“There’s a Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar!”
“A what?” I asked. I was in another room and not sure I had heard my wife correctly.
“A Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar!” she repeated. I could hear the enthusiasm in her voice but couldn’t imagine what she was describing. I went to see, and she showed me an online advertisement for a Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar.
When I was younger, my parents put up the same moldy, felt Advent calendar every year. It was mostly “one more thing to do.” We forgot about it for days at a time. As a parent of two young children, the last thing I wanted was “one more thing to do.” The season before Christmas was stressful enough. I was skeptical.
My wife was determined, though, and soon our new calendar arrived. The first night of Advent, she gathered the whole family together around the dining room table. Naturally, our two children started arguing over who would open the first panel. Ugh. She read a devotion, I prayed (quickly), and the kids assembled the first Lego toy and set it on the board. Everyone dispersed, and I expected that would be the only time we used it.
I was wrong.
The next night, our kids were the ones bringing me to the table. And the night after that. Night after night, they were excited for the calendar, and day after day they seemed calmer than they had been in previous Advents. The calendar, I later learned, gave my kids a sense of calm because it made the buildup to Christmas tangible. They could literally count the days until Christmas, so they knew how long it would be. And they had more to look forward to than opening presents on Christmas morning. Each day brought a new adventure: not just a new Lego toy but also family time and a devotion. For our family, Advent became both more relaxed and more spiritual. It was an Advent miracle.
This Advent, I invite you to build a nightly faith practice around an Advent calendar. Perhaps this will help you and your family enjoy a calmer and more spiritual Advent in 2024 and beyond.
Practices:
• Shop together to find an Advent calendar that fits your entire family. We love getting a new one each year because it creates a sense of anticipation and excitement over what we might find.
• Gather around the calendar each night in December. We did this at the dining room table near bedtime and took nightly turns placing items on the calendar.
• Share a devotion and prayer each night. We have found devotions online and used devotional books. As the kids got older, we took turns reading and leading a prayer.
