Starting Advent Traditions - Please help, what are your favorite Christmas books?

I have been thinking a lot about the kinds of Christmas traditions I want to begin in our family. At just over 2, this will be a Christmas that begins to shape Bear's expectations for what Christmas is about. This year he is happily unaware of the commercial forces that will vie for his attention in another year or two. I'm not sure he knows who or what Santa is. (He's conveniently blocked the traumatic Santa encounter from last year.) He understands presents and getting gifts just a little.  He has zero interest in catalogs and commercials. This year might be our one and only chance for a pure and unadulterated Christmas! I hope to establish a bit of foundation this year before commercial distractions attack.

One of the Christmas traditions I want to give my children from my own childhood is the preparatory celebration of Advent. I grew up in the Catholic church and as an adult have attended non-denominational Protestant churches. I've spent much of my adulthood trying to synthesize all that is good about both. The Advent rituals I experienced as a child left a significant impression. Those rituals created a sense of anticipation as well as a sense of something bigger than all of us, something holy. Much of the fun of Christmas is in the anticipation of something big. I'm going to do my best to use the 24 days that lead up to Christmas to build anticipation around Jesus!

So here's the Advent plan for this year.

Ritual 1: The Jesse Tree each morning
Ritual 2: Followed by singing a related Christmas hymn
Ritual 3: Read a Christmas book each night
Ritual 4: Light a new candle each Sunday.


The Jesse Tree

I first learned of the Jesse Tree from Babe of My Heart. I love its purpose. There is a scripture reading with a corresponding ornament for each day of Advent. The passages trace Jesus's ancestral history (a shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse) and lead up to his birth on Christmas Day. What I love so much is that it demonstrates how all of scripture points toward Christ. Beginning on December 1st (an orthodox Jesse Tree would start on the first day of Advent) we will read the scripture reference for the day and Bear will get to hang the ornament that goes with it on the Jesse tree. Day 1 is the creation story and the ornament is a globe.

There are lots of ways to do a Jesse Tree, some simple and some pretty elaborate. Lots of Jesse Trees you can buy. Call me crazy, but I wanted to make it myself. Partly because I have some specific wishes for our tree (I really want the ornaments to have their own pocket --  as a kid I loved opening flaps or pockets each day to discover a new treasure inside), and partly because I want my kids to have something made by Mom. But....it's been a long time since I engaged in crafty stuff. Over the years my career gradually moved in on my free time and many of my artistic interests moved out. Fortunately, Navy Mango on Etsy sells a cute make it yourself Jesse Tree kit. It comes with the patterns and all the supplies, I don't have to shop or gather anything, (Sorry if I'm sounding like a commercial here. Not my intention.) I just have to put it together. And I get to customize it where I want to. I altered the globe ornament so that the Americas AND Africa are visible, especially the horn of Africa. :) Baby Jesus also had to be black. I could not find a black baby Jesus Jesse Tree to save my life. So this is what I work on each night after Bear is asleep, for as long as I can stay awake. Makes me a little groggy at work the next day but I'm really enjoying it and it's giving me time to think and prepare myself.


Christmas Book Recommendations!

I would love some suggestions! There are so many out there that it's a little overwhelming.Thanks to my sister and my mom and dad, I have a few Christmas books now in our library. I want to build this collection so that Bear and his future brother or sister will look forward to getting them out and reading them each year.  I am looking for not just any Christmas book, I am looking for quality! These need to be special.  And they need to somehow relate to the biblical Christmas story either directly or indirectly. Books with characters of color would also be fantastic. One of my favorite books is The Story of the Three Trees. Not directly a Christmas story but special and appropriate for Christmas. Do you have a favorite book from childhood, or one that your kids love? I would so appreciate your recommendations!

If I get my act together I will post some pictures of the Jesse Tree once it's done. I would also love to hear of other Advent traditions. Christmas is coming!