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The Christmas season is the most hectic season of the year. From buying gifts, to going to holiday parties, to holiday baking, it’s so easy to get caught up in the “doing” that we forget why we are doing everything in the first place. Throughout all the busyness of the season I want to remind my family of why we are doing everything we are doing so I wanted to share a number of ways your family can celebrate Advent and focus on Jesus.
1) Serve others. It’s important to remember this is a season of giving more than it is a season of getting. Here is a list of 50 ways to give back this Christmas season.
2) Turn on some Christmas music that focuses on Jesus’ birth and sing along. My favorites are:
- How Many Kings? by DownHere
- A Strange Way to Save the World by 4HIM
- Hope is Born this Night by Sidewalk Profits
- The Night Before Christmas by Brandon Heath
- Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant
- Mary, Did You Know? by Pentatonix
3) Do an Advent devotional with your family. For those with young children, we love Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands ebook that includes 24 days of Scripture reading, ornament crafts, talking points and extension activities, plus fun printables and templates. For adults and families with older children I love Ann Voskamp’s Unwrapping the Greatest Gift: A Family Celebration of Christmas. She is such a beautiful writer!
4) Throw Jesus a birthday party. We all attend a lot of Christmas parties but how about having a party for Jesus? We loved doing this with our kids to take the focus of Christmas Day off presents and remind us of the reason we are celebrating Christmas. Here are 10 ideas for the birthday party!
5) Make a CHRISTmas craft. From homemade nativities to angel crafts, I share ten of my favorite crafts that put Christ back in Christmas here.
6) Read about Jesus birth. During your Bible reading time, read about the birth of Jesus. Young children may also enjoy the beautiful pop-up version of The Christmas Story by Robert Sabuda.
7) Play a game that helps children learn and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. “The Christmas Star From Afar” is a game that can be used for Advent or a Christ focused alternative to the Elf. The set encourages children to go on a hunt for their Star, similar to that of the Wise Men. Everyday the Star is hidden and the children participate in a fun hide-and-seek game to locate it. Once they have found their Star they move all Three Wise Men to its location. On Christmas morning the Three Wise Men reach their final destination when the Star is found at the stable with the newborn baby Jesus.
The activity book includes a wooden Star, a full wooden nativity scene that matches the artwork of the book, and optional scripture to use throughout the month. Help your children reconnect with the true meaning of Christmas by purchasing a set for your family here. Use the code ‘FOLLOWTHESTAR’ for 10% off of the set. You can also enter to win “The Christmas Star From Afar” using the form below!
It would be a lot of fun for my boys!
My kids would have lots of fun searching for the star. Love the idea of this to learn about advent. We have tried a few “family friendly” advent books and they are way above my preschool and toddlers levels, it would be great to have something age appropriate.
This would be perfect leading up to christmas for my grandson Mason. I am picking him up after daycare every day until my daughter gets off work and this could be something fun for us to do together!