those days in between the most. And they enjoy every minute of it.

Here are some of the elements we mix into our Family Advent Nights that I want to explain to you over the coming weeks. If any of these ideas might be a good fit for your family, feel free to take them, tweak, them, use them, and enjoy some family time together this season

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  • Advent Scriptures and Christmas storybooks
  • Crafts and snacks
  • Movies and games

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There are a lot of other great ideas that you can incorporate into your Family Advent Nights. These just happen to be a few that we love to use. Pick and choose what fits your family best. Crafts may work with younger kids, but games may be a better option for older kids. Certain movies your kids will love, others not so much. Maybe you’ll choose to go to the theater instead. Spend time together, and enjoy it.

Dads, the holiday season is upon us, and the opportunities to make it great for your family lie before you. Grab them and enjoy those moments to the fullest!

Be deliberate, Dad!

Have you ever considered developing a series of Family Advent Nights? What do you do? You can leave your thoughts in the comments by clicking here.