Happy New Year! Today marks the beginning of Advent in the Church Calendar.
Two years ago, our church hosted an event where we made Advent Calendars. We created pockets where we placed cards that had Bible verses or activities for each day of Advent. Last year I hung the cards on our fireplace. This year I decided to create an Advent tree. I find building and painting to be therapeutic and relaxing. Plus I wanted an easier way to display the cards without my kids getting into them. I hung the tree up at Thanksgiving and we also used it for our Thanksgiving Tree.
I found many ideas on Google and Pinterest for an Advent Tree. I found a Pinterest pin that broke down the spacing for the nails which was extremely helpful. I had to adjust some of the measurements so the cards would fit, but it was nice to have a template to follow. The only cost for this project was the nails and screws. The white paint is left over ceiling paint that was in our house when we moved in and the wood is left over from pallets.
Each pocket includes an activity and a Bible verse. I organized the activities based on our schedule and some activities are duplicated. We typically watch a family movie on Friday nights, so I incorporated that into our Advent activities. I tried to include activities we already do, but added a holiday twist. For example, we try to read every night, we will find Christmas specific books to read during Advent. Some activities may need to be rearranged based on weather and our schedule, but this gives us an outline to follow. I tried to include a variety of activities: crafts, volunteer projects, family time and recreation.
Advent Activities 2020
- Make crafts to mail to family members
- Buy items for the Angel Tree at Church
- Read a Christmas book
- Play in the Snow
- Christmas word search
- Watch a Christmas movie
- Decorate your bedroom door
- Christmas art project
- Sing carols
- Read a Christmas book
- Sit by the fire and read a book
- Have a red and green dinner (spaghetti and salad)
- Watch a Christmas movie
- Sleep by the Christmas Tree
- Have an adventure outside (hike in the snow)
- Color Christmas pictures
- Read a Christmas book
- Watch Vespers
- Make paper snowflakes
- Watch a Christmas movie
- Christmas pancakes
- Watch the Christmas program
- Read the Christmas Story
- Drive to see the Lights
- Make cookies
- Play games
- Open presents – Celebrate Jesus’s birthday!
Wren's World 