Signed, Sealed, And Ready To Be Delivered

This afternoon I finally got my Christmas cards all signed and sealed, ready to be delivered out into the wild, wild world!

The journey these cards will make and the Christmas playlist that I've been obsessing over lately reminded me of a charming Christmas picture book I got for my grandchildren: The Queen's Present, by Steve Antony. 

I'm pretty much an Anglophile, even more so at Christmastime.  My happy place right now is listening to my Christmas playlist of English carols. There's just something about the Choir of King's College, Cambridge that sets a festive, yet majestic mood!

Maybe that's why I love Antony's "Queen books"! In addition to The Queen's Present, there is The Queen's Hat, The Queen's Handbag, and The Queen's Lift-off.  

My daughter had already discovered and given her kids The Queen's Hat - which is a windy tour of London, with it's fun and majestic landmarks. I think it's my favorite.

The Queen's Handbag is a wild goose chase across the UK, and The Queen's Lift-Off is a lightning tour through space! Each book features pages of famous landmarks and lots of fun-to-find details (like the butler, for example). My grandchildren pretty much have a giggle-fest when we read these books!

In the The Queen's Present, the Queen sets off on a global search to find the perfect present for her grandchildren.  Who helps her?  Father Christmas! (And of course the Queen's butler and her Corgi, who are always somewhere to be found along the way)!  There's a sweet ending, as you see what they deliver to the prince and princess.  

The Grinch Can't Cancel Christmas

For Orthodox Christians, the second Sunday of Advent is almost here (we celebrate 40 days of Advent, with six Sundays as opposed to four), so we started our journey well before Thanksgiving! 

Across the U.S. we are still in various stages of COVID and feelings regarding lockdown.  Especially here in California, where cases are up and deaths are way down, we are sadly expecting not to be allowed to gather in our homes with large extended families and friends for Thanksgiving, or in our churches for our Advent and possibly even Christmas services - even if we are healthy, wear masks, and practice physical distancing of six feet, as we've been asked to.

But even if our governor(s) make these decisions and end up cancelling Christmas services, this time of continued isolation is a good reminder that our homes are all little domestic churches, and there are so many things you can still do to make this a joyful season for your children!  

If you haven't had time in the past to make an effort for family Advent traditions at home, this is definitely the year to start! So, what can you do to help your kids enter into Advent and the Incarnation of Christ?

MAKE AN ADVENT WREATH:

Last week, I gathered candles for my six-candle Advent Wreath [Note: a seventh white candle will be placed in the middle of the wreath, to be lit on Christmas Day.] 

This is a tradition I learned from a book by Fr. Anthony Coniaris (of blessed memory), Making God Real in the Orthodox Christian Home. I highly recommend the book, which is in its 13th printing.

"The circle (wreath) is a symbol for God who is eternal. The evergreen branches symbolize eternal life, or the life of God, of which Jesus came to make us partakers. The candles represent Christ who is the light of the world. The color of each candle expresses something special that will be discussed each week of Advent as the family celebration unfolds. One candle will be lit each week by a different member of the family." 

Father Coniaris outlines a family devotion time for each of the Sundays of Advent, including Scripture readings, prayers, Christmas carols, and topics for discussion, all based upon the meaning of the candle colors. 

The basic meaning of each candle color follows, together with a brief statement for the head of the family to read when lighting the candle - you can find this adapted here if you need the Sunday Advent readings (but I highly recommend the book for great ideas all year long):

https://www.st-philip.net/files/Bulletins%20plus/Advent-Wreath.pdf .

MAKE AN ADVENT CALENDAR OF BOOKS:

Go to my Advent and Christmas Resource Page for lots of ideas of how to make your family reading time special for all 40 days of Advent (or you can simplify the idea to all 25 days of December). 

http://goodbooksforyoungsouls.blogspot.com/2012/11/advent-christmas-resource-page.html

Need Christmas book recommendations?  You'll find all mine here, 

http://goodbooksforyoungsouls.blogspot.com/2011/11/christmas-book-resource-page.html

I pray you have a blessed Advent. Stay healthy: pray, sing, exercise, breath fresh air, take your vitamins, eat right, keep washing those hands, hug your kids. And if you are high risk, health-compromised, or have been exposed to sickness, be safe and stay isolated to avoid - or avoid spreading - illness (Covid included) this holiday season.  

ADVENT IS AROUND THE CORNER...

