Celebrating Advent at Home

Advent is a special time in our family.  The word advent means coming and it's the time of year where we celebrate the coming of the Christ child.  Before Christmas, we quiet our hearts and let the simple, yet miraculous story of Christmas sink in.  We humble ourselves at the thought of God coming to us in human form, a child.

As a mother, one of my greatest joys is sharing these touching and life-changing stories with my kids.  And I have noticed something about the Christmas story in how it resonates deeply with children.  The fascination with babies and new life, and God lowering himself to become an equal to humankind, particularly an equal to children.  For children who often are left out, talked down to, and marginalized by adults in our world, this simple truth brings a message of great hope.

Today, I'm sharing a simple advent calendar/devotion (adapted from 1dogwoof.com) that we used in our family last year and plan to repeat in this coming season.  It is short and suitable for even very young children.  It tells the whole story of Christmas using scripture.  We were blessed by the opportunities it gave us to speak the gospel to our children.  We were surprised at how much impact it had on our then 3 year-old.  And besides, what child does not love a countdown to Christmas?!

We printed out the cards onto cardstock, and I had some helpers with cutting and gluing them onto some construction paper, which I numbered 1-25.  Then I used a Christmas card holder to display the cards.  If you know me, this is about as crafty as it gets for me!

Download the 25-day advent cards here.

We like to read the day's card at dinnertime, when we are all at the table already, and we take the opportunity to incorporate the scripture passage into our mealtime prayers.
 

Would you like to do more to bring the Christmas story home to your family?  Try some of these ideas too.

• Have a nativity scene in your home that is within reach of your kids, and let them play with it.
• Read children's literature that celebrates and depicts the biblical story of Christmas.
• Decorate your home for Christmas as a family and talk about why Christmas is meaningful to your faith.  Do your decoration choices point your children toward the true meaning of Christmas?
• Use an advent candle wreath along with the devotional cards (a new candle is lit each week).  We love a candlelit dinner and the kids love blowing out the candles afterward!
• At least once during the holidays, read through the entire account of Christ's birth in Luke 2.  Act out the story with a nativity or yourselves.  We do this on Christmas morning before we open presents.  If your kids are old enough, have them read aloud or play a speaking part.
• Play Christmas hymns and music with spiritual meaning in your home in lieu of secular Christmas songs.

We'd love to hear about other ways you enrich your family during Advent and Christmas!

the angel appearing to Mary (Christmas morning last year)