It was an excellent meeting! If anyone is interested in borrowing the video shown, FAMILY SPIRITUALITY, please call me at the MFF office to make arrangements to pick it up.  It is NOT in the Maroon Library.

BOOKS OF INTEREST:

1) Before and After Christmas (Activities and Ideas for Advent/Christmas) by Debbie Trafton O'Neal
2) Prepare Him Room-Advent for busy Christians by Mary E. Latela

CRAFTS:

1) Holiday box - any box will do.  The best would be one that can stack cards upright...

Need: box/ wrapping paper, stickers, index cards, scissors, glue
Directions:  Decorate box and label handmade dividers to suit your family's activities during Christmas.  Example: Service projects, pictures, crafts, family outings.

2) Prayer box - decorate shoebox or any container. Have family put requests for prayers in the box. In the evening at dinner time or whenever you are together, open box, pull out a name and pray for that person.

3) New Year's Eve End of year mementos

Need: 12 pocket accordion folder/box card organizer, index cards, black permanent marker, glue, felt, color markers to decorate, tabs (one for each month of the year)
Directions: decorate box and label each month on a separate divider.  For each family activity, record that on one of the index cards and place behind the month when the activity took place.  On New Year's Eve set up a time for a family remembering night and pull out the cards for each month and recall all the wonderful things the family did throughout the year...end with a prayer of thanksgiving

4) Family Journal:

Need: any composition book, materials to cover the book, add Family Journal to the title, different colored markers
Directions: Assign each member of the family a different color marker which will be that person's color all year long.  Date each entry.  At specific times during the week, each family member could write a thought or feeling or idea in the journal.  It will become a living treasure.  Be creative.

5) St. Nicholas Day Dec. 6^{th :}

Need:  a book about this saint who is the forerunner of Santa Claus…candy and small gifts.
Directions: before going to bed on Dec. 5th, invite children to put their shoes outside their bedroom door in the hopes that St. Nicholas will come during the night and bring a gift or two. Make sure the children are aware of how this custom came to be celebrated. Read about St. Nicholas to your children.

6) Advent Wreath:

Need: evergreens, 4 candles (3 purple or dark blue and 1 pink), Advent prayers that can be found in the missalette at church and in the Advent prayer helper called THE MAGNIFICAT.

7) Christmas Tree Blessing:

Access the web site for various blessings. One is also listed in the MAGNIFICAT prayer book available in the gathering space of church.

8) Message on Answering Machine:

Need: family creativity…together come up with a message that you/your children can put on your answering machine for Advent, for Christmas and for after Christmas indicating that you are a family celebrating the season, e.g., Christmas:  You have reached the ________ Family who wishes you blessings and peace during this Christmas time...  Remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

9) START YOUR OWN TRADITIONS!

Many web sites are available… e.g. www.catholicmoms.com

Happy Advent, Merry Christmas, Peace in the New Year.

All rights reserved St. Brendan Roman Catholic Church 2000