Advent Retrospective

Our makeshift Advent blundered on until it fell apart more or less totally for the last week ... Mum in hospital, Christmas preparations, six month old baby ... 'nuff said.

We did manage to make six O Antiphon ornaments ...

Yes, I know there are seven O Antiphons, but this was one of those activities I wished I hadn't started and six was enough of a challenge to my patience. The theory was this. Cut out card templates, scrunch up kitchen foil and glue to each side to give 3D effect, wrap entire ornament in more foil, add a layer of papermache and paint. Have you ever tried making a pointed crown or sun out of foil and papermache? If not, then my advice to you is DON'T. It is not fun. Your children will head rapidly for the nearest exit leaving you in a muddle of foil and newsprint, getting more frustrated by the minute. Star at least stuck around long enough to make a book (to represent Wisdom), but Angel saw the way the wind was blowing and scarpered. Still, I soldiered on, having got to the point where I had invested too much effort to give up, and the end result - with the addition of some gold marker - was not bad. Not brilliant, probably not worth the time and frustration, but good enough. I decided to scale down by buying a purple star for the top of our Advent tree for the seventh, "O Emmanuel" antiphon. Of course I then couldn't find a purple star, so O Emmanuel will just have to wait for next year.

We also made sixteen of the twenty four Jesse Tree ornaments before our Jesse Tree readings fell apart. I'll add the other eight this week (I know, I know ... what is the point of adding to an Advent tree after Christmas? At least we will then have them ready for next year.).We never did manage to match up the readings and the ornaments after the first few days, but we got through more readings than ornaments, which is probably the better way round.

At least I am going to be really organised for next Advent, with nice new Jesse Tree symbols and O Antiphon ornaments all ready to go! I just need to find a purple star, or it will be back to the papermache ...