Saving Photo Christmas Cards

I love the photo Christmas (and New Year) cards so many people send out this time of year. And while I have no trouble tossing the generic winter- or manger-scene cards in the recycling bin at the end of the season, I like to save the photo cards that so encapsulate the year and changing lives of friends and family. For the past seven years, I've saved those cards as part of my Christmas scrapbooking, showcasing them alongside our own family Christmas card for the year.

I've done it in several ways, so allow me to share a few possibilities!

The first couple times, I simply made a collage-type scrapbook page using the photos from some of the photo cards we received—not all, I don't think, though it's probably most of them, since photo cards weren't quite as common in the mid-oughts as they are now :0)

Another approach is to build a pocket into the scrapbook page. Our card and a headline are front and center, but a pasted-in pocket (an actual envelope, in one case) holds all the other photo cards, accessible through the top of the page protector.

 

A new approach was in order once we started doing two-sided cards on nice cardstock. For the past few years then, I've done a separate page protector (cut down to size and sealed) for our family's card, so that front and back can be viewed easily.  The other cards are in a page protector of their own with tie closure embellishment (string between two brads) to keep it closed.

Last year, I made the pockets for all and for ours out of the same page protector, running it through the sewing machine to seal off our card at the bottom and doing the tie-closure again at the top. The downside of that design is that only one friend/family card is very visible on the front and one on the back, because the pocket is so small. Typically, I like to flare the cards out some, with favorites near the top so I can see several even without opening the pocket.

This year, I was less crafty about it and just purchased a pack of Project Life envelope pages. I added a little embellishment at the top, but otherwise let the nice plastic envelope do its job. It has a nice 4x6 pocket on the front for a journaling card to explain the envelope's contents, but I left it empty to let the cards inside speak for themselves. (And I look forward to using the other two envelopes in the pack for Kate's schoolwork and other big items to save!)

I made a simple cut-down page protector for our own card.

I love looking back at our own family's cards through the years, and last year I crafted a decoration to let me and any guests to our home see the progression of our family through those cards, from our marriage to pregnancy, one child to two, and so on. Burlap, a wide sparkly ribbon, and a bunch of paper clips with scraps of ribbon on each one were all it took.

I hope these ideas prompt you to get creative in saving those photo cards from family and friends, and in the words of our card this year, we are WISHING YOU PEACE, LOVE, AND JOY this season and always.

Advent Inspiration

Having edited books, a magazine, and a website, I've learned the quirks of the timelines of each media type.

When I edited Ministry Matters, we had to be useful to pastors in their planning for various seasons and events of the church year. So, we kicked off our Advent content with a "Christmas in July" week to help pastors planning their sermons, worship, and outreach efforts for the following November and December.

When I edited Circuit Rider, a quarterly magazine for United Methodist leaders, each issue went to prepress about 6-8 weeks before it arrived in mailboxes, and work on the issue began months before that. So, the issue pastors might read as Advent draws close was on my brain way back in the spring.

Book publishing takes a lot longer. This is surprising for a lot of first time authors, I find. They spend six months or a year (or more, depending on the book) working on a book and are disheartened to hear that it will likely be almost another year before it hits the bookshelves (or the preorders are finally shipped, as the case may be in this online age). So with 9-12 months' gap between manuscript and release, I was working on Advent books way back in . . . the previous Advent!

Yes, this long timeline actually worked out nicely in that last year I had the pleasure of working on Advent books actually DURING Advent! Rather than the dissociative state of writing "plan your summer mission trip" at Christmastime, I got to sit by the tree as I edited, wrote, and compiled essays, prayers, and biblical reflections about incarnation, messianic hopes, preparing for Jesus' coming, and the kingdom of God.

It was a special thing, and now (a year later) I get to share those amazing Advent books with YOU to inspire you THIS Advent . . . which starts in only ten days--whoops!--better order fast!

Every Valley: Advent with the Scriptures of Handel's Messiah

If you love Handel's Messiah, love Christmas music, or love anybody who's into sacred music, this book is a gem. It has forty reflections (good, theological stuff--not just fluff) exploring the scriptures that make up the libretto of Handel's Messiah. From "Comfort ye, comfort ye" (Isaiah 40:1-5) to "Amen" (Revelation 5:14) and every "behold" and "hallelujah" along the way, these essays from a variety of pastors and theologians dig into the meaning behind every Bible passage in the oratorio. Good for a daily Advent devotional, reading by the tree, or gifting to your favorite choir director.

