DhanyaCali Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Will you share your advent traditions with me? We never did anything for it growing up, though there was the advent wreath in church. I'd like to something with my family for advent, but spiritual like, all these "advent" countdowns I see online are just calenders stuffed with candy. Or "Countdowns to Santa" lol no thank you. Do you do an advent wreath at home is there anything else you do for the special season please share with me, links and pictures too if you like my family is a blank canvas Looking forward to the birth of the Savior! <3 Oh we're protestant (Methodist/congregational) if it matters. Thanks in advance, homeschoolers always do the coolest stuff! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DhanyaCali Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share Posted October 28, 2014 BTW the irony of me denouncing Sana Clause while dressed up as a reindeer in my profile picture is not lost to me, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 We've done different things. It's evolved to be the following: 1) Book Basket- I wrap enough picture books to open at least one a day through Advent. Over the years we've gotten a lot of picture books so some are ones we own but I also wrap library books. The kids know they aren't presents, it's just the excitement of opening them. They only see those books in Advent so they get really excited at seeing the same books every year. It's probably our favorite tradition. I have a list of books on my blog: http://supratentorial.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/advent-reading/ 2) Jesse Tree- This is my favorite one for the actual religious part of Advent. Here is a blog post I wrote about it if you want to see more.http://supratentorial.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/advent-jesse-tree/ Basically, it's a way of reading through the story of the Bible over the month. You can make or buy very fancy ornaments, there are lots of online links. Or you can be like me and just make them out of construction paper. :) 3) Advent wreath- We have a wreath and we light the candles most nights, if we are all having dinner together. I've done different things for devotions during that time. What seems to work best for us is to do something weekly, on the Sundays of Advent only and then to do the Jesse Tree devotion daily. 4) I make an activity calendar. My kids love this one, I kind of am tired of it but I skipped it one year and they were all sad. I found a cheap Advent calendar at Michael's that had little pockets with numbers. I think you are supposed to put candy in them. I put a slip of paper in each one with a special family activity for that day. Some are more elaborate or special (go to see Nutcracker). Some are simple (drink peppermint hot chocolate or go for walk to look at lights in neighborhood). Sometime it's "have a game night" or "watch a Christmas movie". Usually it's traditions we do every year and they look forward to. It took me awhile to realize I could cheat and switch around the slips to fit what worked for us. So now I don't stress as much about the planning. Some events are set (tickets to the Nutcracker or a church service). But for the rest I just write down all the things I know they want to do and then fill in the rest of the days with things like "drink hot chocolate". Then I'll look ahead a few days and see if what I put at the beginning of the month is still going to work for that day. If not, I just switch it or think of something else quick. That might be confusing but it's actually pretty simple to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 We like Geraldine Macaughrean's book, The Jesse Tree. I made felt ornaments to match the wood carvings at the beginning of each chapter one year and they've seen lots of use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Keeping in mind that we have 3 kids age 4 and under... We have an advent calendar. My mom made it when I was little. It's in no way religious, unless you count the fact that the item put up on Christmas is the manger scene. We have an Advent wreath. I found some prayers last year that were short and sweet. So we light the candles and say the prayer every night before dinner. And this year I am starting something new. I found a printout of the Biblical Christmas story divided into 24 days. I will print in out and make ornaments (Bible verse on one side, wrapping paper on the other). Each morning the kiddos will look for that day's ornament, which will be hidden somewhere in the house. When the find it, we will read the verse and hang the ornament on a branch (so they stay in order and I can read the preceding verses as well). I am trying this instead of a Jesse tree. I think our kids are too young to get the big picture of the Jesse tree and how all the stories connect. So we will just focus on the Christmas story for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I loved this site when I was a Protestant. KenCollins has great information from many Christian traditions, and a lot of explanations about the more traditional and litugical practices. http://www.kencollins.com/holydays/holy-01.