Our house is looking pretty sparse in the holiday decorations department, and I'm okay with that. Simple is good, especially this year with a new baby in the house. (I'm going to milk that excuse for as long as I can!) One benefit to our pared down decor is that our favorite traditions--the ones we simply cannot do without--are not just present... they're shining.

{#1} Advent Jesse Tree

I'm leading with this one, because it's my favorite. The Advent Jesse Tree is a lovely way to begin (or end) the day, and, most importantly, it's full of the true meaning of Christmas. If you had asked me a few years ago what a Jesse tree was, I would have wrinkled my eyebrows and asked if it had something to do with Full House. It does not. The Advent Jesse Tree is a way to tell the story of God's redemptive plan for the world through 25 symbols from the Old and New Testament. (It gets the name "Jesse," because Jesus came from the line of David, and David's father was Jesse. So Jesus' lineage can be traced to the stump of Jesse.) Each day of Advent has a symbol. For example, the first symbol is a globe or picture of the Earth, and it represents the light in creation. The second symbol is an apple with a snake around it, which represents the first sin. These symbols are ornaments that are hung on a tree, one for each day of Advent.

To begin our devotion, I open up our devotion book (we use this one), retrieve our ornament for the day, and gather the boys. For each day, our book names the symbol, provides a memory verse, and suggests hymns to sing. We read the corresponding scripture, and the boys listen to the daily devotion (there is a version for children and adults) and answer follow-up questions. 5-year-old Conner is our "ornament guy" who hangs up our ornaments. After our devotion, the boys can have one of their chocolates from their chocolate Advent calendars. (My favorite chocolate Advent calendars are from Family Christian Store. They are the only non-Santa ones I've found, and I love how there is scripture telling the story of Christ's birth behind each door. They're pricier than the grocery store kind, but I was able to get them for 50% off.) We used to do our Advent Jesse Tree devotions first thing in the morning, but we are now doing them in the evening, after 2-year-old Logan is in bed. Not only was Logan super distracting, but we also learned he could not be trusted with a chocolate Advent calendar. (He would run off with his and hide behind a chair, stuffing his cheeks full of chocolate until he looked like a giant blonde chipmunk.)

Last year, I acquired my collection of ornaments from a Jesse Tree ornament swap my friend organized. It's genius, I tell you. Ideally, you find 25 people to participate in the swap. (If you can't find 25 people, some people may need to double-up.) Each person chooses a symbol (ours was a cross, day #17--Prophecy of the Suffering Servant). Then, they make 25 of those symbols. You meet with the other people (we had a little Christmas party) and take one of each ornament, which gives you a complete set! The other thing I love about this is that many of the ornaments were made by our friends. It's fun to pull out a symbol and say, "Oh, this one was made by the So-and-So family!" If the opportunity comes up to participate in another swap, I'm going to jump at it. I'd love to have a set for each of my boys for when they leave the nest.

For more information on Jesse Tree devotions and ornaments, you can go here, here, or here.

{#2} Casual Christmas Tree

You're probably thinking, "Could she be any more obvious?" and, if that's the case, you should tell Chandler Bing to get out of your head. (Ha-ha! I'm just full of 90s sitcom references tonight!) However. One thing I've noticed--and am loving--is how our tree has evolved over the past five (or so) years. When Dan and I envisioned our Christmas tree as newlyweds, we agreed that we wanted it to be beautiful, like the ones in a department store or magazine. We chose a silver and blue color scheme and declared that our tree would never be tarnished by those gaudy handmade ornaments. For the first few years that we were parents, we did our best to keep our Christmas tree of those offensive ornaments. We even talked about having a second tree for the Popsicle-stick stars of David and salt-dough kitty-cats, so they wouldn't distract from our "pretty" tree. Well, the silver and blue ornaments are still there, but they're now sharing square-footage with those cheap ornaments made from Oriental Trading kits and a T-Rex with one foot, which happens to be painted red. (I do not remember the story behind this, but good ol' one-foot-Rex shows up every year!) And we love it. Those precious "tacky" ornaments remind us of the little hands that made or received them, and they make us feel happier than any "designer" tree ever could.

{#3} Minivan Express

We used to buy tickets to go to a local "Polar Express" event. The first year we did this, we loved it. There were lots of fun games for the boys to play, we watched people perform the "Hot Chocolate" song from The Polar Express movie, and listened to the conductor read The Polar Express. We boarded real trains and did two laps around the property, peering out our window at plywood "wolves" and (my kids' favorite) an actor dressed as a hobo warming himself by a fire. The conductor punched our tickets, handed out chocolates, and led us in Christmas carols. When our train-ride was over, we waited in line where the boys could sit on Santa's lap. We did this for a few years, but the event eventually lost its charm for us. The tickets were extremely expensive, the wolves were less exciting, and the hobo disappeared. (Hopefully, he found a warm cozy residence!) The line to see Santa was always super-long, and we always managed to find ourselves at the end of it, with very young, tired, and crabby kids, might I add. We don't put much of an emphasis on Santa anyway, so, in the end, we ended up skipping this part altogether, but then the boys didn't get their jingle bells! (Harrumph.)

