Last week, I sighed as I pulled four chocolate advent calendars out of my grocery sack. We have them every year, but we have cut back on sugar in a big way in the last few years, and somehow the calendars didn’t scream, “Come Jesus!” They scream, “Go out on the trampoline if you want to bounce off the walls!” Bah humbug.

Yesterday, my friend Nicole posted an idea on Facebook about using some service activities with her chocolate advent calendars for her kids. Suddenly, I felt a little less Scroogish about the chocolate. The last few years we have done a Sunday night advent reading, complete with the candles, which the kids love, but I wanted to find ways to make advent more meaningful on a day-to-day basis. I came up with a preliminary list, but then worked a little search engine magic and found quite a few more ideas. Here is one of my favorites: http://thegarbers.blogspot.com/2008/12/i-am-unshamelessly-stealing-this-from.html

I opened a calendar template and typed in an activity a day, leaving several dates labeled GRACE to remind us that there is nothing we can do to earn God’s love. I focused on one outside-the-home service project each week (collecting food for the food bank, packing a backpack to give to the homeless, and helping neighbors with dog-walking or porch sweeping) and then included a number of fun and easy kindnesses to promote day-to-day harmony (give a sibling a compliment, do someone’s chore, tell a joke, read a poem or Bible passage at dinner). I made sure the activities we already have planned, like angel tree gifts, are on the advent calendar to minimize commitments.

The only hitch is me. I have the ability to turn this into a three-ring-circus-one-more-thing-on-the-holiday-calendar. I have to be quiet and still and kind, when I will be tempted to nag and cajole and threaten, “WHOSE job is it to love Jesus by wiping down the bathroom counter?!?” The chocolate is a symbol of the surprising sweetness of service. If one of the kids wants to skip his or her service, he or she will miss the sweetness too. If I can handle it with grace, I might softly, empathetically say, “Hmm. Looks like you have decided to skip serving today, so I guess you’ll have to skip the sweet, too.”

I’m praying that these little kindnesses will be tangible ways to give gifts to Jesus this year. We can’t earn His love—He has already given it freely. But each day, I hope we reflect His love as we care for each other and those in need around our community. I’ll let you know how it’s going—there’s still going to be too much chocolate, so if you need us, we’ll be out on the trampoline.

How do you and your family approach advent?