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 A lady at our church wrote a devotional for the church and then published it. It's great for people with kids and for people without. (single, young or old). http://www.amazon.com/Tidings-Great-Joy-Devotions-Christmas/dp/098311790X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414521896&sr=8-1&keywords=sharon+pullen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMommy Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I love Advent! It's such special, peaceful, hopeful time of year. I've been working hard to create a lot of family traditions for this season. The Jesse Tree is our biggest tradition. It's something I really look forward to all year long! Our evening prayers are done by the light of the Advent wreath. I love how the growing light cuts through the winter darkness! We've done some Advent wreath crafts over the years, too. We also go through the "O" Antiphons in the week leading up to Christmas. It's a great way to take a closer look at "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." We try to get to our church's midweek service every week. Those evening prayer services are some of my favorites of the whole year, and the hymns are beautiful! We read one of Arnold Ytreeide's books every year. My children really love those stories. We also have a lot of other books that we read through during the season of Advent and into Christmas. I also try to make a big deal out of the special commemoration days that pop up during Advent...St. Nicholas, Santa Lucia, St. Ambrose, St. Thomas (which provides a great chance to visit the elderly and take them a special gift/treat), etc. I talked about some of our family's Advent traditions on the radio last year, and I'll be back on the program this December to talk about some more! I can't wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Advent Wreath - every couple of years we make a new one. Ours is usually not made of fresh material but wreath and decorations are purchased at a craft store. I always use beeswax candles. When ds was younger, we had a calendar as well. It did not emphasize the "count down" as much as tell the Christmas story in pictures. ETA: We also do the Operation Christmas Child boxes. This is a fun thing to do with kids and let's them help another child. You can also pay the delivery fee for the box online and get your box tracked. After the box is delivered, they email you were the box went and you can research the country / area with your children - bonus geography lesson. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer&Mom Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I love the Waldorf approach to celebrating festivals in the home. There are several great Christmas books in this bent, I really like "Christmas in the Family" by Isabel Marion. It is a collection of activities, crafts, songs and stories. It covers everything from Advent to Epiphany, so there are ideas for the whole season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twolittleboys Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 We are a three person family. Every evening (just before bedtime) one of us gets to select a song from a little book of Christmas songs we have. One person gets to light a (fairly big) candle. Then we all sing the chosen song together. The last one of us gets to blow out the candle. The "jobs" rotate every day to avoid fights as especially lighting the candle is very popular. We also have an advent calendar and an advent wreath which we light on Sundays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I love Advent! It's such special, peaceful, hopeful time of year. I've been working hard to create a lot of family traditions for this season. The Jesse Tree is our biggest tradition. It's something I really look forward to all year long! Our evening prayers are done by the light of the Advent wreath. I love how the growing light cuts through the winter darkness! We've done some Advent wreath crafts over the years, too. We also go through the "O" Antiphons in the week leading up to Christmas. It's a great way to take a closer look at "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." We try to get to our church's midweek service every week. Those evening prayer services are some of my favorites of the whole year, and the hymns are beautiful! We read one of Arnold Ytreeide's books every year. My children really love those stories. We also have a lot of other books that we read through during the season of Advent and into Christmas. I also try to make a big deal out of the special commemoration days that pop up during Advent...St. Nicholas, Santa Lucia, St. Ambrose, St. Thomas (which provides a great chance to visit the elderly and take them a special gift/treat), etc. I talked about some of our family's Advent traditions on the radio last year, and I'll be back on the program this December to talk about some more! I can't wait! I love these ideas. We have an Advent wreath on the dinner table and use Anglican prayers and readings, a collect each week and scripture reading that change daily. The wreath has the usual three violet candles and one pink one and is decorated in pink and violet, with ribbons and berries from a craft store, not as tacky as it sounds. On Christmas Eve, we change the wreath so it had one white candle in the center, wrapped with gold ribbon, and white roses, gold ribbons in the wreath. We keep it until Epiphany. I like to celebrate Epiphany and the 12 days of Christmas as a joyful counterpart to the observance (not celebration) of Advent, which is, strictly speaking, a penitential season. And a simple thing. We put wreaths on our doors and windows on or about the first day of Advent, not as a grand finale to Thanksgiving, lol. We decorate the tree on Christmas Eve. We have a crèche, putting the baby in on Christmas Eve, and moving the 3 kings closer and closer until thy arrive at Epiphany. St. Nicholas Day is big for us, but I am still trying to manage other seasonal saints days and ethnic traditions. A wonderful book with traditions is Festivals Together. There are 2 other books in this Waldorfy, multi-cultural series. I love the Waldorf approach to celebrating festivals in the home. There are several great Christmas books in this bent, I really like "Christmas in the Family" by Isabel Marion. It is a collection of activities, crafts, songs and stories. It covers everything from Advent to Epiphany, so there are ideas for the whole season. I love Waldorf traditions. If you google Advent spiral, you will find a lovely tradition. I use battery candles, not real ones, for safety. But real ones are nicer if you have the space. The Advent calendars by Madeline have quite good quality chocolate inside, compared to most of the candy type