10 Meaningful Ways to Celebrate Advent as a Family
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By Carrie Lowrance, Crosswalk.com
The holidays are upon us, and soon, it will be the season of Advent. If you’re like me, you’re already watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas music, and perhaps have even bought a present or two already (Or maybe you are super organized and have been watching for sales all year and have all your presents bought. If so, kudos to you). As much as I love all the movies, music, and baking, we must remember the true reason for the season. Jesus.
As you prepare for our upcoming Advent season, you may need some ideas on how to celebrate with your family. Here are some ideas to make it the most meaningful advent season yet.
First, What Is Advent?
For Christians, Advent marks the four weeks leading up to Christmas. This is to celebrate the Advent, meaning Christ’s birth and the nativity scene and the expected return of Christ’s second coming. Each week focuses on a different theme; hope, peace, joy, and love. These are significant themes for us to put into action in our own lives.
There are all kinds of ways to celebrate Advent including:
1. Advent Wreath
Buy or make an advent wreath for your home. On each Sunday leading up to Christmas, light a new candle and read a Scripture that relates to the coming of Christ. Use your wreath as a centerpiece or put it somewhere prominent in your home, like the kitchen table, coffee table, or fireplace mantel. You can find an advent reading plan online.
Starting this tradition in your home will help keep everyone centered in the hustle and bustle of the season. Even if you don’t light the candles during the week, the wreath will still be a reminder of the reason for the season every time you look at it.
2. Advent Calendar
Advent calendars are a great way to help kids countdown to Christmas. I had one as a child, and I loved it. My grandmother would put little trinkets and things in the pockets, and every morning, I would find something. Of course, my mom would always remind me what the true reason for the season was as well.
The best and hardest part about an Advent calendar is finding the right one to fit your family. There are all kinds of calendars on the market, so do some research and go from there. An Advent calendar is also a great alternative to Elf on the Shelf.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Tetiana Soares
3. Read Advent Devotions
Take some time as a family once or twice a week and read advent devotions together. You can find different Advent devotionals online at your favorite retailer.
4. Create an Advent Jesse Tree
You can use a tree branch, a paper tree that your kids make, or even your own Christmas tree to create this tree. You can find ornament templates online that you can print, each ornament symbolizing someone in Jesus’s family tree.
Each time you add an ornament, read the correlating Scripture, and remind your family members how the story of Scripture weaves together and points us to the coming Savior. Start on December 1st by reading the Scripture and talking about the Bible story, and then put the ornament on the tree.
5. Prayer Garland
Make a garland out of 24 strips of construction paper to make 24 links, and write someone’s name or a short prayer request on each one. Then hang it somewhere in your home where everyone will see it. Gather each night, take one link off the chain, read the name or request, and pray together.
6. Advent Box
An advent box is like an advent calendar, only it has doors instead of pockets. Each box has a door and a prize inside. You can make your own using small, decorated paper bags. You can either buy one or create one using your fantastic imagination.
One more tip. If you have multiple children, divide the twenty-four days by the number of children and assign each of them a day of the week or simply a week. For example, if you have four children, assign each of them a week to open. Emma opens week one, Jake week two, Ava week three, and Kole week four.
7. Countdown to Christmas Activities
You can do all kinds of things as a family to countdown to Christmas. The Advent calendar or box is one. You can watch Christmas movies together every weekend. Mix it up with classics like It’s a Wonderful Life and Holiday Inn to modern movies like The Star. You can also find great Christmas family entertainment on Great American Family (via Frndly TV subscription).
Twice a week watch a Christmas TV special like A Charlie Brown Christmas, Garfield’s Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Veggie Tales Christmas, etc. These are perfect for weeknights because they are short.
Read a Christmas book every night. Bake cookies and other goodies together. Make homemade hot chocolate. Make homemade decorations. Create and send Christmas cards. Put up a nativity (or two or three) in different rooms in your home. Choose a child from the Salvation Army Angel Tree and shop for them. See if your local animal shelter has a wishlist for their animals and shop for them.
Another idea is to gather the Christmas cards you receive into a box. Each evening, choose a card and pray for that person and their family. When you are done, put the card in a prominent place where you can see it.
Attend a virtual advent event. Lifeway is having a Prepare Him Room virtual event from December 1-31 with worship, encouragement, and teaching this upcoming holiday season. Its purpose is to help people intentionally make room for Jesus amidst the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Do an online search and see if you can find some advent events in your area. You may find a church that is doing some classes or events leading up to Christmas Day.
There are all kinds of activities to do as you count down the days until Christmas.
Related:
Great American Family's Christmas Lineup Features 18 New Movies and Beloved Stars
8 New Must-See Family Movies Hitting Theaters This Holiday Season
9. Read the Book of Luke
The Book of Luke is a great way to celebrate the Advent season. It summarizes Jesus’s birth through his death and covers all different aspects of his life concisely so that when you get to the end, you have learned all about our Savior. I did this last year, starting on December 1st through the 24th, and enjoyed it immensely.
10. Serve Others
Take time as a family to serve others. You can do this in many ways. Ask friends and family to attend church with you. You may get some rejections, but that’s okay; just keep praying for them.
Do you know someone who is struggling? This could be an elderly neighbor, a single mom, a young family, etc. Invite them out to brunch or lunch after church and take time to get to know them. Have some honest conversation, but don’t push. Let them tell you what they are comfortable with. Pay for their meal and afterwards see what happens. You may have just started a beautiful friendship.
Don’t forget to check on your friends that struggle with mental health issues and addictions. Reach out to them and see how you can best help them this holiday season. They will feel seen and appreciate your love and support.
Spend some time as a family volunteering. You could ring the bell for the Salvation Army or volunteer at the local soup kitchen, food bank, animal shelter, or children’s home. You could help a local group that serves the homeless or veterans or spend some time in a nursing home or retirement community.
Another simple way to serve is to send Christmas cards to our troops. They work hard to serve our country, so why not serve their hearts and send some Christmas cheer? If you know a military spouse whose partner is deployed, approach them to ask how you can assist them in this holiday season.
Advent is a wonderful season for focusing on our Lord Jesus Christ, serving others, and spreading hope, peace, joy, and love. We can spread hope and peace by telling others about our faith and pointing them to resources to explore their faith. We can spread joy and love by serving others and showing them compassionate love, just as Jesus has shown us. It is also a time to gather as a family and strengthen our faith together.
Take some time today to look over this list and see what activities make the most sense for your family. Everyone’s holiday season looks different regarding commitments and time restraints. Choose two or three things you would like to do as a family to make this Advent season the most meaningful yet.
