Advent Retreat: Signs of the Season

There are many different signs that we all associate with the holiday season: candy canes, mistletoe, bells, cards, angels, etc.  Some of our youth spent a Saturday morning reflecting on these signs and how we can attach a more holy meaning to many of our secular signs.
We opened the retreat by making a paper chain together. Each youth stated a prayer for the retreat and added his or her loop to the chain.  The chain was made of many different colors, just as we are all uniquely made. We hung this chain in the room as a reminder of our communal prayers throughout the retreat.
Next we played a game called "The Giving Game."  This game involved two rounds of giving away and collecting pennies. It gave us the chance to reflect on which is better: to give or to receive.
After a brief break, we came together in small groups to discuss our gifts.  Each group had a gift-wrapped package that had questions written on the outside. The youth were given the opportunity to choose a question to answer and share with the group. Each person had the chance to answer two or three questions and we all got to know more about each other.
The next part of the retreat, was one of my favorites. Each small group received a bag of Christmas items. Their task was to use their imaginations to find the hidden spiritual meaning for each item and create a prayer for it. The youth came up with lots of great ideas, and hopefully, from now on when they see some of these regular every day objects, they might take a moment to stop and think more deeply about them.

We were fortunate enough to share a delicious meal together before moving on to another activity.  We read Leo Tolstoy's "Martin the Cobbler," a story about an old man who discovers that Christ is always among us.
We ended our retreat by reflecting on an empty crèche.  We added straw (in the form of paper) to the crèche with our pledges of service on them.  This was a good reminder of how we can each help to get ready for Jesus by helping those around us.
Our closing prayer was a reflection on the evergreen tree. Just as an evergreen tree stays green year round, God's love for us is always fresh and new.