Then I stumbled upon this post by Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler. I'd swear that I heard a choir of angels singing as I read it. I love the idea of the "Minivan Express" for so many reasons. It's easy, inexpensive, friendly for very young children (and adults!), and a great way to make wonderful Christmas memories. We did our own "Minivan Express" for the first time in 2015. We hid the tickets under the boys' pillows and told them that their tickets were good for one cup of "warm" cocoa, a bag of popcorn, and a festive ride in the minivan (we show this movie and play Christmas music) to see the Oshkosh Celebration of Lights. It was a hit and instantly became a new Christmas tradition. This year, we hid matching Christmas jammies along with their tickets under their pillows, and they squealed with happiness when they found their tickets. You know it's gotta be good if there are squeals. 😉

{#4} Elf on the Shelf (Meh.)

I know, I know, I know. I've got a spin on this one, so don't give up on me yet! I don't remember when we started "Elf on the Shelf," but I can honestly tell you that it's the one holiday tradition I wish we'd never started. I will admit that it's a cute idea (in theory), and I chuckle at all the creative ways people hide and display their elves. But. I'm just not one to think of or implement any of those cute ideas. To me, it's another chore we have to do. (It's the same reason I stopped playing FarmVille. One day, it dawned on me that I was feeling guilty about not doing my virtual chores. Oh my goodness, I have enough real household chores to do. Why on Earth would I give myself virtual chores?!) I wouldn't mind putting effort into the elf if it somehow directly pointed back to the true meaning of Christmas, but it's about Santa and elves. (By the way, if Santa and elves are your jam, please know that I don't judge that. Families and family traditions are not one-size-fits-all. Besides, Santa Claus is based on a real person, St. Nicholas, who loved as Jesus loves.)

Last week, I heard about something called The Star from Afar. Brilliant. You set up a nativity and, instead of hiding an elf each day, you hide a star. When your children find the star, they move the wisemen to the star's location, and you read scripture together. Repeat 23 times. On Christmas morning, you place the star on top of the nativity stable, and your children bring the three wisemen to worship baby Jesus. Actually, I think I'd easily be able to set this up myself, without having to purchase anything. I could print out a star from our home printer and use the boys' Little People Nativity, which they love (as does every other young child I've ever known). I love this idea so much. So. Much.

To be honest, we might take a break from the whole "hiding things" concept in 2017, but if we do decide to go that direction, I'm pretty sure our boys will be searching for a star instead of our elf, Oodles.

{#5} My Dala (Swedish) Horse

I hate to brag, but I was voted "Most Organized" in my high school class. (Just kidding! What an unimpressive thing to be voted.) Anyway, part of being an organized person means consistently purging things, and I've done that from a young age. Although most of the things I discard are totally fine to let go of, there is one item I tried to get rid of that I would have regretted down the road. My maternal grandparents were well-traveled, and my grandmother brought me back a beautiful Dala horse from Sweden when I was about eight years old. The Dala horse is a symbol of the Swedish province of Dalarna and Sweden itself. For whatever reason (perhaps I forgot what it was or whom it was from), I threw it out when I was cleaning my childhood bedroom one time. Luckily, my mother rescued it from the trash.

Fast-forward 20-ish years. My mom was over at our house reading Conner his favorite Christmas book, Jan Brett's Christmas Trolls, which is based on a Swedish folktale. In the story, a little girl named Treva tries to keep her Dala horse safe from some mischievous trolls who are trying to have Christmas for themselves by stealing gifts and food from Treva's family. The Dala horse pictured in the book is identical to the one my grandmother gave to me. My mom told me this, and she brought the toy horse over one day. Sure enough, it was a perfect match. She graciously gave it back to me (I promise I'll take better care of it this time!), and the horse is sitting pretty on our mantle. Every time I look at it, I think of my grandmother. I think of all of our grandparents who are so very loved and missed, especially around this time of year.

*Well, friends, I will most likely be taking a break from posting on here for the holidays, and I hope you are taking it easy too. I will be back in the new year, kicking it off with an exciting giveaway! May your Christmas be blessed and full of the love of Jesus, the one whose birth we are celebrating!*