One of the more difficult things to do as Christians is to celebrate Advent and Christmas separately. There is so much pressure from our culture to celebrate Christmas before it's even here, and it's easy to get swept into the Christmas frame of mind, neglecting Advent all together.
However, there are lots of ways to celebrate Advent in it's fullness and still get in the Holiday spirit with the rest of the world. We can do so by treating Advent as what it is: a season of preparation.
In particular, there are creative ways that you can prepare your hearts and minds in Advent for Christmas, either as individuals or as families. Recently, I encountered Sybil MacBeth's book, The Season of the Nativity: Confessions and Practices of an Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany Extremist. MacBeth outlines many activities and crafts you can do by yourself or with your family to help be mindful of the season, and have fun while you're doing it! It is a great starting point to creating your own Advent traditions that help spread joy and cheer.
What we do can help us encounter God even more in the richness of the liturgical calendar. If you have a family, traditions can help create a mindset in your children that will help them encounter God and love their neighbors as themselves.
So go and create your own Advent traditions! Make this season a meaningful time of joy and preparation as we celebrate Jesus coming into the world and into our hearts at Christmas.