This past Sunday, we began our Advent Conspiracy movement, and the Westheights Church family was asked:  “What could we be doing differently this Christmas?”  Following are some ideas which were contributed.  If you’d like to add your own ideas, please add a Comment at the bottom of this posting, or email it to Mimi and she’ll post it on the blog for you.  Sharing these ideas helps inspire and encourage us as we strive together to make this Christmas more meaningful and worshipful.

1. Our children like to make a gingerbread house at Christmas.  This year Makayla (6 years old) and Ella (4 years old) want to make their gingerbread house and sell it, in order to give the money to a family who needs it this Christmas.
2. Our family has decided to purchase a goat for our sponsor child and her family.  Also, all the gifts we exchange this Christmas will be handmade.
3. My wife and I are going to skip buying gifts for each other and give to one of the MCC global needs instead.
4. Buy Christmas gifts for a local family in need through the Adopt-a-Family program at Family & Children’s Services.
5. Read the Christmas story as a family throughout the Christmas season.
6. I imagine Christmas as a giant birthday party for Jesus.  My family celebrates Christmas every year with a birthday cake to Jesus, and we sing Happy Birthday together.  This year, I hope this tradition will have greater meaning because as our family strives to reimagine Christmas.
7. Finished early to purchase smaller gifts for family and friends this year, so we can spend more time doing things with them!
8. I will cook and deliver a dinner to a family so that they can sit at the table with each other.
9. Gift my time to people who need it the most.  Whether it be a family member, an old friend, a new friend or stranger, I’m going to try to give the most valuable thing I have, which is my time.
10. For a good friend, I’m giving her a card that says “For Christmas this year I want to share 10 things with you.”  Each month we will get together for a date to spend time doing favourite things, like:  watching her favourite movie; watching my favourite movie, volunteering together, baking cookies.
11. Rather than exchanging gifts among the adults of the extended family, we have adopted a family in need through Family & Children’s Services of Waterloo Region, purchasing gifts and grocery cards for a single mother and her four children.
12. Instead of a secret Santa gift exchange, each adult in our extended family is bringing an unwrapped child’s toy to be dropped off at a Giving Tree location.
13. One of my best friends is moving out of town early 2011.  I’m giving her a mug and tea bags with a card saying that every month, on the anniversary date of her birthday (the 20th), I will call her and we can catch up on life, the universe and everything.
14. Instead of buying gifts for older relatives, give money to food boxes (May Court for children in school) in that person’s name.