Celebrating the Season: Esther {Day 16}

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase something, I'll receive a small affiliate commission at no cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting my efforts with this blog!

Welcome back to Celebrating the Season!  If you're new around these parts, be sure to catch up on all the other posts in this series here.  Also, if you don't want to miss a single minute of the fun from here on out, sign up for free updates and then look forward to having each post, as well as some free printables, delivered right to your inbox.

Songs to Get You into the Spirit of the Season

   
 

Francesca Battistelli is one of my favorite artists, so I was pretty excited a couple of years ago when she came out with a Christmas album.  Francesca Battistelli Christmas features great classics like O Come, O Come Emmanuel and Marshmallow World along with several new songs.  One of these has become a favorite of mine, no matter what time of year it is.  You're Here is presented from the perspective of Mary as she dwells on all that her tiny new baby will soon become.  It's really something special.

An Activity to Add to the Jolly Atmosphere

Similar to yesterday's activity, today's suggestion is to once again get out into the community.  This time, your challenge is to find a parade of some sort to either watch or participate in.  In our area, we have plenty of choices - ranging from your standard street parade to boat parades to hot air balloon glows.  Some of these might be held in the daytime, but in my opinion, the best choices are held at night and feature plenty of twinkle-light splendor.  

Some Reading Sure to Garner a Great Response

     

This pop-up version of A Christmas Carol includes not only cleverness in its construction, but absolutely beautiful illustrations by a renowned artist.  It lends itself well to a traditional family read-aloud, which you can do easily since each stave is printed as a separate, removable booklet.  This is a truly special book and one your family will look forward to unpacking year after year.


Read Stave 4 today.  Yesterday's stave gave us a glimpse of how the different characters celebrate Christmas, while today we go back to the future with The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and see what might happen if Scrooge refuses to make some changes in his life.

A Movie to Get You in a Merry Mood

     

If you're looking for a good non-animated version of this story, then the one with Albert Finney is for you.  It may not be quite as popular as the more recent Jim Carrey version (which I actually haven't seen - how is it?), but it's the one I remember most fondly growing up.

Faith Focus to Put You in a Festive Frame of Mind

If you haven't downloaded them already, make sure to grab your free coordinating printables to go along with this portion of the series.  

Day 16 - Esther

Read Esther 4 and 5 to see what King Ahaserus offered to his queen and then read Mark 6:23 for a New Testament connection.

Add your queen's crown sticker to the tree to serve as a reminder for today's verses.

What will you be doing to observe this sixteenth day of Advent?  What's the most unusual parade in your area?  I'd love to hear!  Leave a comment or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com.

Join me throughout the rest of this season for more great ideas to incorporate into your family traditions to help celebrate this special time of year.  Be sure to pin the series landing page so you can find every post, or better yet, sign up for free updates so you don't miss a single suggestion and to get your free printables!