calendars. Just saying. Oh, and advent music, not Christmas carols. Some Presbyterian (and other) churches near us feature labyrinths during Advent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Advent wreath. We don't put up our Christmas tree until the last Sunday in Advent, and we don't put anything but lights on it until Christmas Eve. But we decorate the house otherwise, wildly--angels, stars, evergreens, etc. We have a flat bamboo Christmas tree shape that I hang from a door, and decorate with ornaments from our Advent devotions, using this book, unfortunately now OOP: http://www.amazon.com/Countdown-Christmas-Devotions-Laura-Zimmerman/dp/057004992X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414530805&sr=1-3&keywords=advent+devotions+Concordia Or we read Jothan's Journey, little by little. We have a collection of great picture books about Christmas and winter and Advent, as well as some specific craft and cooking books and seasonal magazines. I take them out and put them on a big trunk in the living room this time of the year, to look at whenever anyone wants. We fill the fir place with evergreen branches (free from tree lots, usually), and then put in red votive candles in white lotus bowls. This is charming, and if the pine accidentally catches on fire, no big deal, it's in the fireplace. We also pile pinecones on the mantel and hearth. We go to church on Wednesday evenings for special additional Advent services. Usually one or more of us is practicing for a Christmas choral concert or a special church service. We all go to those. We visit Christmas in the Park locally, and the annual Waldorf Christmas Faire, which is always the first Saturday in Dec. And we often visit the Dickens' Faire also. It's a very happy time. Also, we don't open any Christmas presents before Christmas Eve, but we spread them out to Epiphany. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 We make a chain to count down, and cut off one link each day. Each link has a special thought, song or activity for the day. Among them, we see if we can fulfill all the instructions in Matthew 25:35-36: I was hungry, and you gave me food (easy, since my church leaves the donation barrels out every weekend). I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink (donate to water-related charity or give water bottles to local homeless ministry). I was a stranger, and ye took me in (hospitality or helping homeless people). Naked, and ye clothed me (coats for the children drive, and I try to crochet a couple of scarves and/or hats as well). I was sick, and ye visited me (typically just if a friend or neighbor is sick, as DS is still young enough to spread germs a lot & is not necessarily welcome at a hospital or nursing home). I was in prison, and ye came unto me. (We can't practically visit, but we have bought hats made by women prisoners and donated them to the coat drive. This year I might contribute to the prison's dog-training program instead.) We also have a nativity scene that's about the same size as our little tabletop tree, so we put them out together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRG Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 we've done Advent Candles, calendars and wreaths, read books, etc.This year I bought What's In The Bible (Phil Vischer-creator of Veggie Tales)Advent Activities Book, 'Everyday Emmanuel' and 'Why Do We Call It Christmas?' book. The Emmanuel book looks simple and fun and has weekly Bible readings to go along with the activities. I really liked the Christmas book and can't wait to read it to my little one. One year we did Jotham's Journey and Barthlomew's Passage. We didn't care for those--some freaky scary scenes if your kiddos are little. They really bothered my youngest when we read them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DhanyaCali Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 Wow thank you all these are such great ideas! I pinned them all and will continue to sort through them :D I think we'll make a simple advent wreath, we'll see if nightly bed time Bible time is the best or just weekly. I am going to have to look into Jesse trees. Someone's blog mentioned the lion storyteller christmas book, little OT from wreaths and stuff but we love their bedtime storybook and I think the Christmas one would be sweet to read a story a day during the month on december. Mrs.Mommy I think (I pinned tons from your website thank you for all the ideas, I'm halfway through your radio show!) WhiteHawk, I just LOVE everything about that idea of yours and how you do it! Our kids nativity scene is already out, DS4 begged begged begged me to take it out this summer so I finally relented, he plays with it quite a bit. BarnWife where did you find that 24 days Christmas story? I think midweek services will have to wait for other years although Im sure they're lovely. The church we're at now doesn't have doors on the pews and with the 1 year old now walking and RUNNING everywhere I'm personally not getting too much out of Sundays what to speak of more. There's no sound hook up in the nursery unfortunately. I'll see if my state's library has any of those Waldorf books about holidays, I do love the Waldorf way of doing things. I already requested Jothan's journey from the library to check it out but we'll see, my oldest is only 4.5 so I usually shy away from Bible times fiction so as not to confuse him you know? All the other books people linked look good too! Thank you ladies SO MUCH I'm certainly blessed to have such a wide online community of Christian mommas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 DhanyaCaliHere is the one I am using. I think I might just get 24 little stockings and put a verse in each. I still plan on hiding it for the kiddos to find, as our kiddos will love that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutor Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 We have an Advent wreath, read through a book (usually one of Arnold Ytreedie's advent story books: "Jotham's Journey," "Bartholomew's Passage," or "Tabitha's Travels"), and do a little advent countdown "calendar" I make myself. Last year's was such a hit, I am repeating and expanding on the idea. I get little gift boxes from the dollar store (this year, enough for each kid to have enough for their own calendar) and number them 1- whatever number gets us to Christmas Eve. I bought each kid a puzzle at the library book sale this year (25 cents each) and I will evenly distribute the puzzle pieces through their boxes. I will also wrap up the box and they can choose to leave it wrapped and put the puzzle together blind or unwrap it to see the picture.The biggest problem will be finding enough tabletop space for them to have their puzzles out for a month and a half. