Family and Community Activities

What can you do to celebrate with friends and relatives of various ages? Do you want to involve children in an activity other than opening presents? Of course, the great Advent and Christmas events at Hillhurst United are a terrific place to start with this! But if you've still got blank spaces on your calendar and want to celebrate with friends and/or relations, here are some ideas from the congregation:

1. Story night - We started a tradition of getting together some time in December with extended family and reading stories. This brings every new reader on board with a very simple story and gives dads a chance to read funny poems or stories; gives moms a chance to read sentimental ones. Even the older kids have started to look forward to this evening and ask when it will be. Busy people can pick out something at the last minute, and meticulous people can find just the right story in November. You can write and illustrate your own stories, perhaps from family lore (see the "Gifts to Make" section).

2. Advent candles - Usually, we did it on the Sunday evenings of Advent. The more "bling bling" in an advent candle the better, like the little angels that go around. Turn out all the lights that you can safely get away with. Let everyone eat in the living room for once. Light the appropriate number of candles and sing songs. Read them a story that can be divided into four parts (or five, with the last one on Christmas Eve). Before kids are older and busier, you can do this almost every night; there are several books that work for this, and a few Advent Calendars available that come with stories for every day. Heck, you can write your own story every day! Or poem.

3. Skating in Bowness Park (there are lights and bonfires during evenings in December) or Olympic Plaza (there are events there on some December weekend nights, and there tends to be "seasonal music" played over the sound system).

4. Family sport days at City of Calgary Leisure Centres or Talisman Centre - taking someone else's kids to these might make a great gift, too. These usually involve getting wet.

5. Public Library Christmas-theme story events - see your local one in the Library listing booklet. These can book up fast, unfortunately.

6. The City of Calgary Arts Centres - Wildflower and North Mount Pleasant put on Christmas-themed arts and craft sessions for kids only and for kids with adults; the "family" ones are a great way to bond with sons, daughters, neices, nephews.

7. Again with the City of Calgary, the December Bird Count will occur the morning of Saturday, Dec. 1 at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, but they ask that you pre-register. You can also have your own bird count on Christmas Day, this is a tradition in some places.

8. An idea from Gifts from the Heart (see introductory post): hold a baby shower for Baby Jesus, with gifts of real baby items,and donate them to a transition house, shelter, etc.

Comment: this would work very well with a reading of the story about Papa Panov's Christmas by Leo Tolstoy; there seem to be a lot of versions of this great story on the internet, here's one: www.devon.gov.uk/dcs/re/papa/index.html

9. Gifts from the Heart also has a lot of suggestions about ways kids and families can raise money for charity or volunteer together; Sports oriented families, for example, can help with Special Olympics events or donate gently used equipment.

Visits to seniors'homes can be arranged fairly easily. There is an Inn from the Cold here at Hillhurst on Dec. 15, which may be the volunteer opportunity you are looking for.

Does anyone have specific ideas in the Calgary area?