It's coming!  As you get ready to prepare your homes, make your lists, and gather gifts in celebration of the coming of the Babe in the Manger, don't forget that most important preparation: our hearts, to welcome our Savior!

I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but planning is key!  For those of us who are Eastern Orthodox Christians, Advent begins every year on November 15 - tomorrow - as a time set aside for fasting, prayer and almsgiving.  Western Christian Traditions begin Advent a little later, with four Sundays preceding Christmas instead of six.  

I think most people in our culture, whether secular or Christian, like to somehow countdown the 25 days of December leading up to Christmas. 

Every year I share new Christmas picture books that I've collected and saved in my little trunk. Our family loved picking a book each night to read together as we lit our Advent Wreath Candles for our nightly Scripture devotional and counted down the days until Christmas.

So watch my posts for this year's Christmas book finds! 

In the meantime, please visit my Advent & Christmas Resource Page, here, (or in the sidebar of my website) to see my past recommendations of fun activities like Making An Advent Calendar of Books, Christmas Traditions Around the World, and celebrating St. Nicholas, St. Lucia, and the Twelve Days of Christmas.  

Here's my current list of Christmas Book Favorites.

click for book list

And don't forget to go to my last blog post and leave a comment with your name for a chance to win my Book Bundle Giveaway!

Click here to leave a comment for my giveaway.

Up Close and Personal With Jolly Old St. Nick

As a child, whenever I heard Clement C. Moore's "The Night Before Christmas" I recall wishing I could actually spring from my bed into the poem to join the narrator and watch the children, the sugarplums, St. Nick, and the reindeer as he described them!

Well, if that was you too, today I'd like to recommend a dreamy picture book version of this lovely old poem (written by Moore in 1822), that will take your child face to face with that "Right Jolly Old Elf".

Robert Ingpen's illustrations have a wonderfully inviting quality and a "you're there too" perspective, starting with the Mouse (who though he's not stirring, is looking right at you!)

I love the soft, warm style of Ingpen's illustrations. If you want to see more pictures from this cozy book, curl up with a cup of hot cocoa and watch this Youtube video, courtesy of Palazzo Editions, Ltd (2011)...



Robert Ingpen has illustrated other classic titles which include: Treasure Island, The Wind in the Willows, The Jungle Book, Peter Pan & Wendy, A Christmas Carol, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Secret Garden (all published by Walker Books - go here for more information).

Lunch With "Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree"

My grandson is the lucky recipient of "story lunches", which my creative daughter wholeheartedly enjoys putting together for him.  

She cuts the food into shapes, creates a scenario on his plate, and proceeds to tell him a story about the lunch.  Sometimes they're made up on the spot; other days her stories are inspired from one of his favorite picture books.



Yesterday she sent me pictures that I just had to share with you of their "Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree" story lunch.

Are you familiar with this cute Christmas picture book by Robert Barry (first published in 1963)?

"Mr. Willowby's Christmas tree

Came by special delivery.

Full and fresh and glistening green-

The biggest tree he'd ever seen." 

I can guarantee that your child will love the story, told in rhyme, about all the places rich Mr. Willowby's too-tall-treetop (chopped off by his butler) is shared around the neighborhood -- unbeknownst to him!  

The very tip top ends up in a mouse family's hole as their tiny tree...

My grandson enjoyed a fun lunch of tortilla-gouda-apple mice and a snap pea Christmas tree!

"Then at the top, if you please,

They put a star made out of cheese!"

We had a good laugh, because our tree is actually a bit tall for my living room ceiling, so I don't have a tree topper yet.  "Should I get a cheese star?" I asked my grandson.  He just laughed and said, "Nooo, Grandma!"

For more Christmas stories featuring mice, go to my past blog post "Not A Creature Was Stirring...", here.

My December giveaway ends on December 15, 2015.  Go to my last post here to enter for a chance to win one of the two books I'm offering.  Winner announced on December 16, Jane Austen's birthday!

On My December Bookshelf: Some New Additions to My Christmas Favorites Book List

I should have actually titled this: "Books Strewn Across My December Hearth".  I love collecting children's books, and I'm always excited about sharing my Christmas favorites with you!

You can read about many of the books shown above on my Christmas Book Resource Page (a page where I've listed my favorite Christmas books and my reviews. The list can be especially helpful if you want to make an Advent Calendar of Books!)  

But today I'm recommending some new favorites, that I've discovered since I made my original list.  So here they are, the...