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwmama Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 In the past we've just done a Jesse tree but this year we're going to do a bit more... -A Jesse tree -An Advent wreath -Learning the "O Antiphons" the week before Christmas -Decorating the tree on Christmas Eve and then celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas We're also still discussing how we are going to do presents and if we are going to do them. If we do them then we are thinking about doing them on Epiphany, Jan 6, instead of on Christmas Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I, too, wanted the "Christmas countdown" that was more than little pieces of chocolate. So we do the Jesse Tree. Except we can't do it daily so we end up doing catch up on some days. And anything not done yet on Christmas day gets sped through before we open gifts. Last year we went to our church's Christmas eve candle lighting service and I think we want to do that again this year too. It was SO powerful. Better than I expected from all the descriptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 We have an Advent wreath, read through a book (usually one of Arnold Ytreedie's advent story books: "Jotham's Journey," "Bartholomew's Passage," or "Tabitha's Travels"), and do a little advent countdown "calendar" I make myself. Last year's was such a hit, I am repeating and expanding on the idea. I get little gift boxes from the dollar store (this year, enough for each kid to have enough for their own calendar) and number them 1- whatever number gets us to Christmas Eve. I bought each kid a puzzle at the library book sale this year (25 cents each) and I will evenly distribute the puzzle pieces through their boxes. I will also wrap up the box and they can choose to leave it wrapped and put the puzzle together blind or unwrap it to see the picture.The biggest problem will be finding enough tabletop space for them to have their puzzles out for a month and a half. :) This is a REALLY neat idea. My kids both like puzzles. I could see choosing a nice puzzle that is harder than they would otherwise be able to do. Put the puzzle together first, then break it up into pieces that actually fit together. So the puzzle "Grows" as the month passes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 We don't do advent, however we are doing an advent calendar of sorts, complete with activities and gifts as a countdown to Christmas. Feel free to ignore my ideas if they don't match with would you are looking for. Polar express night complete with hot chocolate, stringing Christmas lights, decorating tree, making snowflakes, family game night, making ornaments, making cookies, looking at Christmas lights, s'mores in the fireplace, making Christmas cards, go ice skating, gingerbread houses, make new Year's wreath, make bird feeders (pinecones with peanut butter and birdseed).... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 We do an Advent wreath following the traditional advent schedule. This includes daily candle lighting, nightly devotional, prayer, and some carol singing. We have used several different resources. Last year we used this little book and it was my favorite so far. We also have a wooden Advent calendar that my dh made. It has little pull out boxes for each day starting with the 1st-24th. Each day I put in candies and a piece of paper with a nightly activity written on it. The activities are a mish-mash of crafts, games, community events, church events, charity, family fun/traditions, etc. I change it up a bit yearly but many of them are the same from year to year. I also like to move around our Nativity seen throughout the month. Starting with Mary and the Angel. I generally change the scene on Satuday night when the kids are in bed. I also keep Jesus hidden until I put him out at the same time as gifts Christmas Eve night when the kids are in Bed. The Wise Men travel all over our house for the 12 days of Christmas ending up at the manger on Epiphany. Yes we are big Christmas fans here and we celebrate all the way until January 6th. I seem to add in new traditions yearly. My dh loves Christmas so he doesn't complain. We also do St. Nicholas Day. I have the kids put out their shoes the night before and I put treats and a golden dollar coin in them. My kids know Santa is pretend and we learn about St. Nicholas. We do allow Santa movies but he is just a fantasy character around here. I need to figure out what we are doing this year soon, but we are hopefully moving next week so it will have to wait a bit. We attended a Calvary Chapel until last fall and now attend a Christian Missionary Alliance church. I was really excited last Christmas that our new church actually does an Advent wreath and readings/teachings. Our old church did not acknowledge Advent or Lent. We did not do either growing up but they have become very important to me the last several years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeLovePassion Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Thanks for sharing all the great ideas, I am taking notes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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