'Tis the Season to Advent

"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." - Deuteronomy 6:6-7

One of my favorite memories about Christmases past is my parents doing Christmas Advent calendars with me and my sisters. It was always exciting to open the little doors or books and discover the truth that it held. When we were little, they were simple pictures that depicted the Christmas story, but as we grew, they became more devotional. It was a great way for us to learn the story surrounding the birth of Christ and have a hands-on experience doing it. Recently, in looking for advent-related material for children’s lessons, I’ve come across some really well put together Advent calendars for families and thought I would share:

“The Wonder of the Greatest Gift” by Ann Voskamp ($27.00) – Interactive book (based on the Jesse tree) that opens to reveal a 13 inch tree, to hang the daily ornaments you will open each day. Devotional book is included as well. I saw this recently at the LifeWay store and it looked really cool.

“An Illustrated Advent for Families” by Illustrated Children’s Ministry ($10.00) – Combines the love of coloring with the advent stories. I would recommend this for older elementary aged children as the illustrations are quite intricate and would be more of a challenge to color. From what I can tell it is a weekly devotional with activities that could be spread out throughout the week.

“Journey to the Manger” by Focus on the Family ($10.00) – Interactive calendar containing puzzles, stickers, and a poster. I’ve not personally seen this, but anything with stickers makes preschoolers and elementary aged children really happy. :):)

“O Holy Night – A Build-It Yourself Nativity Scene & Advent Calendar” by Focus on the Family (FREE) – Each day, along with a devotion, children will receive a new Bible character/object that relates to the Nativity story and by the end of the advent calendar, they will have made a whole nativity scene! More info at: http://focusonthefamily.com/Advent (probably want a colored printer and lots of cardstock paper for this…)

“Jesus Storybook Bible Advent Guide” by FaithGateway (FREE, helps to own a copy of Sally Lloyd Jones’ Jesus Storybook Bible) – This guide has printable pictures/references that relate to stories found in the Jesus Storybook Bible (which is a fantastic book to have for your family) that you could display in any way you choose (suggestions are provided). More info at: http://www.faithgateway.com/jesus-storybook-bible-advent-c…/

“LifeWay Kids Family Advent Guide” by LifeWay (FREE) – A weekly family devotional that also contains daily Scripture readings relating to the Christmas story. There are also hands-on ideas to reinforce the weekly theme as well as life application questions. More info at: http://www.lifeway.com/…/Kids/c/N-1z13zg1Z1z10cb8/Ne-1z141o2

There are also SO many more advent calendars out there – these are just ones that I’ve come across in looking for activities for my lessons and I thought I would share. Whatever you do or choose, just make sure that your kids understand the reason for this season – the gift of our Savior! The Lord commanded us to teach his truths to our children (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) and so we shall.  

Happy Adventing!

Adventing at 1 1/2 years old!