Don't Despair that Advent is Near!

Advent begins tomorrow and the blogs are all abuzz with the books they're going to read and the fun they're going to have. I posted our Advent chain earlier this year and updated it today to fix the day it cut off Mary's name. It's purposely simple and written with the family of young children in mind. Or you could just light a candle at dinner during Advent. Little ones adore candles and you probably have a few hidden away in drawers or cupboards. Light them! (Actually, First Son was terrified of candles, so he was five or six before we dared to light any in his presence, but I think he's the exception.)

We'll be reading a picture-book-a-day again, like many others. I love this tradition and spent a few hours yesterday selecting our books. This is what happens when you've spent four years collecting Christmas and Advent books. I had to struggle not to find books for each day but to choose only a few! I used to have more than one on some days and to fill the days between Christmas and Epiphany, but have learned that less is better. It's easier for Mama and the children are just as pleased. (The idea is to be joyfully anticipating the birth, not running frantic and yelling at the kids to be quiet while you read another book.) So we'll read one a day, have plenty of funny-and-not-too-serious books, and finish on Christmas Eve.

With that caveat, I wanted to remind you of the lists of picture books we're read in the past.

Here's a link to the Twelve Christmas Books I'd Take Into the Wilderness.

This post of the new and noteworthy books of 2012 has links to all the others.

I didn't post about our 2013 Advent books because...well, I don't know why. I've started a post combining them with our 2014 books that'll show up sometime. In the meantime, here's a sneak peak of one of my favorites from 2012.

I'm not sure about your library, but I've noticed the big library near us still has many of these books available. There's enough time to choose a handful of books from the library and snuggle on the sofa by the Christmas tree. That's all you need.

May you have a blessed Advent!