Mary Ellen Barrett reminds us of the key reason for the observing of Advent - sometimes we forget.

Elizabeth Rozycki shares her 9 top tips for keeping homeschooling going during the Christmas season, and how to keep the Christmas spirit alive!

Out in the country, Amanda Evinger shares her favorite family traditions for keeping Advent alive and spiritual while homeschooling her 3 kids.

Not to be a whiner, but there have been parts of this Advent which have felt like Lent in our house.  Rather than cheerfully preparing for a beloved guest, I ...

by Christine Smitha | It isn’t easy to keep the Christmas spirit alive, especially after Christmas, when everyone else seems to have forgotten that it ever was Christmas.

by Emily Molitor | Growing up in a large family, this time of waiting meant baking cookies, reading books, and creating crafts.

1st Week of Advent Scripture Reading: Luke 10:21-24 If there was any group of people in Jesus’ day who should have recognized Him as Israel’s Messiah and believed in His ...

by Mary Ellen Barrett | I wanted a beautiful home for Advent, but instead got sheetrock, spackle, large men with tool belts and very little heat.

by Lorraine Espenhain | Journaling is for technicians, janitors, gardeners, nurses, moms, dads, students, and starving artists! It’s not just for writers.

by Christine Smitha | Around the world, many of the best Advent traditions carry the idea of the hidden seed, a hidden seed of faith and charity we nurture...

by Monica McConkey | As Catholics, we enjoy our own special calendar, celebrating the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter as well as a significant number of weeks of Ordinary Time. It’s a shame really, that it’s called ordinary, because it’s still filled with plenty of Feast Days and celebrations that are quite extraordinary!

Download this 'First Christmas' Word Puzzle! A fun activity to for all ages! Search for these words: Stephen, Conception, Original, Advent, Diego, manger, Wise, Bethlehem, Shepherds, Herod, John, pink, Innocents, Guadalupe...

Download this ‘The First Christmas’ Crossword! A fun activity to challenge your knowledge of facts and trivia on Christmas. For all ages! Answer questions like: 1) Catholics celebrate the feast of the Immaculate ___ of Mary on December 8. 2) The feast mentioned above means that Mary was conceived without ___ sin.

The weather is changing and the holiday season is upon us. Decorations have been up in stores for weeks, a bright mishmash of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas displays to entice the consumer to buy, buy, buy. It’s so easy to get caught up in the hoopla and the craziness and lose the true meaning of what we are celebrating.

by Clare Schmitt Can you believe we only have two weeks left until Christmas? I think children give us a whole new perspective on Advent, on the preparation for the ...