There is something so special about early mornings in the season of advent. The lighting of candles, brewing of a steaming, fragrant cup of coffee, plugging in of a lighted tree, and then to snuggle up in front of a fireplace heater, and read Come Thou Long Expected Jesus by Nancy Guthrie. This morning as I sat cuddled up, I thought about what makes our advent so special, even in a year where it looks quite a bit different than in years past. So I decided to make a list of what will shape our hearts this season - I just adore a good list, don't you?
This season, as we nestle down, and stick closer to home than years past, we have a lot to prepare our hearts, so much to be thankful for, so much more than I realized before I set down to type this up...
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - this is the first time we are reading this classic aloud and I could not be more excited about it.
"The Man Who Invented Christmas" - we watched this movie in preparation for the read-aloud. My girls have seen cartoon interpretations of the story "A Christmas Carol", but they have never been big on the spooky or ghostly. At all. So, I waited to read this classic aloud. When I saw this movie last year, I knew this would be the perfect introduction to the classic, not to mention a great connecting bridge, as we have read two biographies about Mr. Dickens in years past.
The Book of Luke. I love Luke's narration of Jesus' birth. We are reading and discussing a chapter a day.
Advent calendars with chocolates tucked inside. One of my MOST favorite memories as a kid was this chocolate countdown. I have continued it with my girls, long after they have outgrown it. 😍
We have collected quite a large collection of picture books over the years. I am a HUGE fan of picture books. I have not just used them when my girls were small, but have continued to get them, read them, revel in their beauty and artwork. There is something about a picture book that can break up a bad day, thaw an angry teenage heart, soothe a grumpy countenance of a too tired momma...in short, these little gems, are simply a necessity. My favorites? CHRISTMAS ONES!!!! Books like: The Polar Express, Mortimer's Christmas Manger, Humphrey's First Christmas, Room for a Little One, Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree, The Channukah Guest, Latkes, Latkes, Good To Eat...
Cindy Rollins', Hallelujah, A Journey Through Advent with Handel's Messiah. Love, love, love this book. We own the kindle copy of it because the year I first bought it, it was sold out and kindle was the only choice. But, if you don't own a copy, and can get one, get it in paperback/hardback. The setup for this book is SO SO much easier if you have pages to flip to and fro with.
Pandora - my Christmas station. I think Christmas music is so incredibly beautiful.
Christmas movies - I absolutely love Christmas movies - classics, cartoons, cheesy love stories, I adore them so much.
Hot Chocolates. I have blogged many, many times about my love of hot chocolate. It used to be a Starbucks treat that I looked forward to. But due to many different circumstances, I have learned to make them at home this year and I absolutely LOVE them. (I will share my recipe at the bottom of this post. I call it my recipe, but I tweaked and combined many ideas I found online, so feel free to tweak and google too 😃 )
Cinnamon sticks in my coffee. And Teddy Grahams with a mug of coffee 💕
Cookies. We love to bake this month. We have some places that will still accept treats (even during covid!) so we have gathered snowman paper plates, ingredients, and a few afternoons await us full of treats and yummies!
My jingly elf slippers and pajama pants. I get up and get dressed for the day and select a pair of festive pajama pants. I wear them to appointments, to the store, just about every place except for a church service. They make me so happy.
Homemade jewelry with Christmas charms. Elves, snowflakes, snowmen...we love to make them, wear them, and share them.
Thinking of gifts to give other people. Most of ours are usually homemade and that means almost always baked. But don't you just love giving gifts?
I wish you a beautiful season of waiting and preparing your hearts for the presence of Christ, may He reign supreme in our hearts and in our affections.
"My" Hot Chocolate Recipe
(I have highlighted and bold typed ingredients, so you can gather them before you begin)
1/4 cup of water heated
Heaping Tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder
Heaping Tablespoon of powdered sugar
combine cocoa and sugar in the water to form a sort of syrup and set aside
A shot of vanilla flavored coffee syrup
16 oz of milk whisked on the stove, or if have an espresso machine, steam and froth your milk, add in your vanilla syrup.
Pour your chocolate syrup in your mug, pour in the hot milk, saving a bit of milk to pour into the cup to get all of the chocolate out.
Heavy Whipping Cream with a smidge of powdered sugar, shake it vigorously and add it to the top of your mug of hot chocolate, sip and enjoy!!
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