Friday Five: An Advent of Doing Nothing

Five Things I Won't Be Doing This Advent:

1) Sending out Christmas cards. I'm just not that organized and put-together. For several years in a row I bought cards and even began composing a letter, but never got a finished product together. If I do anything along that line, it will be an e-mail.

2) Spending tons of money on presents. We try and keep it minimalist and not go overboard. Our limit for each other is usually less than $200; for Nora maybe $150 or so. My parents and brother normally get presents worth about $30-50; we might spent more on Harry's mom because I don't know if she'll get any other presents. We do have a good set of friends with whom we exchange presents, but that's about it. Nora and I may bake cookies next week for her physical therapist and anyone else who might appreciate a token gift. But that's it.

3) Buying a live Christmas tree (I stole this from MomPriest). The smell and authenticity is lovely, but they just don't last very long. We have a nice 7' tree that we bought about five or six years ago.

4) Traveling, except maybe to my parents, who are less than 20 miles away. Harry's mom is arriving either late on Christmas Eve or sometime Christmas morning. We prefer to spend Christmas at home now that we have Nora (and Junior on the way).

5) Going to lots of Christmas parties...if we go to any at all. I haven't heard if the Spiritual Care office is having a Christmas party or not. Last year, we went to the big, lavish (full bar, catered dinner in a hotel, dancing, etc) Christmas party that Harry's company throws. I had a great time, he had a lousy time. So, we won't be going this year.

As for the bonus...I can't think of my favorite Advent hymn, although "Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus" would be a front runner. I can't find a decent video of it, though, so you'll have to use your imagination.