Food Ideas for O Antiphons

I know we're already one day into the O Antiphons now, (they start December 17), but Catholic Cuisine has an AMAZING post about different foods to make for each of the O Antiphons, starting with these little books for "Wisdom".

Jessica has also provided a free printable with each O Antiphon to attach to gold coins. So simple and elegant! Click over to check it out.
If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

O Antiphons Printable Prayer Companion

Hurry over to O Night Divine to get an amazing prayer companion that you can print for free! The O Antiphons start on December 17- check your calendars, that's today! Go print it now- you still have time!

Here's an example of one of the pages.

They all include beautiful pictures!

My favorite thing about this download? It includes the lyrics to "O Come O Come Emmanuel" on each appropriate day. Yay for making things easy! :-)
If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

O Atiphons Ideas

No matter what you may have already missed the boat on this Advent season, the O Antiphons don't start until December 17, so you still have time! If you're wondering "What are the O Antiphons?", click here and read all about them! Basically every day from December 17-24 you highlight the Messiah with a different name, each of them starting with "O" (Ex: O Emmanuel). Here are some ideas for celebrating these days:

Over at Family Centered Living, you can find these beautiful

O Antiphon Ornaments that you can print for free! :-)

(She has the matching Jesse Tree ornaments, too.)

You can find coloring pages on O Night Divine for each of the O Antiphons. Your kids can color one each day! Find them here: O Sapientia, O Adonia, O Radix Jesse, O Clavis David, O Oriens, O Rex Gentium, O Emmanuel.

Also on O Night Divine, find directions on making these 

O Antiphons Ornaments from bottle caps.

Find a different food to coordinate with each O Antiphon

over at Waltzing Matilda, such as this Texas Sunrise for

"O Dawn of the East, brightness of light eternal, and sun of justice..."

Seriously don't miss my O Antiphons round up from last year! There are some other really great ideas in that other post- I just didn't want to bore you with re-runs. :-)
If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

6 Ways to Kick Off Advent With a Religious Bang! And a Linky :-)

With all the crazy hussle and bustle of the holidays, it's important not to let this religious time get lost in the secular shuffle. Preparing for Advent early is a great way to make sure you start this season off on the right foot- one that walks towards Him. For kids, Santa can be a pretty tough guy for Jesus to compete with- but I assure you that there is much strength and fun to be found in our amazing Catholic culture! Now here are 6 ways to kick off your family's advent with a religious bang!

Get an Advent Wreath
This is a very popular tradition, and I'm willing to bet most of you already have an advent wreath of some kind. The basic idea is that it's a green wreath with 3 purple candles and one 'rose' colored candle. The candles are lit every night before dinner during prayers, and you light one additional candle each week until Christmas. I did a post last year on DIY Advent Wreaths that you should check out if you don't have one yet! Be sure to read up on the background of the Advent Wreath and also Blessings and Prayers for your Advent Wreath. At our house we also have this Fabric Children's Advent Wreath which is really cute! The candles Velcro on so you can add them as you go.



Use an Advent Calendar
There are soooo many different advent calendars out there! From paper chains to pinatas, there are infinite ways to count down the days to our savior's birth. If you craft one yourself, you can start on the first day of advent rather than the first day of December. An advent calendar can be as elaborate or as simple as you want it to be, but I would encourage you to find something religious to help your kids understand the meaning of Christmas. Resist society's ridiculous Sponge Bob Square Pants advent calendars. In stead, find or make something meaningful, like this Religious Advent Calendar from Story Time Felts. Each day Mary rides the donkey closer and closer to Bethlehem. How cute is that?! My friend, Katie Offsay, is the one who sent me this awesome link, so be sure to enter her as your 'consultant' if you order one :-)

Prepare a Manger for Baby Jesus
A great activity for kids to do during Advent is have a manger for Baby Jesus. Every time they do a good deed or make a sacrifice, they get to add a piece of straw to the manger. Hopefully by Christmas Baby Jesus has a nice soft bed to lay on! Find a round up of Manger Crafts Here.

Setting Up the Nativity
This year we're planning on setting up our nativity in an interactive way with the kids. This process will begin on Advent, and end on the Epiphany. Ruth from Just Another Day in Paradise has a great post about being Interactive with your Nativity Set. If you have little ones (like me) you might want to look into getting something like this Little People Nativity Set for Kids. I'm thinking about getting my kids one for St. Nicholas day! 

Have a Jesse Tree
The Jesse Tree is a great tradition to do, and it starts on December 1. You hang one symbol on your Jesse Tree each day of December until Christmas and read a coordinating passage from the bible. You can make your own Jesse Tree and craft your own symbols- you can even find places to print them for free! Check out more background on the Jesse Tree at Catholic Culture. If you don't have time this holiday season to make your own Jesse Tree, check out this Jesse Tree Activity Kit.



"O" Antiphons
These you can procrastinate on a little bit because they don't start until December 17. Each O Antiphon is a different title for the Messiah and once again, you go through them one per day. Man, by Christmas I'm going to have you guys doing like, 6 things every day! :-) Get directions for celebrating the O Antiphons at Catholic Culture and check out my post on O Antiphon Crafts from last year for ideas. Here's an O Antiphon CD with songs for each one!

Is it weird that I'm so anxious that I'm waiting to start a time of... well, waiting? Ok, now it's your turn! What does your family do for Advent?
If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

O Antiphons Craft Ideas- Beginning Dec 17

The O Antiphons begin on December 17 and run the week before Christmas- one each day. Each O Antiphon is a different title for the Messiah, and you go through one each day. You can read more about this tradition here. Here are some craft ideas for celebrating these special days!

Craft a beautiful O Antiphon House with
By Sun and Candlelight.

Make O Antiphon Tree Ornaments with

Under Her Starry Mantel


This O Antiphon Craft is made using altoid tins.
Get the directions on Waltzing Matilda.


Here's another O Antiphons House made by Just
Another Day in Paradise. Go here for the full tutorial.

Make an O Antiphon Poinsettia Wreath

with Under her Starry Mantel.

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.