Advent is the arrival of an important person or event. For Christians, celebrating Advent means to focus with anticipation on celebrating the incarnation of Christ over 2000 years ago – and also looking forward to His return. If you’re a Christian mom, I know you’ll want to find ways to help your kids understand the real meaning of the Christmas holidays. We’ll share Advent ideas for all ages that will help you.
Why celebrate Advent
If we let the culture teach our kids what to think about the weeks leading up to Christmas, they may walk away with only a secular view of the season. Instead, take advantage of all the weeks leading up to Christmas – at least 25 days worth! – and consistently spend at least a few minutes each day walking meaningfully through an Advent activity.
And you don’t have to use or create any activity or resource that’s overwhelming, time-consuming, or burdensome. Keep it simple!
Celebrating Advent with Young Children
If your children are young, figure out which advent tradition can be started now and continued throughout their childhood. We did that with things like the Jesus Tree and memorization of Luke 2. Understanding Jesus’ incarnation will be hard at first for your littles, but over the years, the truths you teach them will begin to sink in. And of course we know that the Holy Spirit will take the Word and plant it in their hearts. It’s our job as parents to continually present the Word to them.
Celebrating Advent with Teens
Many advent resources and studies are geared exclusively toward the littlest ones, focusing mainly on the retelling of the Christmas story. But teens want to participate in the anticipation of advent too! That’s why we created the Jesus: Prophecy Fulfilled resources we’ll show you below. Teens want to deep dive into apologetics and growing in their faith. And this season is the perfect time to do that.
Advent Ideas for all Ages
So, depending on the ages of kids in your family, see which of these resources would work best. Almost all of them can be used together with the entire family. Just adjust as needed.
Jesus Tree
One of my favorite ways to celebrate advent when my kids were little was to create a Jesus Tree each year. This doesn’t have to be your main Christmas tree. It doesn’t even have to really be a tree!
A Jesus Tree helps you focus on one of the names of Jesus each day of December. You can read the corresponding verse and talk about why Jesus was called that particular name in the Bible.
Learn how to create a Jesus Tree – plus download free ornaments and a Bible reading plan for FREE to help you get started!
Names of Jesus Advent Cards
Instead of creating a physical display with the names of Jesus as with the Jesus Tree, you can download our beautiful Names of Jesus Advent Cards.
You can download the cards, print them on cardstock, and laminate them for added durability. Pull one from the pile each day, read the corresponding verse and discuss the name of Jesus. Keep them in a cute basket or box or hang them in your kitchen or homeschool room or in some garland as you go through the month.
Memorize the Christmas Story in Luke 2
One of my favorite memories from Christian school was when our music teacher had us memorize Luke 2 and recite it (with lots of emotion!) at our annual Christmas program. The younger kids memorized the beginning of the passage and the older kids finished out the “classic” Christmas story from the King James Version.
It’s a great time of year to help your kids memorize the Christmas story from Luke 2. And a helpful tool for getting this done are Luke 2 Memory Verse Cards. These cards work great in a Scripture Memory Box system.
Advent Bundle – Jesus: Prophecy Fulfilled
And finally – something for your teens! Teens don’t want to be left out, but they just don’t want a watered down resource that the littles are using. I get it! They’re ready to talk about worldview, apologetics, and prophecy. They’re ready to grow in their faith. That’s why we created the Advent Bundle – Jesus: Prophecy Fulfilled.
With the Advent Prophecy Cards, you’ll have a great Bible reading plan for the month of December. Each card will focus on one prophecy from the Old Testament of the coming Messiah and show how Jesus fulfilled it in the New Testament.
The bundle even includes some copywork pages and memory verse cards so even your younger kids can participate.
Listen to the Podcast
On episode 239 of the Homeschool with Moxie Podcast, we talk through each of these ideas and resources.
