Shrove Tuesday activities to prepare for Ash Wednesday and Lenten season

Mardi Gras--also called Fat Tuesday, Pancake Day and Shrove Tuesday--anticipates Ash Wednesday and Lent in the Catholic, Orthodox and some protestant Christian churches. These observances count down to holy week and the Easter Triduum. Shrove Tuesday falls at a different day each year with the movable Easter feast. In 2015, it's Tuesday, Feb. 17. Although the term Mardi Gras is used synonymously with the Carnival ("farewell to the flesh") celebration, it's actually one day. Here are activities children can do to learn more about Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and Lent.   Shrove Tuesday activities to prepare for Ash Wednesday and Lenten season | Examiner.com

Free Printable Christmas Manger Scenes, Nativity Sets

 During Advent we prepare our hearts for the Advent (coming) of Jesus. We set out Advent wreaths, calendars and Nativity sets, also called the creche or manger. Here are free printable nativity scenes. In our house, we begin with a stable full of animals on the first Sunday of advent. Each day we move the figures a little closer toward the stable. When the children were young, they loved 'helping' Mary and Joseph and the Magi travel to Bethlehem. We would place an unbreakable nativity set on a shelf at child level and they were free to rearrange the characters as they chose. Free Printable Advent and Christmas Nativity Scenes
Here are the links.