Welcome to Famous at Home in five minutes.

Practical insights for creating a family of connection, celebration, and purpose.

I think we're all done with Zoom calls and Zoom meetings and virtual meetups.

Our kids are sick of staring at screens, trying to follow along with their

teachers who, let's be honest, are giving their all. But they're also tired of not being in person.

Modern technology is great, and it has been incredibly powerful in helping us stay connected

this year. But I think we're all aching for something real and tangible, something slower

and handmade.

I remember as a boy being at my Mee-Maw's house and we'd make candles out of clothespins

and fabric, candy canes with pipe cleaners, and Christmas tree garland from popcorn and construction

paper chain links. One other fun part of Christmas I

remember was turning out all of the lights in the house and setting up candles, and then we'd sing

silent night, likely very out of two, I'm sure. In a normal year, we'd probably be running from

one Christmas party to another, children's

concerts, getting presents for Christmas exchanges, planning travel from one family to another,

and likely missing out on what matters most, making memories together.

We have no idea if we'll ever have another Christmas quite like this one.

So we're going to make the most of the extra time that we have together as a family.

We'll grieve what's not normal, but we'll also be intentional and get creative with the time we have for our little family.

For us, that begins with an Advent family experience leading up to Christmas, teaching our kids about the Christmas story and going back to the good old days.

That's what I want to get back this year, an old-fashioned Christmas.

We've already got the construction paper and the popcorn kernels and the string,

...