(I really love our Nativity set. Here is the not so traditional ‘villager bringing bread’.)

Even when I was a university student, my mother would buy my sister and I chocolate advent calendars and post them to wherever we were (which makes it sound like we were half a world away – we weren’t. We were a train ride away in London in my case, and Edinburgh for my sister. but anyway…) It was a lovely, thoughtful gesture and it meant a lot to me, especially when I was battling deadlines and crowds of christmas shoppers in my retail job.

Now I’m a parent of two small children I’m trying to work out how I want to celebrate the run up to christmas. There are lots of great ideas in the craft/parenting blogging community.

Thing is, we live in a small house and we’re still trying to find homes for all our stuff. I don’t want more stuff.

So this year we’re going to decorate the house, bit by tiny bit. FB we be slowly building up the decorations on the wooden christmas tree (another thoughtful advent gift from my mum when I was in my early twenties – it sat on my dest in the games company in the insane run up to christmas 2003…) and he and LR will be helping me find good homes to show off a picked decoration for the house each day. Starting with the christmas gnomes, which hang off the internal doorknobs.

I wanted to make an advent candle log – I tried to get it do last advent too! – but we went to see family at the weekend and so it didn’t happen. We still have the first sunday’s candle, but on a plate, and that’s ok. That’s just how we’re doing this year. Even as a non-religous family it’s lovely to count the passing of time in this way. Or at least it is for me. And hopefully for everyone else too.

In conclusion – No to more stuff! Yes to enjoying our decorations even more!

Happy Advent!