Feasting on the Word Advent Companion

This one is for the pastor in your life (or, knowing a lot of our friends, YOU!) Part of WJK's popular "Feasting on the Word" line of preaching and worship resources, this one offers ideas and tools for Advent and Christmas. Planned thematically (not by the lectionary) this book includes sermon-prep Bible commentaries and complete worship services for the four Sundays of Advent, four midweek services, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

It's a bit late to use for this year's Advent (unless you're a last-minute kind of guy or gal) but maybe for next year. Plus, there is also a Feasting on the Word Lenten Companion for your Lent and Easter planning!

Fighting the Battle against STUFF this Christmas

I often feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of STUFF in our house. For at least five years (my memory of life before kids is hazy) I have declared myself to be fighting a battle against all the stuff in my house. I confess, I usually call it the "War on Crap." But that sounds a little crass. Either way, by "stuff" or "crap," I'm not meaning to insult the quality of objects filling my house, much of which has been gifted to us—and increasingly, to our kids—by kind, generous, thoughtful people.

"Stuff" is the excess, the clutter, the unneeded and often unused things that fill our homes. Stuff doesn't just take up space, but energy as well as we maintain an increasingly cluttered space.

Judging from the number of articles I see to this effect on Facebook these days, and the response when I share them, I know I'm not alone. A lot of parents of young children feel this way. Kids aren't great at picking up after themselves, parents tire of picking up after them, and generous people are always eager to add to the collection of toys and other things, especially at Christmas. I've seen articles from the angle of how to purge the stuff once you have it, and I try to thin the herd as I can, but it's hard for me to part with things a loved one gave so kindly, and I'd rather find ways to free ourselves from the excess and consumerism in the first place, rather than enabling a "revolving door of stuff."

As one other mom asked me when I shared one such article, "how do you tell these generous people to dial it back a bit, without hurting their feelings?" I don't have a great answer. The time I've spent trying to get every word of this post right shows what a touchy issue it can be.

First rule of thumb, I don't say anything to the people outside our family (except on birthday invitations, when I've started saying "no gifts please"). I do tell my kids' grandmothers over and over how much the kids have already and how hard it is to keep the house neat with so much stuff, etc., but I also know how the giving of gifts is special for the giver as well as the receiver. So while I say, "Don't get them anything; they have enough!!" I know that is not realistic and that I need to make some reasonable suggestions.

Rather, I think suggesting alternatives to stuff-gifts is a good way to introduce new ways of gift-giving that kids love, parents can appreciate, and (in some cases) the giver can enjoy alongside the child. Things that won't wind up scattered all over the floor of their room—and every other room! Or, at the very least, bring a fun twist to things we need anyway.

So here is my list of non-stuff gifts one might consider this Christmas.

Experience Gifts

• passes to go roller skating or ice skating
• tickets to a kid-friendly concert, play, or sporting event
• restaurant date to a fun place like Rainforest Café or even a fast food place with a playground
• movie date with a big tub of popcorn
• gift card for an ice cream shop
• visit to a museum or science center
• registration for a season of soccer or a series of swim lessons
• subscription to ABCmouse.com or a magazine like Highlights
• ingredients for a recipe to make together
• seeds to plant and watch grow

Use-up-ables

• art supplies, bubbles, chalk
• supplies and instructions for a science experiment
• a fun food like the ingredients for s'mores or cookies the child can decorate
• stickers or temporary tattoos
• balloons
• a disposable camera
• a notebook and fun pen

Fun Necessities

• socks or tights with a fun pattern (even underwear if you're a close family member!)
• a light-up or character toothbrush
• lotion, body wash, or bubble bath
• hair accessories
• shoes or clothes
• room décor (a bulletin board, special pillow, or art for their wall)
• a cool box in which to house all their little "treasures"

And for the grown-ups...

• restaurant gift card
• gourmet food items (wine and cheese, a fancy dessert, etc.)
• free babysitting
• tickets to a concert, play, or sporting event
• mani/pedi gift card
• overnight at a hotel
• gift card for something they wouldn't ordinarily get for themselves

What do you get someone who already has too much?

Something they keep in their hearts and memories, not on their shelves.

12 Pics of Christmas

The Christmas season has been gone as long as it was here, so I guess it's about time I share some of the photos and activities of our family's celebrations. I'm limiting myself to twelve photos, though, so here are the essentials:

The Sunday before Christmas, which also happened to be Matt's parents' 40th anniversary, we took them to lunch and then went back to their house to open presents (since Christmas Eve was going to be so busy!) I typically do something memory-oriented for the girls' gifts to their grandparents—handprint mugs, a photo calendar, etc. This year, I made "memory keeper" boxes on PaperCoterie.com for the grandparents to keep cards, photos, and artwork from the grandkids.

