Christ-centered CHRISTmas

Last year the day we moved into our new little home, my hubby got in a wreck. It had about 250,000 miles and our daughter wasn't fitting well. My car still worked, even though it was 13 years old, but is manual and we needed something that worked better. So, we got a car with a killer deal for Black Friday and have bumper to bumper coverage for 10 years. So, our Christmas was light. We borrowed a 1 foot tree and made the most of it (double bronchitis and a flare up too). 

But, it didn't feel very Christmas-y, so this year, even though I shouldn't have...I really wanted a full size tree and some Christ-centered traditions beyond my usual lamb-like stocking where we write what we will give to Christ for the year. 

I had buyer's remorse with my $35 tree, but we decided that since I didn't get to see family for the holidays, my husband won't be around for Christmas (we have no idea when he will be home) and we are going light this year, we splurged. 

Our RS this year had the option to put in a tiny bit of money for supplies and to make an advent calendar. The original was this one: 

But I have an infinity for sparkle and glitter, so I used some old craft paper to make my own version. I did buy little envelopes, twine and mini clothespins. (Hobby Lobby with 40% off on two trips). Our cute RS lady had the boards cut at Lowe's, then sanded and spray painted it for me. Then we modpodged the paper onto the board. At that point, I started shaking and had to go home to finish. It took me a week to finish, but I finished on December 1st! Yay🌲❄️

With some glitter stickers (I didn't have enough of one type, so I mixed it up and outlined with a pen), I spelled out 

Jesus is the reason for this season. In each one is a slip of paper with scriptures that correspond with the pictures of Jesus's life and what He inspires us to do with regard to that particular event or action. 

We have several things to help my lil 2 year old to learn about the "reason for the season," but this totally helped me get in the mood too! The other ladies finished in a few hours, but I took almost a week. Totally worth it!