Advent Ornament Exchange

Don't forget that my blog is going private TODAY.

When Casey told me about the idea for an Advent Ornament Exchange...I just knew I had to get 24 people to participate.  The idea is pretty simple.  You just get 24 people to create 24 of the same ornament that correspond to a different day of the devotional: A Meaningful Christmas.  These two moms came up with it to teach their kids the true meaning of Christmas.  I was so happy when so many people wanted to participate.  

We started planning a few months ago and our exchange was on Sunday afternoon.  We even had 2 people mail their ornaments in because they live out of town (Casey and Lezlee).  The person who won longest distance traveled was Miranda because she came in from Ruston.  Most people worked so hard on their ornaments that it took a span of a few days or weeks.  Some didn't even finish until the morning of the exchange...and we've known about it for 3 months! (me)  I loved hearing stories of ornaments gone wrong and the explanations of how the ornaments were crafted.

I was just amazed by the creativity of all of our friends.  We decided to not have all uniform ornaments like the guide suggests and I am so glad.  We all took home a box of creatively hand-made ornaments to treasure for years to come.

Here is a collage of all the ornaments.

My day was "The Good Shepherd."  I had several different ideas but in the end...this is what I made.  

How cute are these hearts for "God's Love" day?

Magan's angel

Here are 17 of the 24 people who participated.  I added everyone's last name to the boxes with vinyl and my Cricut.   (self-timer action)

The ornaments were displayed on tables throughout my house.  Here are a few people collecting theirs.

Table 2 collectors.

me, Heather, Leigh, and Erinn talking about Thanksgiving debacles! :)

I highly suggest each of you doing this with your friends.  I just asked the girls in my Sunday School class to participate because there are about 24 of us.  Since everyone didn't want to participate, we opened it up to sisters, sisters-in-laws, close friends, or anyone that heard about it and wanted to participate.  I am sad to say that 1 person e-mailed back too late and we didn't have a spot. I felt terrible!  So, get a group together in your area!  People want to do this!  Oh and one of my concerns was that everyone wouldn't know everyone.  I was happy to note that everyone knew at least 2-3 people through one connection or another   Contact them here: A Meaningful Christmas