I, too, think it’s important to try not to have Christmas start too early. Obviously it is impossible not to get caught up in all the hype at some stage & most people really don’t like leaving Christmas shopping until Christmas Eve!
For children, certainly a religious Advent calendar is a good idea. I used to have one every year when I was younger, and while most these days - the secular ones at least - bribe the kids with chocolates, I was happy to find a picture of a holy scene each day! Yes, it doesn’t take much to make a child happy
Maybe you could find out if there are any Christmas pageants/plays for children - many churches in my diocese have one each year and they involve children from their own parishes. Perhaps if your child is old enough they could get involved. As Christmas draws near, I think it’s nice to tell the story of the Nativity - perhaps in front of the crib in the church; some parishes may even have a live crib, which is very special.
For my own part, I do like to keep “Christ” and “Mass” in Christmas. I only send religious Christmas cards. This year I’ve gotten my cards from the
St Gregory Society - they are very simple but beautiful: they contain reprints of Nativity scenes from old missals and the text on the outside is in Latin (from a Christmas liturgy with English translation on the back). They’re really my cup of tea. The simplicity of them is really a breath of fresh air, given the mind-boggling array of cards which secular card companies produce.
Mass on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning is a must - not just because I’m a church musician! I’ve always loved the cathedral liturgies. Beautiful! I like to get to a carol service or two as Christmas draws near. Normally I play at a big carol service on Christmas Eve - the church is always packed and there is a lovely atmosphere with everyone singing in the candlelight. I think this is where the excitement begins for me!
Last year I gave my family various gifts which were from them to people in need. The Irish Catholic Bishops’ overseas aid agency “
Trocaire” (Irish for “mercy”) has a lovely range of gifts in all price ranges - I probably sound like a salesman for them; I’m not! One can give a child school dinners for a year, an olive tree to a family in Palestine, a fishing boat & nets… there are others too, all very practical. I don’t see the olive tree gift this year, but I thought it was the most special of all - of course it would provide olives, oil and possibly a source of income for the family, but it also symbolises the peace which is so desperately needed in that part of the world.
