~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
When I was (very) pregnant with Pippo, I told a priest that I wasn't doing a very good job at keeping Advent, because I was so distracted by the expected arrival of my baby. He gently reminded me that Mary was waiting for her firstborn son just as I was waiting for mine, and that she was just as focused on Him as I was on my own baby. He said, “Ask Our Lady for the same joy and excitement for the coming of her Son as she had while she carried Him in her womb.”
I felt united to Mary in a special way that year as I counted down the days to Christmas and my due date just beyond. (I ended up going into labor on Christmas Eve, and Pippo arrived a few hours after midnight on the 26th!) But, pregnant or not, I have prayed that prayer many times since. Advent is about preparing for Christmas, and Christmas is about a baby. And who is more excited about His arrival, or knows how to prepare for that Baby better than His mother?
(For a similar reason, I love the St. Andrew Christmas Novena — it helps me stop what I'm doing and take a moment to rest with Our Lady and the Infant Christ.)
Practically speaking, there's always so much else going on, even if it's just recovering from Thanksgiving! This year we had my big college-student brothers-in-law here for the weekend (to give you a sense of what a culinary workout that was, know that our other Thanksgiving guests had to cancel, and I was left with a 19-pound turkey for four adults. And it was all. gone. by Saturday night, including the broth), plus an ice storm and a few folks under the weather. By Sunday, Capt. P was still sick in bed, the kids were not well enough to go to Mass, and the world was covered in a few inches of very cold water.
I had pretty much decided that we'd just have a bare wreath for a day or two until things dried out, but Pippo was adamant that we absolutely had to “gather greenery and berries and make our Advent wreath.” (Before my mother has a chance to jump in here, I'll just say: I know I deserve it. I was very demanding about this sort of thing as a child. No tradition left behind!) So we pulled on our boots and went out just long enough to snip some branches from the one acceptable evergreen in our yard and some seed pods from the crape myrtle. Wrap it in wire, wrap it in ribbon, and we're good to go.
I finally hung it above the table this year, which I've always wanted to do. And not only does it look super exciting, but it has the added bonus of a) freeing up space on the table/making it so I don't have to be always moving it when we need more room (I usually make it on a cake stand or something so it's easy to move without making a mess) and b) keeping it out of reach of little ones who might pull it apart (not that we have anyone here who would ever do such a tempting thing).
We pulled our two wooden children's nativity sets out, and also got out the stable and the manger of our biggest nativity. (I love nativities. And have been given many, all of which I love, and all of which will be set up before Christmas!) We'll set out the figures soon, but for now we just arranged the leftover branches from making our wreath around it on the sideboard, along with a string of white lights. Pippo and I gathered up some straw, which he cut it up and put it in a little cup nearby. When anyone does something especially good or sacrificial, he can put a little piece of straw into the manger so that we are making a soft bed for the Baby Jesus while we are making our hearts ready to receive Him at Christmas.
(This is the first year we've done the straw in the manger. We don't always remember, but when we do, it is inspiring good works in a rather adorable way. Today while I was sitting and nursing the baby, Pippo asked me “Mama, can I do anything for you?” And I mentioned that the floors were dirty. And so he cheerfully got out the vacuum and cleaned them!)
The only other thing we've done so far is hang up our Advent calendars. If we had to rely on me to remember to get one in time, we'd have one maybe by the end of the first week, but since we have competent and generous relatives, we have three. The one on the far right is from Habou, and is at least 3 years old. The cool 3D pop-up one on the shelf is from my mom last year, and Sukie made us the awesome felt build-a-nativity one on the left last year.
I made the mistake of telling the kids we'd open the doors before breakfast every day. So now I have a wake up call bright and early every morning, asking is it tiiiime and whyyy isn't Molly awake yet?
Here's what we haven't done, even though I meant to: our Jesse tree.
We actually have a set of ornaments all printed out on cardstock and half colored in, after a Jesse tree ornament-making party with my Mothers' Group at church last year. But last year I just couldn't get my act together to figure out some sort of a tree situation, and we never actually did it. This year the ice storm conveniently provided us with as many bare branches as we could possibly want, but somehow between taking the bag of ornaments out of the box on Sunday and finding a branch on Tuesday (our ornaments start with Dec. 1)… I lost the bag. No idea where it could possibly be.
Good news, though: I have a bare branch AND a backup bare branch ready to go on the dining room floor, whenever we a) find our ornaments or b) make new ones or c) give up and try again next year.
We also still have our fall leaf garlands above our fireplace and gourds on our mantelpiece (though not the moldy ones because I took those down while the turkey was in the oven on Thanksgiving, thankyouverymuch). Not to mention all the other usual “decorations” of a family of young children, aka toys and books strewn around faster than you can believe. Over the next few weeks we'll keep pulling out Christmas things, but this is enough to get us started.
And I'll stop now, because I've gone on and on, and this wasn't supposed to be so long! But we'd love to see your wreaths, lights, candles, paper chains, bare branches piled in corners… however Advent is looking at your house this week! You can link up your blog post throughout the weekend, or post on Instagram using the hashtag #PHFRAdvent so we can find you!
