Amber Hooker
Amber and her boys go to church with Alison at St Alban’s 10am, and she has some fantastic ideas for celebrating Advent with school aged boys.
Who is in your family?
My family consists of my husband Paul, and my two boys Thomas (age 7) and Ben (age 6)
What is your favourite thing about waiting for Christmas?
Waiting for Christmas with kids in the house is truly magical. Setting up the Christmas tree and unwrapping all those ornaments that haven’t been seen in a year and hearing the “oohs and aahhs” and “I remember that one” is exciting in itself. We talk about Santa and we talk about being naughty or nice and we talk about giving to people who may not be as fortunate as us and we talk about the true meaning of Christmas… Jesus Christ, God’s son.
How do you celebrate Advent in your home?
Last year I decided I needed to create more tradition around the nativity story with my kids… so, I decided to get the Lego out. We all got down on the floor and started to build. We talked as we built and I got a real sense of how much the boys knew of the nativity story. We also had great fun deciding which mini-figure should be the angel, and what Joseph might look like. We talked about the wise men and the presents they brought… not frankenstein but frankincense! It was so much fun and we were there for a while, some of us coming and going.
Over the next few weeks the scene changed as the boys played with the Lego, adding bits or moving things into silly positions, which is just how it should be.
What do you hope to teach your children as Christmas approaches?
I want my kids to understand why Christmas is so special. Yes its exciting that we get presents, but its about the fact that Jesus was born. God loves us so much that he sent his only son to earth. That is amazing, that is exciting and that is the reason to celebrate at Christmas time.
I would love this tradition to become as important in our family as putting up the tree and be filled with as much anticipation and joy as unwrapping those decorations. I love Christmas, really I am a big kid too and I will find any excuse to play with Lego. I love the fact it got the kids talking and thinking about the nativity. It taught me how much the kids understood and what they needed help to understand better. It brought us all together and helped us to focus on the true meaning of Christmas.
The Advent Project 