The idea of Tradition has continued to bounce around in my head. I’ve been mulling and inquiring about the traditions of those around me. One popular family tradition is the Advent Calendar. The only time we ever had an Advent Calendar in my youth was the year we had an exchange student from Germany. His parents mailed one over and we hung it up. Each day we open the package, treat or small gift. It was fun sharing the traditions of our student.
I was pursuing one of the blogs I frequent when I ran across this post: http://www.creaturecomfortsblog.com/home/2011/11/29/advent-calendar-roundup-19-great-ideas.html
It displayed such a variety of creative ideas for advent calendars. I was struck with inspiration! There was a vision of glittered animals dancing in my head! This is it! One tradition we are going to add next year! But….
….I was struck with the idea of a Reverse Advent Calendar. Instead of opening a small gift for ourselves, we’ll open an idea, suggestion or gift that we can share with someone else! I’ve listed a couple of ideas below. Please add any ideas or suggestions you may have! Giving, the best way to celebrate the holiday season!
* Donate all unused coats in a coat drive
* Make cookies or bread for a neighbor
* Buy the coffee of the person behind me
* Give a scarf to someone who doesn’t have one
* Make an ornament to give away
* Send a card to a friend or a stranger
* Volunteer!
* Drop of photo gift packages at the local police or firestation
* Fill a bag for Harvesters
* Make some else smile!
Great ideas! We have to be mindful to show love to the marginalized (widows, orphans, those in prison or who are ailing, etc). Holidays can be especially rough on them and their families.
Other ideas:
* Donate warm clothing and blankets to homeless shelters.
* Use Christmas cash to give micro-loans to sites Kiva.org
* Spend time and money on presence, not presents.
Good Ideas! Adding to the list…=)