My whole family loves to celebrate Advent. One of my oldest and favorite traditions is an Advent wreath. When my kids were young, I bought a lovely handcrafted Advent wreath made by a friend and we used that for many years. The pottery held five of the thin taper candles. We then “built the wreath” around it using Christmas tree branches. This same friend introduced us to the joys of beeswax candles. She made them by purchasing various candle making supplies including sheets of pliable beeswax and candle wicks. She cut out the sheets, rolled them tightly around a long wick string, and pinched them together. This would definitely be a fun and fairly easy project to do with the grandkids. Countrywide Magazine has instructions to help you make your own Beeswax candles. Or, if you want more detailed information and all the candle making supplies to go with it, Discount Candle has a complete kit. One thing I was surprised to find when I was looking at Advent wreaths today was that most only hold four candles, instead of the traditional five. My pottery wreath had five spaces but it was handmade. Since I had to put it in storage when we moved, I now use five big fat candles on the fireplace mantel, still surrounded by Christmas branches. I noticed that some people had made the beeswax candles several layers square which enabled them to stand up on their own. We’re going to have to give this a try this year, time and health permitting. If we succeed, I’ll pop up some pictures. If you beat me to it, I’d love to see photos of your creations. Whether we make our own Advent wreath and candles or buy them, we, along with our grandkids, will be blessed as we use them to help us celebrate the joyous Advent and Christmas season.

For more interesting Advent ideas from around the world, enjoy a great article by Floss about keeping our priorities in the right order during this Advent and Christmas season. Then head to her Advent article, Sharing a Pause in Advent, to find links to other interesting ideas and thoughts for Advent by writers from all over the globe.