I need some advent ideas

[TheAttachedMama]

Is it too early to talk about advent?   I am looking for some good ideas on how to help celebrate it this year.   My children are ages 7, 12, and 14.   

In the past we would eat dinner then light the advent candles, read a chapter from one of the books from "Jotham's Journey" while the kids ate cookies around the candle light, and then we would do a Jesse tree ornament and read a chapter from the Jesus Storybook Bible.  

I know that kids typically like tradition, but yet they seemed to be bored by the readings last year.   Does anyone have any other ideas for me this year?  

[Lori D.]

Christmas Advent Suggestions is a current on-going thread right now on the WTM General Board -- lots of great ideas there.

Below are a few other ideas that tend towards making/doing along with the reading, but especially "putting feet to faith" by focusing outward and serving others throughout the season (because that's a concept I personally am big on 😉 😞
 

Maybe a special daily after-dinner family advent of lighting candles, and reading the daily advent devotional from Ann Voskamp's Unwrapping the Greatest Gift?

Or the daily reading and ideas for acts of service with Unwrapping the Names of Jesus by Asheritah Ciuciu?

I know one family with kids from elementary ages through teenagers spends the Advent season doing the Giving Manager a secret daily act of service for someone else in the family, and after doing so, they secretly get to add a piece of straw to the manager to prepare a place for the coming newborn Messiah and King. So you might notice that someone hasn't made their bed and sneak in, make it while they are in the bathroom, and then unnoticed by anyone else, go add a piece of straw to the manager. You could all work together in advance and create your own manager, straw, and newborn Jesus.

One year we did a daily Jesse Tree advent, with each morning of advent we read the short devotional and then each person made their own ornament that matched the devotional and then hung it on the small size artificial tree that was just for the Jesse Tree ornaments. We dropped several school subjects (examples: grammar, logic, history, geography, science) to give us a longer block of relaxed time to do this special advent. I also had us do different things and use different materials for the different ornaments -- painted a ping pong ball to resemble planet Earth; we used sculpty clay for the 10-commandment tablets (and a few other ornaments); we went out in the yard and searched for 3-4 flat pebbles, about an 1" or so, and then hot-glue-gunned them into a stack for the altar of undressed stones; we used a small scrap of colorful fabric, cut it into a robe shape, and sewed it up the side. The point was to take our time, and while our hands were busy, we discussed the scripture/devotional, and tried to really *feel* what the times and the event would have been like.

Perhaps together, you daily work on making your own family advent calendar in some way that would speak to your family?

Edited November 5, 2020 by Lori D.

[TheAttachedMama]

2 hours ago, Lori D. said:

Christmas Advent Suggestions is a current on-going thread right now on the WTM General Board -- lots of great ideas there.

Below are a few other ideas that tend towards making/doing along with the reading, but especially "putting feet to faith" by focusing outward and serving others throughout the season (because that's a concept I personally am big on 😉 😞
 

Maybe a special daily after-dinner family advent of lighting candles, and reading the daily advent devotional from Ann Voskamp's Unwrapping the Greatest Gift?

Or the daily reading and ideas for acts of service with Unwrapping the Names of Jesus by Asheritah Ciuciu?

I know one family with kids from elementary ages through teenagers spends the Advent season doing the Giving Manager a secret daily act of service for someone else in the family, and after doing so, they secretly get to add a piece of straw to the manager to prepare a place for the coming newborn Messiah and King. So you might notice that someone hasn't made their bed and sneak in, make it while they are in the bathroom, and then unnoticed by anyone else, go add a piece of straw to the manager. You could all work together in advance and create your own manager, straw, and newborn Jesus.

One year we did a daily Jesse Tree advent, with each morning of advent we read the short devotional and then each person made their own ornament that matched the devotional and then hung it on the small size artificial tree that was just for the Jesse Tree ornaments. We dropped several school subjects (examples: grammar, logic, history, geography, science) to give us a longer block of relaxed time to do this special advent. I also had us do different things and use different materials for the different ornaments -- painted a ping pong ball to resemble planet Earth; we used sculpty clay for the 10-commandment tablets (and a few other ornaments); we went out in the yard and searched for 3-4 flat pebbles, about an 1" or so, and then hot-glue-gunned them into a stack for the altar of undressed stones; we used a small scrap of colorful fabric, cut it into a robe shape, and sewed it up the side. The point was to take our time, and while our hands were busy, we discussed the scripture/devotional, and tried to really *feel* what the times and the event would have been like.

Perhaps together, you daily work on making your own family advent calendar in some way that would speak to your family?

Thank you so much!  I didn't realize I started a double post.   Next time I will do a better job searching the forum.  🙂

As always, thanks for your great ideas!