Choose one of the following activities as a way to further reflect on the Sunday readings:

• Make an Advent calendar. Together as a family, write what you will do each day to get ready for Jesus’ coming.
• Make a manger or an empty stable for the infant Jesus. Each evening during Advent, each member of the family tells one kind thing he or she has done that day to prepare for the coming of Jesus. Each places a straw in the manger for each good thing that he or she has done.
• As a family, make an Advent wreath. The Advent wreath is a circle of evergreens with four candles. Use a Styrofoam ring for the base.  Hollow out four holes to fit the candles. Four candles identify the weeks of Advent: three are purple, for the long wait; one pink, for the third Sunday to express our joy that we are halfway through our Advent waiting. Decorate with artificial evergreen twigs and berries.   Place the Advent wreath on your family table and light it when you pray during advent.
• Discuss the following question with your family: What will it take for you to get ready to meet Christ at Christmas?