Saturday, November 26, 2011

Advent Calendar and Jesse Tree Ideas - Celebrating the Christmas Season

This year, Advent begins on November 27th. Before the season begins, I wanted to share a few favorite idea's I've found. In addition, I'll share some of the ideas that I want to incorporate this year. We will be starting our calendar on December 1st, so we'll finish on Christmas Eve. I'm going to be gracious with myself and "be OK" if I tweak the plans mid-stream... it only makes me more knowledgeable for next year, right?. Well, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. I hope you can be gracious with yourself, as well.

There are so many beautiful, creative ideas for an advent calendar. In true "Almost On Purpose" style, I wanted to find my readers some lovely advent calendars that were made from something else. Here are few beautiful idea's I've found:

Picture Frame Calendar. Source: Fiskars via The Crafty Chicks


Recycling bath-tissue rolls. Source: Maya*Made



Boxes and old cards or cardstock. Source: Full Circle via Liz Busby on Pinterest

Plus, The Crafty Crow and Tip Junkie have their own plethora of ideas for advent calendars. So many beautiful, handmade, and thrifty things. You may need to set a timer for yourself, so you don't get sucked in and lose track of time. Sure, I may have lost track of time a few times.

Growing up, we had an Advent Calendar with a tiny door for each day. Tucked inside, we'd find a piece of candy. It was a great memory! With my own little family, we are still trying to figure out how we want to countdown to Christmas. There are some great resources out there for specific scriptures to read and for details on the nightly lighting of candles.

However, until this year, I've not found anything that really interests the boys and is more than just "going through the motions." I heard about a Jesse Tree. It goes back to the Scripture in Isaiah 11:1-2. It is the prophecy about the Messiah coming from the tree of Jesse. Each day, you take an ornament and read the Scripture associated with the foretelling of the Savior.This is something I have been searching for quite sometime and has given me inspiration for next year's Christmas play, as well. Yes, I do love dual-purpose things!

Here are Jesse Tree and Advent suggestions and activities that I like:
  • The Voice.Offers some background and a clear list of Scriptures for each day.
  • King of Peace Episcopal Church.This reference provides information on both Advent and the Jesse Tree, which will be very helpful in developing our "clues."
  • TeachingMOM. She supplies an interactive calendar with all the traditional Advent Scripture readings. In additions, she has a very extensive list of other Advent ideas.
  • Christmas Your Way.This site gave me the idea for using printables as ornaments. They have a few links where you can download the pictures.

Our Plan
My parents bought us a lovely, fabric advent calendar from Sweden. Sadly, I've not put it to good use yet. I think this year, we'll be able to make GREAT use of it.

We are continuing to teach our boys that Christmas is about the Ultimate Gift that was given on the cross. The Jesse Tree offers more opportunities and discussions about it. As you know, preschool- and kindergarten-age kids are asking lots of questions. It is my goal to provide a safe place for my kiddos to ask their questions and show them that we can discuss ideas.

I'm not sure that we'll have room in our quaint house for another small tree, but we will find a way to display our ornaments. At any rate, I will put a "clue" in each day's pocket. We will work together to find the ornament.

The clues. As I mentioned, I'll write the scripture reference and some clues on the back of a piece of scrapbook paper, cut into a 4x4 square. Yes, you know I love pretty papers!!

The ornaments. I am planning on printing off a small printable (about 3x3) for the boys to color. However, I will keep all of them in a box. 
Matching game. From the scripture, I will describe the ornament for the day (read about it, study it, give some tips) and have the kids find the right ornament. We can work together to color and decorate the picture. Then, we can glue the ornament to the clue card and decide how to display it. 

Supplies.
  • Printer paper for printables
  • Scrabook paper
  • Paper cutter or Scissors and ruler
  • Glue
  • Crayons, markers, glitter
  • Hole punch
  • String
Have you used an Advent Calendar to countdown to Christmas? What has worked best for you?

2 comments:

  1. I have one I made/semi-quilted. I love it and each ornament has a little devotion to go along with it. Such a great thing to share with kids

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  2. Kristy, a friend made us a felt advent calendar when are kids were young. At the top was a big felt Christmas tree. Each pocket held a scripture verse, and to each pocket was pinned a  mini-ornament for the tree. Each evening as we read the scripture (in all honesty, we usually were able to do this about half the days!) we'd place the ornament on the tree.

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