The Advent Season

Every year, our family does Advent readings and activities together as a family.  This year would be a little more challenging to make this work due to the variety of children with special needs.  Because Selah cannot sit still at all (and she rages when forced, due to her brain malformations), I wanted to do something simple and quick, yet meaningful.

 

My friend McKenna listed some Advent activities on her blog.  When I saw the idea for an Advent paper chain, I knew that was perfect for this season for our family.

For our Advent paper chain, I chose the Names of Jesus.  I printed the template on red and purple paper, mainly because I had that on my shelf.   The red reminds me of Christmas and the blood of Jesus while the purple reminds me of His majesty and royalty. 

 

We do our Advent activities during our dinner because we’re all at the dinner table together every single night.  During dinner, we light our Advent candle, then we remove one link in the Advent chain.  We read the Scripture that correlates with that night’s name for Jesus, then one person is chosen to hang the paper strip on our Christmas tree.

Everyone is enjoying the visible reminder of the Advent chain as we count down the days until we celebrate the birth of our Messiah, Jesus Christ.  I love that our hearts are focused on the Real Reason for the season.

 

We also sing a few Christmas carols, which Cooper LOVES more than anyone at the table!!!  We read a story from the Jesus Bible Storybook (using THIS guide), then we pray and blow out our Advent candle.

 

I’d love to know what your family does to focus your hearts on Jesus, the Reason for the season!  Do you have any favorite family traditions?  Do you have a favorite Advent devotional or activity?  We’ve done the Jesse Tree devotional and various other Advent guides—we seem to change it up each year based upon our needs for each season.

 

May your hearts and homes be filled with JESUS this Christmas!