One of our favorite family Christmas traditions is celebrating Advent with our kids. This has taken many forms in the past few years and has changed as they’re able to comprehend more and can sit still to listen for longer periods of time.
There are times when there’s more fussing over who gets to hold the ornament or who gets to put it on the tree and Tom, and I are giving each other looks as we try to continue reading.
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Here are a few ways we’ve celebrated Advent based on their ages and what we plan to do this year:
When they were smaller, we used Truth in the Tinsel. While some people really enjoy doing the crafts for each day, this non-crafty mom greatly appreciated the printables for the ornaments that corresponded to each lesson. They enjoyed coloring and decorating the ornaments and it made for an easy activity plus a way to tie in the lesson.
When Thomas was a baby, a group from our church got together and each of us was assigned an ornament to make for everyone else to go along with the lessons from The Advent Jesse Tree. The result was when it came time to start the devotionals, we each had our own bag of ornaments made from different friends at the church. It’s so fun to pull out the bag and have memories of families that are still a part of our church family and some that have moved away.
If you don’t have a group to make ornaments with, I have wooden ones on Amazon too.
There’s also this cute felt tree and corresponding ornaments to go along with the Jess Tree readings.
While we loved The Advent Jesse Tree, we hung onto it for a few years before actually reading it with the boys. We tried it first when Thomas was 4 and Arthur was 2. At that point Arthur was still just too little to understand it all and was just along for the ride.
Later, I came across a free Storybook Bible Advent plan using our favorite kids’ Bible, The Jesus Storybook Bible. This Bible was gifted to us as a baby gift for Thomas, and I often give it as gifts for baptisms or other occasions. Ours is so used the cover is barely hanging on. The stories are beautifully written with captivating pictures and each one points to our Savior.
The Jesus Storybook Advent plan is available here. There are age-appropriate questions and a mama companion devotional included. There are several options of corresponding ornaments to go along with the Storybook Bible on Etsy.
For the past couple of years, we’ve transitioned back to The Advent Jesse Tree. It’s unlikely that all four of them will sit perfectly still while we read and discuss, just saying. Life will happen and we’ll likely miss a day here and there and get off track. But in the end what we’re after is spending time together focusing on the miracle of our Savior’s birth. And if a little bit more of that truth gets soaked up during our time together, I’d say that’s a win!
A new study to try is by Driven By Grace. Lindsey was one of my first Instagram friends, and she makes beautiful Bible studies for kids and moms. She has a 5-week Christmas study for kids and Advent flashcards available.
We did Part 1 of her intermediate Exodus study as a family over the summer. The readings were just the right length to keep all the boys’ attention and the discussion questions were a great fit for our family devotional time. Another thing that’s great about her studies is you have options for digital or printed products.
I hope this list gives you some ideas to celebrate Advent with your families!
Photos by Allison Muirhead
