The Suede Sofa Blog

Day 18 – Advent Calendar

Listen to this great Christmas song, called “Where’s the Line for Jesus”. (Search for the title if you can’t view the video below)

Alternative Activity: Do a Christmas craft or bake with the kids, remembering that the object is to have fun, not end up with something that looks beautiful. Let the kids lead rather than follow.

{You may choose to simplify the process big-time. It doesn’t need to be time-consuming, stressful, or cost you anything. Do what works for you and enjoy the season with the ones you love!!}

Day 17 – Advent Calendar

Sing “Joy to the World” at the top of your lungs. After you have done it once, invite someone to join you. See you can do it the loudest! (Bonus points for doing it outside.

{You may choose to simplify the process big-time. It doesn’t need to be time-consuming, stressful, or cost you anything. Do what works for you and enjoy the season with the ones you love!!}

Alternative Activity: During dinner, have each person share their favorite thing about Christmas, their favorite holiday food and carol.

Day 16 – Advent Calendar

Go through your house and make a pile of gently used toys, books, and clothes to donate to a shelter. Drop it off on your next trip to town!

{You may choose to simplify the process big-time. It doesn’t need to be time-consuming, stressful, or cost you anything. Do what works for you and enjoy the season with the ones you love!!}

Alternative Activity: Dance to a Christmas song!

ENJOY FEELING LIKE A KID AGAIN! Make snowflakes and hang them up as decoration either on the window, Christmas tree, or around the house! (It helps if you trace a cereal bowl, cut out the circle, fold it up, and then begin cutting your snowflake)…but I let my kids do it however they wanted, as seen below!

{You may choose to simplify the process big-time. It doesn’t need to be time-consuming, stressful, or cost you anything. Do what works for you and enjoy the season with the ones you love!!}

Alternative Activity: When is the last time you actually colored? Get our some crayons, markers or a pen and paper and draw something related to Christmas.

Day 14 – Advent Calendar

Advent Day #14 –Have a candlelit dinner, with Christmas music in the background.

{You may choose to simplify the process big-time. The most important thing is that you do what works for you and enjoy the season with the ones you love!!}

Alternative Activity: Choose a different place to eat dinner or let your kids decide. Maybe you can have a picnic on your livingroom floor as you watch the Christmas lights twinkle in the distance. Don’t have a candle? Turn off all the lights in your house except for one in the room nearby for a “low-lit” meal.

Day 13 – Advent Calendar

Advent Day #13 – Have a s’mores night in front of the fireplace or outside around a firepit.

{You may choose to simplify the process big-time and do something as easy as pick one person a day from now ’til Christmas and pray for them. It doesn’t need to be time-consuming, stressful, or cost you anything. Do what works for you and enjoy the season with the ones you love!!}

Alternative Activity: Rest in the fact that the Great “I Am” has your back regardless what season of life you are in. (Click on any of the following for encouragement in any area you are facing.)

Day 12 – Advent Calendar

Advent Day #12 – Send a thank-you note to a priest, pastor, teacher, …

Alternative Activity: Bask in the love of a God who is crazy-in-love with you.

“Your Love Is Extravagant”

Your love is extravagant. Your friendship, it is intimate. I feel like moving to the rhythm of Your grace. Your fragrance is intoxicating in our secret place. Your love is extravagant.

Spread wide in the arms of Christ is the love that covers sin. No greater love have I ever known. You considered me a friend. Capture my heart again.

Spread wide in the arms of Christ is the love that covers sin. No greater love have I ever known; You considered me a friend.

Capture my heart again. Your love is extravagant. Your friendship, it is intimate.

Day 11 – Advent Calendar

Advent Day #11 – Go Christmas caroling to a neighbor or a shut-in.

Alternative Activity: Ask God how you can make the world a better place. (Then do what He tells you to do!)

Day 10 – Advent Calendar

Advent Day #10 – Do something nice for a stranger such as go through a drive thru and pay for the person behind you, give a generous tip, or let them have the better parking spot.

Alternate Activity: Give God something you have been denying Him such as obedience or trust.

Shop at Home and SAVE!

Those of you who know me or follow our blog know that if deciding between shopping at Target with my two kids or a root canal…the stress free option would hands down be the root canal! I am always the mom with the kids climbing in and out of the shopping cart, yelling at them for running away from me, or in last weeks case the mom with the 5-year-old crying in the isle because I wouldn’t buy him some Captain America shield he JuSt HaD To HaVe! So again…a root canal with a little laughing gas to take the edge off would be my pick any day!

Thanks to my little shopping nightmares I have resorted to doing almost all of my Christmas shopping online. What I have learned is…you can get amazing deals with PrOmO CoDeS! When purchasing online, before you pay there is almost always an option to enter a promo code. In the past I left this blank not knowing where to find a code. Now with some hard work and a little luck I have saved tons of money and gotten free shipping on most of my purchases by simply typing the name of the store that I am purchasing from and the words promo code in a google search. Once you do that tons of links come up to sites that are dedicated to listing current and expired promo codes. For example…I ordered our Christmas cards from Shutterfly this year during their 50% off sale and earned free shipping due to the amount that I was purchasing. The card that I chose was a little more than I wanted to spend so I typed into google “Shutterfly promo code” and found a code that got me an extra 20% off what I was already getting! It was well worth the time and effort it took me to find the code!

As you get ready to do your last-minute shopping, remember…the stores need to get rid of their inventory just as much as you need to buy presents. Take the time to search for SaViNgS!

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)