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kristina b says
You have a lot more done than I do! I have only managed to get the wreath and candles out so far (and the wreath is not real greenery yet, just fake stuff). My mom gave me Jesse Tree ornaments but I haven’t figured out what to do for a tree yet so I haven’t started that yet either…
The reassuring part for me is that my oldest is not even 2.5 yet, and all he needs is a special candle lit every day to sit there with awe on his face 🙂 So a little bit is much, much better than nothing. And as soon as I find a place to put the (kid-friendly) nativity my mom got me for my birthday, we’ll have that much more to help us remember and anticipate Jesus’s coming.
Rosie says
It’s so true: the Advent wreath is mesmerizing! Even Eleanor loves it.
Charlotte says
I would love for someone who uses fresh greenery for their wreaths, particularly wire wrapped like yours, to talk about how you keep the greenery fresh. I had a hanging 4-candle chandelier that I turned into an Advent wreath last year and we kept clippings from outside laid on top of it but we had to refreshen them every week which was easy enough to so since they were just set on top of the chandelier, but still so sad to watch your wreath fade to brown over the course of a week. I can’t imagine removing the old greenery from a wire wrapped wreath every week to replace it with fresh greenery. Is there something I am missing? Maybe I’m not choosing the right kind of greens? Do you spritz them with water? I tried that and it didn’t work. Thanks in advance!
Rosie says
I confess, I have never done anything to mine except pull out things that start looking too sad. And some years they hold up better than others – I do think that there are evergreens and there are less-ever greens, if you know what I mean. And I don’t know that I always know the difference between them until they start wilting. I’m hoping this one holds up — I know I used branches from the same tree (cedar, maybe?) last year, but then we skipped town for Christmas itself, so I don’t remember what happened to the wreath.
Anyone else have any greenery advice for us?
Leila says
There are definitely some greens that last longer than others. More-ever-green-greens 🙂
The idea is to find the good stuff, arrange it, and accept that it will dry. To you it will look dried out but to the rest of the world it looks pretty good.
1. Try a base of pine cones. The year I just went ahead and glued/wired pine cones to my ring I got a leg up on the whole project. I blogged about it here: http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2009/11/advent-prayers-and-little-more-on-how-i/
Then poke/wire your greens in/on. I suggest English ivy (which I used to have at our old house and don’t have here), holly (I have two big bush/trees), azalea stems (my azalea leaves turn an awesome sort of reddish color — the only reason I don’t rip that bush out), hydrangea (you can pull a head apart to make smaller stems — looks fabulous in with the dark greens).
Stay away from fir branches. They just wilt and are highly flammable! Ask me how I know… 🙂
Anamaria says
I’ve used the scraps from the Christmas tree lot to much success- they’ve always given them to me for free.
Katie says
I second this… I usually go to a certain church tree lot and ask sweetly for scraps. This year, thanks to having a little baby, it was actually simpler to walk over to the hardware store and buy a little length of garland (they sell it by the foot), and then pull it apart into sprigs to disperse among my backyard clippings. But it’s “high-end” fragrant evergreen that smells soooo nice!
Christie says
I asked about keeping wreaths fresh a few years back when I bought some! It was recommended to spray it every night with a mister to keep the greens from drying too soon.
Jill Foley says
I had branches in the corner of my room and just threw them outside yesterday. I decided that I could always go find them again if I decided to do something with them….
Love the wreath hanging.
Rosie says
Lol. That is very wise of you. Seeing as how we still have a fallen half-tree in our front yard, we don’t necessarily need to be hanging on to these, either.
BUT!
We found the ornaments!
So we’ll see if I can get my Jesse Tree act together…
Tamara says
You can do it Rosie! You don’t have to figure out the “forever” Jesse Tree plan. Just hang those ornaments on the branch and the back-up branch and call it good for this year. Or, as I did, pick up a clearance mini Christmas tree at Hobby Lobby stat. 😉
Mrs. B. says
I love being pregnant during Advent – it is distracting, you’re right (battling nausea takes up a lot of energy 😉 ), but it also makes it extra special, one really feels closer to Mary, and all sorts of thoughts about the meaning of children, the meaning of God as a baby, and such just come so easily and seem so real.
I would love to hang our wreath, but our chandelier is very low and it wouldn’t work at all… I also keep forgetting to ask Leila where she got that wonderful Advent calendar with the painting of the saints on it, it looks Fra Angelico or Giotto to me, it’s so beautiful! (The one in the first picture of the post right before Thanksgiving)
Now, Rosie, aren’t you doing the Elf thing this year?? ;-)))
Rosie says
Ha, good one, Mrs. B!
Sharyn says
Oh it does look good to have a hung advent wreath! Trying to think how we could do it. Our advent wreath gets covered in bits of food that the baby flings about, I find lego pieces in it, and someone broke one of the candles…
Looking forward to seeing all the lovely Advent links! God bless!
Rosie says
Yes, I’m really quite pleased with how much easier it is to have it up out of the line of fire!