NEWEST ADDITIONS TO MY CHRISTMAS BOOK LIST:

When It Snows
Read my post "A Snowy Book that Will Warm Your Heart" here.

Woodland Nutcracker
Read my post "SWEET FOR THE SUITE": An Award-Winning Canadian Nutcracker Story Inspired by Bears!" here.

A Christmas Carol 
Read my post "How Dickens Helped Saved Christmas", here.

Hans Brinker
Read my post "The Beautiful, Frozen World of Hans Brinker (From the Hand of Gifted Artist, Laurel Long!)",  here.

St. Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins
Mentioned in my post, "A Giveaway for St. Nicholas Day", here.










The Night Before Christmas, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
Read my review here.

Let it Snow, a Toot & Puddle story.
My Review: here.

Little Grey Rabbit's Christmas (reminds me of Peter Rabbit!)
Read my review.

Little Porcupine's Christmas. Go to my review here.

The Christmas Angels, a sweet book (first published in Germany in 1933!). Read my review.

Advent Book Calendars!

It can be challenging to find ways to help children keep their focus on the birth of Christ during the annual "Countdown to Santa and Christmas Presents" that our frenzied culture of consumers gets so caught up in. Well, thank goodness for another kind of countdown: Advent, a time of joyous expectation.

An Advent Calendar of Christmas Books: I'd like to share some ideas for incorporating beautiful Christmas picture books into your family traditions during this time of anticipation. It takes a little planning, but it's worth the forethought and effort...

photo - detailgalblog

1- You need to determine how many books you need - this will depend on how many days leading up to Christmas you'd like to do this activity (during all of Advent - from November 15, if you're Eastern Orthodox, or the 25 days of December - or maybe just the last week leading up to Christmas).

2- Need book recommendations? Click here for my Christmas Book Resource Page, if you need book recommendations.

here

3- Choose the books. Gather Christmas books you already have. This is also a nice way to start collecting Christmas picture books - buy a few a year to add in!  You can also do what my daughter does: add library books - just be sure to label and read the ones from the library first, so they won't be overdue.

here

4- Decide how you want to display your Advent Calendar of Books.  Some families put them in a basket, wrapped or unwrapped; others wrap them up and number them so their children can open one each night.  Either way, it's a fun read aloud activity for the whole family!

5- Challenged for time? If you don't have time to get all these books, you might be interested in one Advent Storybook, with a reading for each night of December, or The Story of Christmas, a book set and advent calendar.  You can find both on Amazon - pictured below.

Whatever you choose to do, I pray you have a blessed Advent, in preparation for the coming of our Lord at his Nativity!

SILHOUETTE CHRISTMAS (& Don't Forget to Comment for my Giveaway!)

It's December 1st, and that means it's time to get out my Christmas dishes!  This year I added to my collection - look at these cute "Yuletide" Victorian silhouette plates I found at Cost Plus World Market!!!  If you've followed my blog very long, you may know I love the art of silhouette.

In fact, these dishes (which we'll use during December and throughout the 12 Days of Christmas) brought to mind some beautiful silhouette Christmas books I've highlighted in the past. 

The titles can be found on my Christmas Book Resource Page, but I've reposted some photos, in case you missed them...

The Night Before Christmas (reviewed here)

Text:  Clement Moore

Illustrator: Niroot Puttapipat

And two more beauties, from Author/Illustrator Jan Pienkowski:

The First Christmas

With text from the "King James Bible", the nativity story is brought gloriously to life with illuminated pages of silhouettes set against glowing colours.

The First Noel, A Christmas Carousel
Part carousel, part shadow box, this elegant stand-alone Nativity book designed by a master paper engineer reflects all the wonder of Christmas and will be treasured for seasons to come.

The book opens to make a beautiful
centerpiece for your table

Here are a couple more lacy, "paper-cut" looking things for Christmas...

Pottery Barn Candles - here

Snowflake wrap from Crate and Barrel - here

These gorgeous silhouette covers do not adorn Christmas books, but they'd make wonderful gifts for any child this holiday season! (You can see all of Barnes and Noble's Leather Bound Classic series here - they're a deal at just $9!)
  

My Giveaway Contest ends today at 11:00 AM (PST).  I'll be announcing the winner at noon (PST) today (12/1/12)!  To enter, just leave a comment here or on my Audrey Eclectic post, HERE, for a chance to win a set of her beautiful Christmas cards. Giveaway over - thanks for all who participated!

go here to read my interview with the artist, Heather...