Purple is the New Red (and Green)

Well, sort of.

It is easy to be in sync with the liturgical season by just thinking "purple and rose" instead of the traditional red and green.

1. I keep all my Advent decorations in a separate box so it's easy to pull it out soon, and I don't have to sort through Christmas things to find what I'm looking for.
2. These days, retailers have a huge selection of decorations in all sorts of colors. I can easily go to my local Target* and find a nice selection of purple ornaments and lights. (And that's just one retailer. Do a computer search for "purple ornaments" you you'll get pages and pages of ideas.)
3. Bows, wire-edged ribbon, and lots of other sparkle-y things also come in purple and make festive additions to a bathroom mirror, your door's wreath, or wherever else you decorate.
4. I know of one family who likes to put up their tree early. They decorate with purple lights during Advent and replace them with clear lights and Christmas ornaments after their children go to bed on Christmas Eve.
5. Purchase or make a purple table runner. You can find many beautiful fabrics in the decorator section of a fabric store that are typically intended for upholstery or draperies. Most often they are 54 inches wide - a generous length for a table runner. If the design looks good in this crosswise direction, you'd only need to purchase half a yard of fabric and hem the edges to get a 16" X 52" runner. If the design looks best the other way, purchase the length you want the finished product to be (and you'll have enough fabric to make runners for two friends).
6. Change your family altar to reflect the season. A picture of the Annunciation seated on a purple placemat (or cloth napkin) is a simple reminder of the season. You could also place your empty crèche (with a few animals and a shepherd milling about) on a purple cloth.
7. Collect images of the Annunciation and display them around your house. The Church Ladies are planning to post a number of them here throughout the season of Advent. These high-quality images could easily be printed and framed, or simply stuck on your refrigerator or saved as your computer's background.

*Disclaimer: Church Ladies have no particular connection to Target or any other retailer and do not receive any financial compensation from the promotion or sale of products mentioned here.