 Christmas Eve, as expected, was jam packed, starting with our noon service at church, done in the style of our Sunday evening casual service, The Road. We offered kid activities so little ones could stay in the service. I printed manger coloring sheets (outline of the stable and star) for kids to color and add their nativity scene. And so the kids could have "candles" for the singing of Silent Night, I had supplies to help them wrap a glow stick in white paper and add an orange tissue "flame."

After that service, we went over to Granna and Opa's again for a light mid-afternoon meal and visiting with Matt's aunt and uncle, who were there as well. Love this pic of my girlies in their Christmas finery.

 

And this one of the whole family, including BGC. Kate determined that anyone not wearing red on Christmas Eve was on Santa's naughty list. Sadly, this meant that the only one on the naughty list was Uncle Gary, whose birthday we were also celebrating. What a way to treat the birthday boy, Kate! (Maybe Gary feels like I did on my sweet sixteen, when I decided on a pink theme instead of the usual red, white, and blue for my July 4th birthday!)

From there we went to a nearby nursing home where both of Matt's grandmothers reside, to visit with them a bit. They are both quite elderly and can't get out to join family celebrations elsewhere. I always think about how, when Matt and I got engaged, we both had three living grandparents. Then I lost one a few months before our wedding, and the other two just months apart in 2010. Matt still had his three until his grandfather died on our anniversary this past October. It was good to see the grandmothers this Christmas.

Then, it was back to church for the evening Christmas Eve service. Since the day had been so crazy and I'd had the girls to wrangle during the noon service, I cherished the opportunity to sit and celebrate the Incarnation with some presence of mind. Then we headed home to read "The Night Before Christmas" and set out milk and cookies!

 

We enjoyed Christmas morning with just our nuclear family, opening stockings and gifts, eating our traditional egg casserole and singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. (And by nuclear, I do mean nuclear, as BGC is a super-late sleeper and missed the morning festivities!) We got a Kindle Fire for the family.

After BGC got up, she got her own little present party, with gifts both from us and from an "angel tree" sort of volunteer gift giver DCS recruits. Kate and Claire loved helping BGC with her presents. We saved some for her to open when my parents arrived later, but then she was napping, so she missed it and had another private present party!

 

After getting dressed (the kids all in new outfits they'd been gifted) we went to the hospital to visit a church member. We hated that he had to spend Christmas in a hospital bed, and felt bad for the nurses that had to work, so we picked up doughnuts on the way to spread some cheer!

When we returned in the early afternoon, my parents arrived for their visit! We opened more presents, hung out and played, and enjoyed a nice dinner.

 

My parents stayed a few days, during which we saw a movie ("Saving Mr. Banks"—so good!), ate out, visited the Frist art museum's Norman Rockwell exhibit (and hands-on kid area, which Claire is enjoying in the pic below), and ice skating! 

Popi entertained the little girls on the bleachers while Matt, Mom, Kate, and I skated. The girls went back to my parents' condo with them for a sleepover that night, and I enjoyed a lot of scrapbooking time on our child-free morning!

I was determined to make sure the Christmas fun didn't stop with the 25th or with grandparent visits. For one example, "after Christmas" sales at Michael's made possible some fun Christmas crafts on the cheap!

So that was our Christmas. Whew! I'm glad I didn't decide to blog 25 pics of Christmas. I noticed that this is blog post #901 on The Parsonage Family, so maybe—despite my blog-aversion of late—I can resolve to hit the big 1000 this year! Hope your 2014 is off to a good start.

7 Swans a Swimming

I feel rather delinquent in not sharing any photos of our family Christmas celebrations yet, but I am here to say—to myself as well as you—Christmas is not over yet!!

I find myself so frustrated with how quickly the world moves on from Christmas after Dec. 25. Even the Christian radio station stopped playing Christmas music at 5 pm on the 25th! They couldn't even wait until midnight?! Dec. 25 is just the beginning, the first day of Christmas. We could be enjoying twelve days, people! (Count them: Dec. 25 to Jan. 5; Jan. 6 is Epiphany, the start of the next season in the church year.)

I wrote a post about this several years ago called "Christmas Is the New Advent," saying essentially that the twelve days of Christmas are actually a better time for reflection and celebration of Emmanuel, God with us, precisely because most of society has already moved on. Without the pressure of "getting ready" for Christmas, buying and wrapping and baking and all (all of which I love), now is the best time to simply enjoy the season and think about what it means for Christ to have come as an infant, even when the festivities are done and we're back to the old grind of work and school.