Candy Hartmann says
I love your family. You all are so REAL! Your home looks beautiful, crying kids and all. I am an empty nester now, with no grand babies yet, so I miss those days. And what a great idea to hang the advent wreath. I think I may have to try that. We recently downsized to a much smaller house and I had problems this year finding a “home” for everything.
sophie says
Is there a tutorial on here showing how to effectively string up a hanging wreath? I could wing it, but I keep having alarming visions of flaming greenery dropping onto the dinner table. If there is a tried and true method, I’d be happy to hear it!
Rosie says
Auntie Leila talked a bit about how she does it here: http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2009/11/advent-prayers-and-little-more-on-how-i/
And you can see the underpinnings of my wreath here: http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2012/12/the-elf-on-shelf-advent-rant-from-rosie/
I just arranged the greens around the top and the bottom (so it would look good from below, too) and wrapped the whole thing in some floral wire and then in ribbon. It’s pretty secure.
To actually hang it, I just tied four pieces of sturdy twine (I didn’t have enough appropriate ribbon, but I also thought the twine, being thinner, was less likely to catch fire) to the wire frame and then threaded them through the loops of the light fixture above the table and tied it all off.
Robin says
I don’t hang our wreath, partly because if I don’t see it, I forget it, and there you go…..going to bed and seeing the candles still lit. Probably shouldn’t burn the house down. ;o)
Also, I use my wreath…..as a Jesse tree. We made our own ornaments from Shrinky Dinks. I asked the most artistic child to draw the pictures, colored them with colored pencils and baked them. Voila! Such a twofer!
Barbara says
“Mama, can I do anything for you?”
Swoon!
Rosie says
Oh I love the hung wreath – I really wanted to do that with ours this year but I knew the kids would end up climbing on the table to look at the wreath, and they ALREADY climb on the table too often… Plus the darned chandelier is off-center with the table and I WOULD NOT be able to deal with an off-center wreath. Deal breaker here 😉
Also, our pumpkins are still on the front steps where the kids artfully arranged them on Halloween. So. I mean, it’s still technically fall, right?
Rosie says
An off-center hanging wreath is absolutely a deal-breaker!
Elizabeth says
Holy Heroes has printable Jesse Tree ornaments available through their Advent Adventure e-mails, and Drawn 2 b Creative has 3D printable ornaments here:http://www.drawn2bcreative.com/product/3-d-printable-jesse-tree-ornaments-e-book/
I was planning to get them because they look super cool, but we really didn’t need another set. However, if you’re scrambling for a set of ornaments, these are a great option! Just print them off and cut them out, then you can throw them away at the end of the season. I’m a big fan of “nothing to store”! 🙂
Jennifer says
I’m going with there are three weeks left to go. Rome wasn’t built in a day, right? Isn’t there a reason that Advent is a whole season? So Mommies can actually get it all together before Christmas. 🙂
Rosie says
Absolutely!
Mary @ Better Than Eden says
Someday I hope to be able to pull off a hanging wreath! I love that !
Christie says
I’m waaaay curious about that handsome hanging Advent wreath. I want one! What kind of wire did you use to make the wreath and fix it to the ceiling? I’ve heard of using grapevine for the frame of the wreath, but I didn’t have any, so I’ve used floral wire and it’s pretty flimsy. I’d love to know! Thanks!
Katie says
Kudzu works too! It doesn’t sound glamorous but it’s a great bend-y vine, and, alas, it abounds at the edges of our backyard. So if I have to put in the work to keep it at bay, may as well get some pretty wreaths out of the bargain! Anyway, maybe this is a viable option for those in the South or other kudzu-covered area. Surely no one would miss a length of it off of a public/reachable spot, and it’s very easy to pull… =)
Rosie says
Auntie Leila talked a bit about how she does it here: http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2009/11/advent-prayers-and-little-more-on-how-i/
And you can see the underpinnings of my wreath in the top picture here: http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2012/12/the-elf-on-shelf-advent-rant-from-rosie/
I just arranged the greens around the top and the bottom (so it would look good from below, too) and wrapped the whole thing in some floral wire and then in ribbon. It’s pretty secure.
To actually hang it, I just tied four pieces of sturdy twine (I didn’t have enough appropriate ribbon, but I also thought the twine, being thinner, was less likely to catch fire) to the wire frame and then threaded them through the loops of the light fixture above the table and tied it all off.
juanita says
I agree; the hung wreath is lovely! Alas, we have a ceiling fan above our table, and being in central Texas, we sometimes still use it in December.
I do have to remind my self that Advent is a season.
Rosie says
We have a fan, too, but I’m hoping no one turns it on! 🙂 (I’m pretty sure the wreath would be fine even so, but I’m not quite interested in testing my theory!)
Chere Mama says
Hi Rosie – Here is a question out of the blue. Where can I get some really interesting cake plates to put my Advent Wreath on? I really love the idea of the hanging wreath but my light hangs too low over the table in the dining room. Thanks and great post!!
Denise
Rosie says
I think the best places to find pretty (and reasonably priced) serving dishes like cake plates are either at TJ Maxx/Marshalls/Homegoods or else secondhand at your favorite thrift or antique store!
Woman of the House says
I really like your hanging Advent wreath! Our ceilings are much too high to make it practical here, but I really like the way yours looks. And your kids are adorable, as always. 🙂