Yesterday at church, our pastor reminded us that next Sunday begins the new Advent season in the Christian calendar. Are you prepared for celebrating Advent in your home?

This is the week to try to get an Advent wreath set up so you can start your family devotions on the first Sunday of Advent. I found this picture online, and you can see how simple it is.

You probably already have a wreath you can use — so just add pink and purple candles to your grocery list, as well as a big white candle to go in the center. You can also pick up a special-made Advent wreath at a Christian bookstore, which would help support those hard-working bookstore owners.

I’m not sure what we’ll use for our devotional this year. I may look around online, or we may use one of Arnold Ytreeides’s Advent books for families. The trilogy includes Jotham’s Journey, Bartholemew’s Passage and Tabitha’s Travels. We haven’t read Tabitha’s Travels yet, and it looks like a good one — it contains a story that continues each night, and you can supplement your devotional time by including songs, Scripture readings, or other activities appropriate for your kids’ age levels.

We’ve also started the tradition of praying over the families whose Christmas cards we receive. [Sidenote: It is getting SO expensive to mail out Christmas cards! I seriously thought about not doing it this year because the price of stamps has gone up again. But I’m just not ready to give up this traditional Christmas greeting, despite the cost.]

Does anyone know if Arnold Ytreeide has a website? When I did a search, I couldn’t find one — I just see other bloggers chatting about his books — and lots of people searching for used copies, since they’re out of print. Here are a few sites that mention recommended books to help celebrate Advent. Feel free to add your own:

Prattling Pastor’s Wife
LaCelle Family Ministries (focus on Jotham’s Journey)
Teaching Mom.com’s Advent Read-Aloud List
Library Thing
Victory Coaching’s newsletter contains reviews of all three Ytreeide Advent books