Like so many families, we have our practices during Advent to help the kids (and us) to countdown and prepare for Christmas—Advent calendars, nativity scenes, keeping the baby Jesus figurine out of the manger until Christmas Eve, etc.—but how do we help the kids celebrate Christmas even after all the gifts are opened?

I started by telling the kids about the twelve days of Christmas, singing the song to introduce the concept and then announcing each day what day of Christmas it is. (Today is the Seventh Day of Christmas!) Kate has been keeping track even better than we have! Then, I transformed our Advent wreath into a Christmas wreath. Well, we just had a plate this year, no greenery, but in any case, out went the four purple candles and in went twelve tea lights. We light the Christ candle that was first lit on Christmas Eve to symbolize Christ's presence with us, and then light the appropriate number of tea lights.

Last year, we had a Twelfth Day of Christmas party to take down our decorations, drag out the tree, and demolish our gingerbread house. It's a fun way to mark the changing of the seasons, having carried our celebration of Jesus' birth beyond the gifts and big meals, back into everyday life.

Christmas Traditions

I can't believe it's December 20th, already. The season is flying by, but we've been having a lot of holiday fun. Our favorite things are some of the same things we do every year.

A few of our traditions:

Making a gingerbread house

The girls go bake cookies with Granna, too. This year, they combined it with a slumber party at Granna and Opa's, so Matt and I had a nice date night!

Kate's preschool Christmas program is special every year too. The pre-K kids have the biggest part, with costumes. Kate was an angel, and any time a song mentioned an angel, she pointed to herself excitedly :)

One of my personal favorites: our annual jammies Christmas light drive!

We did it last night, and always have to visit "the crazy house," the most decorated house around!

Another thing we've been doing in recent years is having friends over for dinner a few days before Christmas. It's fun to share such a family-oriented holiday with friends as well, so tonight's the night for that! I better press "post" so I can get cooking. They'll be here in 50 minutes!

Decking the Halls

I'm linking up today with Kelly Stamps' Holiday Home Tour, and looking back at my post for that link-up two years ago, I see what a creature of habit I am. So many things are in exactly the same place! I've changed a few things, and some things I changed last year, but now they're just like the before that!

In any case, welcome to our lovely abode, all decked out for the holidays.

Lots of nativities around the hearth--advent calendars, play nativity, and the shiny metal one on the mantle.

There are still a few gifts to arrive, but I've wrapped what we have. I love to wrap gifts!

I did the dining room table differently this year, with a tray I found at a thrift store, filled with candles, ornaments, angels, and greenery, and ornaments hanging from beads on the light fixture.

A simpler Advent wreath on the kitchen table this year (since I hung the actual wreath above the mantle!)

stairway

My favorite holly jollies: the kiddos, decorating our gingerbread house!

Welcome to any visitors, and Merry Christmas!

Catch-Up: Advent Begins!

Playing blog-catch-up once again, let me tell you a little about our early December activities. I'm a stickler for holding off until after Thanksgiving to listen to Christmas music or decorate, but by that weekend, I jump in with both feet. Though we value Advent as a liturgical season, and as such, should maybe keep things more austere until the actual Christmas season (Dec. 25-Jan. 5) I consider getting ready for Christmas in the popular sense to be part of Advent expectation. We're getting ready for and getting excited about Jesus' birthday party, as I tell the girls.

So, since Dec. 1, we've . . .

gotten our tree (Kate had fun running between all the trees on the lot)

decorated the tree and the rest of the house

Matt and Kate baked a Derby pie with some pecans a church member gifted him

I made a list of fun stuff I want to do between now and Jan. 5
(I definitely don't want the fun to end on Dec. 25!)

We let the girls stay up to watch the "Sound of Music LIVE" on TV.
Kate has watched it several times OnDemand since then!

We celebrated St. Nicholas Day on Dec. 6 with pancakes in the shape of Santa hats and stockings, and talked about the real St. Nick.

St. Nick brought Christmas pjs for the girls and a Phantom of the Opera ornament for Kate, who is obsessed with the show right now. It plays "Think of Me," which she loves to sing.

St. Nick also brought light-up necklaces!

We went to Breakfast with Santa with Granna and Opa and saw St. Nick
and got fun balloon creations!

Pretty BGC with her Christmas dress on

We decorated our gingerbread house the other night

The church choir has been getting ready for our cantata
(this pic was taken during worship last Sunday)

I kept the nursery, and led Kate and the two kindergarteners in a Merry Christmas acrostic, coming up with words starting with each letter that have to do with Christmas. The girls' list included things like "angels" and "sausage balls," and "elephant," since they couldn't come up with a Christmas word for E.

What's something fun your family has been up to so far this season?