Light two purple candles, and sing O Come, O Come Emmanuel (if you’re not the caroling types, feel free to play your favorite recording of the song).
Also, Kris Chatfield, a friend of mine from church and my homeschooling co-op shared this wonderful Advent tradition her family has with me:
“My parents always did this with us during Advent, and it’s one of my best family memories. Each Sunday at dinner, we would each draw someone else’s name and keep it a secret. You are that person’s ‘Secret Santa’ (for lack of a better term! Maybe, secret angel would be a better name) for the week. The idea is to do special things for this person that don’t involve money or things out of the ordinary. For instance, make your brother’s bed when he’s eating breakfast, so it’s done without him knowing. Do your brother’s chore for him that day without him finding out. Empty the dishwasher for Mom without her seeing. You get the idea. The next Sunday, we reveal who we had and draw new names. It really gets the kids thinking about doing things for each other and for us, and they start getting very creative by the end of Advent!”
