My church holds an Advent Tea approximately every other year, although COVID interfered with that schedule. It’s a women’s event where each hostess decorates a table. She can invite friends to join her at the table or let the organizers fill in the empty seats, or it may be a combination. Some years I’ve had conflicts or simply attended, but I’ve hosted a table four times, and the first received mixed reviews.
The first time I hosted was in 2006, and
most of the women at my table had been assigned by the organizers. There was
one elderly woman I didn’t know, and, although I’m sure we introduced
ourselves, I still don’t know who she was.
I had chosen “Children’s Christmas Books” as
my theme. Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of my table. I probably used my
nice dishes, but the centerpiece was composed of books that matched the theme. The
favor I gave out was also inelegant. (More about that later.)
Most of the women at my table loved the
creativity, but the elderly woman mentioned above complained rather loudly because
she hadn’t been placed at an “elegant” table. My decorations from subsequent
years would probably have disappointed her, too, because I don’t aim for
elegance. I do aim for creativity, however, and this month’s blog posts will
discuss those subsequent tables.
That first year, each of the participants at
my table received a typed story compiled in booklet form. In keeping with the
theme, I had written a children’s story about Christmas. Looking at it now, I
would probably have done a few things differently, but I’m going to reprint it
as they received it. Here it is:
Susan’s Christmas Holiday Christmas
“My
soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Susan muttered under her breath as she
entered her father’s store. She was playing Mary in the Sunday School program,
and she wanted to get it right.
“Watch
out!” Her father’s voice brought her back to the present. She looked up and
stopped—just inches from a plastic snowman.
“That
wasn’t here last year,” Susan said.
Her
father sighed. “No, it wasn’t. I changed the holiday display this year.”
Susan’s
eyes grew wide as she looked around. Snowflakes hung from the ceiling, and
there were plastic figures everywhere. Plastic snowmen. Plastic reindeer. Even
plastic candy canes.
But
something was missing.
“Where’s
the manger scene? And why does that banner say ‘Happy Holidays’ instead of
‘Merry Christmas?’”
“I don’t want to offend my
customers,” her father said. “This is when I make most of the money we live on
the rest of the year.”
“But Dad, last year you said Christmas
was the best time to tell other people about Jesus. Don’t you want to do that
any more?”
Her
father looked down at his feet. Then he took a deep breath, looked straight at
Susan, and smiled.
“You’re
right. Who cares what other people think. God is the only one who matters, and
He wants us to tell everyone about Him.”
“Good.” Susan smiled too.
“Let’s
get the manger scene and the ‘Merry Christmas’ banner out of the back,” her
father said. “But first, let me change the music coming over the loudspeaker. How
does ‘Away in a Manger’ sound to you?
“Perfect.”
And
it was.
If you sit at my table at
an Advent Tea, I can make you this promise: It won’t be elegant.
But it will be creative.
__________
I took this photo at the
2012 Advent Tea and am using it to show an example of an elegant table. Unfortunately,
I don’t know who decorated and hosted this table, so I can’t give her the credit.
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