Hello Fabulous Familes!
Welcome to the Playful, Powerful Parenting newsletter where we invite you to bring
laughter, lightness, connection, and joy into your days with your amazing family!
Let's play...
Be Their Rock Newsletter Vol 2
Thursday, November 30, 2023
This Week's Awesome Sauce:
- Comic strip of the week: By Isaac, age 13
- Awesome Alignment Advent: Awesome and easy ways to celebrate the spirit of the holiday season
- Upcoming Events: Classes, challenges and creative opportunities
- Featured Community Creations: Artwork or creations from The Whimstitute of Wonder Community
- Joke of the week: By Kieran, Age 12
Comic Strip of the Week:
By Isaac, Age 13
Would you like to have your own family-friendly comic featured here in a future newsletter?
Advent -
Growing up, in my home, we celebrated the Advent of Christmas with beautifully illustrated paper calendars that had sweet pictures hidden behind little doors. These were treasured items that we looked forward to with wonder and sweet remembering of favored imagination capturing images from the year before
We even had some illustrated by my namesake Tasha Tudor that were full of wonder!
But a time arose where we saw people with calendars that yielded little pieces of chocolate and the coveting set in...
By the time I was 12, the gorgeous calendars were set aside and the generic ones that gave a sweet sugar hit were all we cared about - and a small piece of the promise of Christmas was lost to me (luckily not for good)
I was so focused on what I got and what I gave that I missed so much about this season and who I AM and the promise of Hope, Light, Love, Peace, Joy and Faith, Strength and Courage that this season is here to invite us to remember
Many different cultures and traditions celebrate this season as it gets darker and days are shorter by holding Faith in the light's return and being a beacon of that light in our homes and community while it is so lacking in our physical world.
Last month my family focused on the things we love and pouring appreciation on them
And looking at how we could be bringers of Joy to one another by easily seeing what we each love
This month we are inviting ourselves and you to bring that deeper!
Whether you celebrate this season as the coming of Christ or the coming of light in another form, the invitation is to become a bringer of that light
to BE a gift in the world and own your JOY, Peace, Hope and Love and share it far and wide
Joy to the world begins with you, in your family and in your home... You all ARE the Joy to the World!
So how do we get out of the commercialization of the Advent season?
Shift our focus from giving, to being the gift and the light!
Spread love and cheer far and wide!
But hooooowwwww?
Don't worry, we've got you!
Fun Ways to Celebrate the Advent of this season:
Completely Free Non-Denominational Winter Advent Suggestions:
- Daily Decorating: Bring out your treasured seasonal toys, books, snow globes, blankets etc one day at a time. This becomes precious moments as a family with greater intention and focus on why you have each item instead of a quantity overload. As a bonus, this builds excited anticipation from the kiddos on which favored item will arrive each day!!!
- Daily Seasonal Story : Have 24 seasonal family favorites (Hello library if needed!), or a seasonal novel to read a chapter a day, or a compilation book with a collection of stories you can read together one a day as a family to explore the meaning of the season in your household!
- Daily Seasonal Song: Take turns picking a seasonal song to surprise each other with at breakfast time - begin your day by inviting the festive feeling and celebration with lively spirit into your home!
- Silliness and Smiles Daily Advent: Begin each day by telling a silly seasonal joke - we have created easy-to-print advent cards with 24 family-friendly jokes here. Just print the pages, cut out the cards, fold them in half then pin them to string with clothes pegs, put them in a jar to draw one a day, or tuck them into a drawer calendar or pocket calendar!
- Random Acts of Kindness Daily Advent: Begin each day with an invitation to BE the LIGHT, LOVE, HOPE, PEACE, and JOY in the world around you. We have created 24 easy-to-print advent cards each with a different way to spread joy! Just print the pages, cut out the cards, fold them in half then pin them to string with clothes pegs, put them in a jar to draw one a day, or tuck them into a drawer calendar or pocket calendar! - At the end of each day you can share how each of you accomplished your goal!
Christmas Advent Suggestions Celebrating Christ:
- Season of Peace and Joy Advent: Begin each day with Biblical passages to reassure and inspire peace, hope, faith, and joy in this incredibly busy holiday season. We have created 24 easy-to-print advent cards each with a different Scripture to bring you back into Peace and Joy! Just print the pages, cut out the cards, fold them in half then pin them to string with clothes pegs, put them in a jar to draw one a day, or tuck them into a drawer calendar or pocket calendar! - At the end of each day re-read the scripture and reflect on how it was present in your day!
- Nativity Set Advent: Begin each day by bringing out a piece of your nativity set and sharing part of the Christmas story to see the scene unfold and prepare for the arrival of the baby Jesus who will arrive on the 25th!
- Lighting and Advent Wreath: buy or create an Advent Wreath that lays flat on a table or windowsill in your home. Adorn it with 4 candles, 1 for each of the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas. Week 1 – Hope: Prophecy Candle (purple)
As you light each candle this is a beautiful time to pray as a family and/or share more about what is held in the promise of each candle and how we can embody that ourselves
Week 2 – Peace: Bethlehem Candle (purple)
Week 3 – Joy: Shepherd’s Candle (pink)
Week 4 – Love: Angel’s Candle (purple)
Christmas Day many people light a taller white candle in the center of the wreath
Other Awesome Advent Items to Engage the Full Family:
Please note that some of these treasured items are shared via affiliate link. This means that I may receive a small commission if you purchase any of the items I am affiliated with at no extra cost to you!
Upcoming Events
- All November Long: Stop Motion Animation Challenge - submissions due Nov 30
- Kids Craft Corner, Dec 5 At 12pm CST: Creative Cardinals With The Archer Kids
- Playful, Powerful Parenting Session, Nov 10 at 4pm CST: Getting on the same page: From Coercion to Connection
- Kids Craft Corner, Dec 14 At 4:30pm CST: Create a holiday gift for your parents (Kids Only - unless you are making the gift for a grandparent)!
- Full Family Fun-Time! Nov 17 at 4pm CST: Silly Stories
- Kids Craft Corner, Dec 18 At 11am CST: Wreath Making
- Playful, Powerful Parenting Session, Nov 27 at 7pm CST: Celebrations, Strategies & Supports
- Kids Craft Corner, Dec 27 at 3pm CST: Party Piñatas
- All December Long: Family Fort Making Fun, Alignment Advent, And Cookie Recipes
Featured Community Creations
Handprint Animal Art
Joke of the Week
By Kieran, Age 12
Joke of the week:
Does your child have a funny joke they would like to share in our newsletter?
Hello, we are the archers,
Creators of super family fun-times
After years of trying to take life seriously we realized that was WAY over-rated
We have owned that our genius is truly in living life as the epic and absurdly awesome game that it is and we are so happy to share this incredible way of life!
Join the Whimstitute of Wonder Today!
Phenomenal fun for the whole family...
Super excited to connect deeply with your children, discover the art of playing, claim your confidence as a parent, and most importantly - have FUN doing it together!
Let us take all thought and stress out of HOW to play and connect so you can thrive together!
