Celebrating Jesus

I am soo excited I don't know where to begin!!  Thanksgiving was yesterday which means it's time to bring out the Christmas music and decorations... as soon as I get back to my house that is!  In all honesty, I really wasn't that excited about Christmas.  I am a stingy scrooge and hate spending money... although I do like to give gifts. I am a people pleaser so I stress too much about people liking the gifts I get them... but that is not what this post is about!

Each year, I get overwhelmed with the materialistic nature of Christmas, and I so want to return to what Christmas is all about.  I want my kids to know the true "reason for the season!" and the importance of what God did on "Christmas" by sending His Son to earth for us, for ME, for YOU!!

Last year, I discovered this post on Advent with the Jesus Storybook Bible... which we already have and love. So I attempted it.  We actually did most of it, although quite a few nights we had to read a couple of stories to catch up. Last year, I also printed out Jesse Tree ornaments... and they sat in the drawer for the whole month of December, so I am not sure what makes me think that I can do THIS, but I am going to give it a go!!

One of the great blogs I read is Impress Your Kids.  It gives lots of good ideas for kids crafts, using them to teach your kids about the Bible!! Today is the release date of her new ebook, Truth in the Tinsel! The regular price is $4.99, but you can buy it today, Black Friday for $2.99!!  I was so excited to get a pre-release copy to review!  I have been looking through it on and off for the last week, getting more and more excited about giving it a go with my kids this year!  I know that it will mean so much to them!

What is giving me the most freedom is the alternate schedules. I have 4 kids, so I think we might try the one where we do a few days together and the kids can each do a different ornament.  This also helps me because it is almost guaranteed that I will not do this every day!

There is also a GREAT full supply list. It is perfectly detailed for someone like me.  And she also provides the list by day, so I know which supplies I need the first week to get started.  and then there is this sentence ... "Many of these items are interchangeable."  because I will be interchanging items!! :)

I want to tell you EVERYTHING about this great ebook, but I am telling you that you should go check it out for yourself.  Your kids will thank you! :)  Be sure to join the Truth in the Tinsel Facebook page, where Amanda will be providing challenges and encouragement throughout the advent season.  You can also post pictures of your kids working on the ornaments!!  So fun!

Tell me what you do for the Advent season, or let me know if you are participating in the Truth in the Tinsel experience!

PS. for a brief moment, I really considered getting the Star Wars Lego Advent Calendar... If I did that, I could probably even get my hubby to participate! :)

PPS. The CSI Project is all things Advent calendars this week, so even though this isn't my work, I am linking this up so more people can hear about Truth in the Tinsel!



disclosure: IF I did it right, some of the links in this post are affiliate links...