the advent letters

It may be hard to believe, but my husband and I hardly ever exchange gifts. Not for Christmas, Valentine's Day or even our anniversary. Don't get me wrong, it's not that we don't like stuff, but we would much rather spend the money on a trip or a really fancy dinner. Our love language is food and some good wine of course;)

But this year we decided to do something a little different. I was inspired by this post. In a nutshell, she made a plan to write her husband a little note or letter for the month leading up to Thanksgiving to show him how she was thankful for him. And since I had read it after Thanksgiving.... I decided to morph it into an Advent tradition. (I love starting my own traditions) After discussing with Chris, we decided to write each other a letter each day of Advent as a way to prepare for Christmas and as a present to each other. So this year we will exchange a nice, fat bundle of handwritten letters on Christmas day. How sweet is that?!

Not only does this make for a really special gift, but it was an amazing way to prepare our hearts for Christmas this year! Each day I got to share my heart with my husband by telling him how much I loved him, or how hard my day was with the kids, or a fun memory from the past or a prayer for the Advent season. It helped me remember what I loved about him on days that are hard. It made me laugh when I wrote about silly things we did when we were in college. It made me cry when I realized how I didn't do a good job loving him that day. It brought me joy, it made me thankful and dang... it put me in the Christmas spirit!

What I realized though is that when I started writing these letters I was excited that I would give him something special. But as it turns out the most special part of writing these letters is how much more I grew to love my husband. Not only did these "advent letters" (as we so named them) prepare my heart for Advent but they prepared my heart to love my husband better. You better believe this is one Advent tradition that will stick around for many years to come!

So I encourage you (even though it's technically the last day of advent) take some time today to prepare for the coming of our Lord at Christmas by writing a letter to the one you love. It might just be the most special gift you give:)

This is what I will be doing with my hubby tonight...now if only we had a fireplace to enjoy these by;)Cheers!