Several elements of my life came together to create Waiting for Noël.

The first was the birth of my second daughter one week before Christmas. With a brand new baby, that first Christmas was magical, like having the best Christmas present possible. Later, I decided I wanted to try to capture some of that special joy. But I wasn't sure how to go about it.

One Sunday, almost a year later during Advent (the church season leading up to Christmas), our pastor spoke about the meaning of the Advent candles: hope, peace, joy, faith and love. Somehow I made a connection between the Christian experience of preparing for the birth of baby Jesus and the opening of a family's heart to welcome any new baby.

The third element was the Alaskan winter outside the walls of my home. As I sat down to write, it was very dark and very cold; so cold that the walls of the house were popping. (It probably helped that my little study wasn't particularly warm, either! I could really feel that frost in the air, not to mention the ice on the windows.) So I had few problems finding the words to describe the power of winter, as well as the life-giving power of light in the midst of darkness and cold.

Still, if my daughter had been born in any other month, I would never have thought of the idea for this story -- and Waiting for Noël would not exist!

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"In lyrical prose, a little girl’s father tells of the preparations that led up to her Christmas birth. The lighting of the candles in the family’s Advent wreath connects the story of the girl’s birth to the joy surrounding the Nativity."
                                                                                  -- The Horn Book Guide, Jan.-June 2001

"As her family lights the Advent candles each Sunday before Christmas, Noël hears the story
of her birth from her father. Her story is special because she was born on Christmas Day. Ann Dixon’s beautifully written children’s story is about the season of Advent and the celebration of God’s gifts: hope, peace, joy, faith, and love. Accompanied by Mark Graham’s breathtaking illustrations, Waiting for Noël is a delightful read for everyone, religious or not."

                                                                             --- The Bloomsbury Review, Nov./Dec. 2000

"...chronicles not only the coming of Christ’s birth but that of young Noël, who was also born on Christmas Day. A closing note explains the German tradition of lighting an Advent wreath.
Full-bleed and panel pastels capture the moonlight on the snow as well as the flow [sic] of firelight."

                                                                                        --- Publisher’s Weekly, Sept. 2000

"Noël’s family lights Advent candles each week before Christmas. As they do so her father tells Noël the story of the year the family waited for Noël to be born on Christmas Day. The illustrations are beautiful and contribute to the total impression the story brings."

                                                                                           --- Christian Observer, Nov. 2000

"If you know anyone who is expecting or would like to suggest a Christmas book for an expectant customer/family, this would be the one. The story of Noël’s birth on Christmas Day is paralleled with the lighting and significance of the Advent season candles as the family awaits her birth and the birth of our Lord."

                                        --- Children’s Notes (Association of Logos Bookstores), Oct. 2000

"This lovely picture book, illustrated by Mark Graham, celebrates the Advent season and reminds any child with a Christmas birthday why she is special."

                                                                                  --- Anchorage Daily News, Dec. 14, 2001

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Make an Advent candle holder out of modeling dough or clay. Roll out the dough and use a bowl to cut out a circle six to eight inches in diameter. Place four small candles (birthday candles may work well) around the the circle and one candle in the middle.

Make a gingerbread Advent candle holder. Roll out gingerbread cookie dough to between three-eighths and one-half inch thickness. Use a bowl to cut out a circle six to eight inches in diameter. Bake the cookie until done and cool. Place four birthday candles in birthday-cake candle holders around the edge of the circle. Place one candle in the middle. Begin lighting your candles!

Make a wooden Advent candle holder. You’ll need either a piece of two-by-four inch lumber about one foot long or a small, one-foot log, four to six inches in diameter and sawed or planed flat on one side. With a parent, use a hand drill or power drill to make five one-inch holes in the wood. (If using a log, drill the holes into the rounded side, not the flat side.) Drill the hole about one inch deep. You may sand and paint or varnish the wood if you like, or simply leave it unfinished.

Make an Advent calendar. Start with two big sheets of construction paper. On one, draw a large Christmas tree, star, stable, or other symbol of Christmas. Then draw twenty-five three-sided doors, each about one inch square, within your symbol. Use scissors, or with the help of an adult, a sharp knife, to cut the three-sides of your "doors" so they will open. Glue the page with doors onto the bottom page. (Glue along the edges, being careful not to glue the doors shut!) Cut out twenty-five small symbols of Christmas from old Christmas cards and magazines. Glue these onto the bottom page inside the "doors." (Or, draw your own Christmas symbols.) Use a small piece of tape to hold each door shut. Number the doors one to twenty-five and decorate your picture with paint, glitter, crayons, markers, etc. Beginning on December 1 with door number one, open one door each day. On Christmas Day all the doors will be open!

Make ice lanterns. If it’s cold enough where you live, make ice lanterns by partially freezing water in buckets or cans. Water will freeze first on the bottom and sides. Check the water every hour or so until solid ice has formed on the sides and bottom but there is still some water in the middle. Pour out that water. Warm the container just a little so the ice lantern will slide out easily. Be careful not to break it! Set the lantern outside in a place safe from fire hazards -- in the snow, away from wooden porches or steps -- and place a candle in the middle. When it gets dark, light the candle. It will be beautiful!

Light up the darkness. After it is dark outside, close the curtains and turn off all the lights. Sit in the dark for a minute or more. Can you see anything at all? Can you see well enough to walk across the room? Brush your teeth? Read a book? Now ask an adult to light just one candle. What can you see now? Can you see well enough to do some things? Sing the song "This Little Light of Mine."

Think About/Discuss/Write. Why is light so important? Could we live without light? Why did Jesus say He was the light of the world? What else does the Bible to say about light?

Links:

For more books about Christmas and other Christian holidays, go to www.eerdmans.com, the website of Eerdmans Publishing. Click on "Young Readers" or "Children’s Books."

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