Advent Wreath Link-Up Fun [with updates]

Welcome to this year’s Advent Wreath Link-Up!

We’re past the halfway point of Advent, and this Sunday, we’ll be putting up our Christmas decorations. I don’t know how I’ve held off my deco-happy kids this long, except that they are enjoying the “lighting things on fire and reading out loud and watching toddler brother freak out trying to blow out the candles” moments of Advent fun on the evenings we actually undertake them.

This year, we’re using a simpler wreath than last year, and it’s in a different place.

Instead of putting it on the table (this was before I read Simcha’s brilliant idea about putting it on a pizza pan), I put it on the bookcase thingy that separates our kitchen/dining area from our couch/TV-watching area. You can see it from both views.

This ends up being somewhat of a dead space for us anyway (when I’m not trying to make a May altar out of it, that is), so it’s worked well.

I do have that other wreath set up in the front room, and I figured out how to make the tipping candles not tip (Saran wrap! Thank you, oh person whom I forget and cannot properly credit!). I have such a soft spot for it (read last year’s post, if you haven’t already, for the full story):

Now, on with the tour:

Kathryn Heemskerk shared her family’s wreath with me on Facebook:

She shared, “not fancy, but loved dearly.”

When you go to Michelle Buckman‘s home, here’s what you’ll see:

“Not sure why the candles look black,” she wrote to me, but I gotta say: the statue is a brilliant touch! I didn’t even NOTICE the candles…

Lisa Hendey spent some extra time on her Advent wreath this year:

Doesn’t it look lovely? Wish I could pop in and eat dinner with that wreath in front of me!

Jodi Santini (who participated last year too!) sent a picture of her tried-and-true wreath:

I especially love her (unsolicited) product placement of a certain Advent book. I also love how her wreath blends in so well with what I can see of the evidence of her everyday life.

Ann Margaret Lewis sent her wreath:

I have a feeling the bling wouldn’t last long in my house, though I can hear the ooo’s and ahhh’s as though my kids are looking over my shoulder.

Jen Steed‘s wreath is a wonder to me:

You see, I suspect it’s homemade. Or something equally crafty. It’s pretty, though, and once I got over the suspicion that the candles are homemade, I couldn’t help but appreciate the simple beauty of it.

Lauren Gulde‘s wreath screams “practical woman with lots of taste lives here” to me:

Bet you could repurpose all those candle holder thingys, huh? And the greenery looks like it smells yum. So there you go, a whole lesson in a reusable-through-the-whole-year Advent wreath off of one picture!

Barb, from SFO Mom (because no, I do not type her last name unless I have to, like when I’m posting her Tech Talk stuff at CatholicMom.com), has a wreath with history:

It’s the one her husband’s family used when he was a kid, and now she uses it with her family. I love that…and it makes me think about what sorts of traditions I could be using Advent to instill in my children.

Brianna Heldt is using her Advent wreath each day of Advent:

She shares in her post about what her plan is for Advent and her enthusiasm is contagious!

Here’s Katie O’Keefe‘s wreath:

I particularly enjoyed her reflection about Advent and I’m going to echo and repeat her prayer for Advent for the rest of mine.

Laura Pearl uses 7-day candles in her wreath:

She’s been using this set-up for ten years, and I’m taking notes. I love her family’s simple tradition for the prayers, too.

ViolinMama combines her Advent wreath with the Jesse Tree:

I would have never thought of that, but she describes how it works for her family and I love picturing her kids around the table, soaking in the Advent goodness.

Molly has won me over with her wreath:

I am a TOTAL SUCKER for wrought iron (as anyone who’s been to my kitchen can tell). This Advent wreath makes me feel like I’m in my Gran’s kitchen, with a few cinnamon-iced cutouts on a plate and the cozy feeling all around me.

Here’s Megan Swaim‘s wreath:

Megan shared that her wreath was a wedding gift. I hadn’t ever thought of an Advent wreath as a wedding gift, but it’s going on my list now! As someone who was married the day before Advent began that year, I’m feeling some solidarity with Megan in her newlywed Advent bliss.

Deanna Bartalini shares her wreath:

 

If you want to know how to make a wreath, Deanna also shares the method…and I almost, almost, thought that even I could do it. (That says something about her teaching skills.)

Here’s the wreath you’ll see if you were to stop in at Christine Marciniak’s house:

The statue, she said, was on clearance one year, and she’s reached the stage where she can even have liturgically-correct table runners.

Lisa Olsen sent her Advent wreath by email:

The “Believe” just adds a dimension I had never thought of applying to an Advent wreath. It’s festive even as it’s very Advent-y.

Here’s Ebeth Weidener‘s wreath:

It’s on her front door! Isn’t that a different approach to things? I love the idea of sharing Advent with the world outside your doors–and what a great take on the standard door wreath, don’t you think?

(Come to think of it, I’ve seen posts about Advent wreaths for mailboxes too, but let’s just say that is NOT happening in my parts.)

And, last but not least, here’s Monica Reyna‘s wreath:

I love the flashes of red and the pinecones…they offset that delicate lace tablecloth so nicely and give me an increased appreciation for those of you who are good at this sort of thing!

In a move that I consider “glad you sent it,” Ali sent her Advent wreath:

I love the set-up, and I’ll admit a certain smile when I saw her family’s Advent reading material propped up by the wreath… 🙂

Thanks for participating, everyone!

Happy Advent!