Advent begins this week!  Are you unsure about what that means?  Growing up, I always thought it just meant that you get to have a treat or open a box or cross off a calendar for the 25 days leading up until Christmas.  Sure, Advent can and does include all that fun stuff, but it was not until I became an adult that I really dug into it and realized what the true meaning to Advent is as a Christian.  We have tried to instill that meaning into our kiddos while they are here in our home, and I would love to also share it with you all in this post.   

What is Advent?  

The Advent period includes the 4 weeks just before Christmas. While many people think that it’s all about getting into the spirit of giving, Christians use these four Sundays and weeks to prepare for their real meaning – Jesus’ coming in Bethlehem centuries ago!  The actual word, advent, means ‘coming’ in Latin.  The Advent season is a time for preparation. We are preparing our hearts and minds to celebrate the Lord’s birth on Christmas Day.

So, what can we do to make the Advent season more meaningful for our family?  We have done many different things over the years, but it can be as simple as just reading through the accounts of the events leading up to Jesus’ birth in scripture or you can go all out and do a Jesse Tree, an Advent calendar.  Any of those things are sure to be very meaningful for everyone and create so many special memories.  There are also some wonderful Advent devotional books with daily readings you can go through each day.  Here are a few options and ideas you can go through with your family this advent season.  

Come, Let Us Adore Him: A Daily Advent Devotional by Ted Tripp

The Dawn of Redeeming Grace by Sinclair Ferguson

Truth in the Tinsel is a WONDERFUL way to incorporate hands on activities into your Advent festivities

Make a Jesse Tree

Participate in the FREE SKrafty Advent Class!  It has a wonderful devotion to go through each day along with a Minecraft project which is totally optional!

Once A Day – 25 Days of Advent Devotional by John Alan Turner

Good News of Great Joy by John Piper

OHHHH, I also have a really fun, cute printable for you to use during this season!  These advent boxes are based on ugly Christmas sweater patterns, and they are so adorable!  You can print them out on cardstock, and put them together.  There is one for every day starting on December 1st through the 25th.  What can you put inside them?  It really depends on the ages of your kiddos, but you can add a scripture verse for each day leading up to the 25th, and of course everyone loves candy or a small token of some kind.  Have some fun with it and make lots of memories!! 

Just enter your email address below to grab the free Advent Box Templates.  So much fun!