A new Advent traditions?

This year we pretty much finished our serious Christmas shopping before Advent! Last year we were caught unawares, as if Christmas isn't December 25th every year, and were rushed and harried feeling. So we probably swung "too far" on the pendulum, but really, I like it a lot.

There are a few miscellaneous items we haven't picked up or boxed to send, but all the thinking is over. We've purchased or made things. We've used Amazon a lot which made shipping easier, and I really dislike browsing stores so avoiding that is good too.

While part of me enjoys the gift giving part itself, I really dislike the bombardment of messages to buy stuff for people. So with the shopping done, I can just ignore all the ads. Does not apply to me. I don''t need to wonder if so-and-so might REALLY like that whatsitmahoozer. Even if they did, too bad!!

And of course, being done before Advent means that I have more head space for other stuff. This week, it's been tending to two pretty sick kids. Grueling work. But they should be on the mend soon.

For the first time, we're putting up a Jesse Tree which is a Catholic tradition that I was not raised with. The Jesse Tree is a tree that is decorated with symbols recalling the fuller story of Christmas. It starts with God forming the universe and people, the break in relationships with people and the promise for full restoration, then it moves through major stories of the Old Testament before telling the New Testament story of Jesus birth. We're using a children's book by the same name and reading a story a day. I recycled our 2 ft tree from our apartment days, and we're making a felt ornament that corresponds with the symbol for the day. I'd much rather be doing this through Advent then worrying about what gifts to have for whom and how to get it to them.

So we'll see if we can make these new traditions: Christmas gifts in November, Jesse Tree decorating in December.