I recently participated in a conversation with other moms about bringing intention to our homes for the Christmas and Advent season. Together we shared advent tools our families have used over the years or new ideas we’ve been considering for our own time in the Word. I thought I’d pull those together and share them here if you want something new this season.

But first, a few things before we dive into the list of links. It’s not lost on me that you might be new to Advent. I did not grow up experiencing Advent in this kind of way either. So, I thought I’d share some insight with you that I’ve learned over the years.

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What is Advent?

Advent means “coming.” Throughout scripture, God promised the coming of His Son, Jesus, as the Messiah. The Hebrew people longed to be rescued and freed, and the Promise was the Savior. Advent often explores 4 themes – peace, hope, joy, and love. Most people think of Advent as a liturgical or spiritual celebration. But, some just use it as a term to refer to the days leading up to Christmas; almost as an interchangeable term with “Christmas season.” For the purposes of our writing days, I use it as a challenge to slow down and reflect. Whether it is a spiritual tradition or a holiday pastime, we must look at the things we do and see if they have purpose and meaning all year long. They may be fun and whimsical or may have deep-rooted traditions.

When do you celebrate Advent?

Advent is often celebrated the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas, with the final Advent candle, the Christ candle, being lit at a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service. Because those dates are not definitive, many people start a daily Advent Calendar on December 1 and celebrate each day up to December 25, Christmas day. The difference here falls if people celebrate Advent as a spiritual journey in tradition with the themes of peace, hope, joy, and love or if they are using their Advent journey as a daily walk towards Christmas day. Neither is right nor wrong.

What’s the point of Advent?

For most, Advent is a spiritual celebration of preparing your heart for the coming of the Nativity or Christmas story. In Latin, the word means “coming,” and that term refers to the year’s season leading up to Christmas Day and celebrating the birth of Christ. Advent also has an element involved in remembering the second coming of Christ and the hope of eternity. For the Hebrew people who first anticipated and waited for the birth of Christ, His coming meant everything – it meant life, peace on earth, hope revealed, unending joy, and the greatest act of love. For Christians today, it is a reminder and reinforcement of all those things. It is also the expectation of that fully revealed when Jesus comes again. It is the greatest love story. A loving God with a perfect son, Jesus, sent Him to earth with the ultimate goal of dying for the sins of the people of the earth. My dad and I used to sing a song called, Born to Die, and it gets me whenever I think that my eternal salvation was the full reason why Jesus came to earth as a baby.

How can I celebrate Advent on my own or with my family?

Well, that’s kinda the point of today’s post. Over the years I’ve shared lots about Advent on this blog, and I’ll link to some of those things below. But I wanted to pass along the ideas other moms shared with me so you can make this decision yourself.

Bigpittstop, how are you celebrating Advent this year?

This year, our family will be doing a couple of things to celebrate the season:

• Mornings – my Little Man and his dad get up early together and share time at our counter before my husband goes to work. So, I will get this printable that they can do together this year. Little Man can color while my husband reads out the Jesus Storybook Bible. I think I”ll do a tree cutout to hang on the door to our garage that way it’s part of something we see every day but not a big hindrance to all the other home decor we have going on.
• During the day – while he is still all in on crafts and learning, we will plan to do our Preschool Advent Curriculum and Preschool Christmas Activities together, where we look at – The Angel’s Secret, the Journey to Bethlehem, First Visitors, and The Greatest Gift!
• Evenings – I may use this as my sacred time – I want to really enjoy the decor and environment of our home this Christmas, so I plan to sit in the evenings, in the glow of the lights, and do my quiet time and enjoy what’s going on around me. I’ve also been doing a Bible study, and one of the things that are standing out to me is God’s presence with us through light. As I look at Emmanuel, God with us, I plan to focus on seeing His light in the darkness around me.
• Special things – a friend challenged me to put the things we want to do on the calendar first, so the other things are scheduled around them. I always love doing our jammy jam where we go look at lights in our pajamas with hot chocolate. We plan to visit Silver Dollar City to look at the lights. And I plan to have a couple of mom date shopping days.

What matters most when it comes to celebrating advent with my family?

• Name What Matters – this is a mom mindset one of my friends uses. All of the things can’t matter. But, if I claim what matters to us this season, I use that as the filter to make decisions.
• Pick something – for yourself and your family – not a bunch of somethings, just one something
• Lead with intention – having a plan means you will do something
• Agree with your spouse – get on the same page, so you can lead together
• Enjoy the season – you know it’s going to fly by, so slow down and enjoy it.

Advent Tools for Moms

• Bring on the Merry by Candace Cameron Bure
• Uncovering Mercies at the Manger
• She Reads Truth study | Joy of Every Longing Heart
• He Reads Truth Men’s Study this year too
• Ann Voskamp – The Greatest Gift
• Unwrapping the Names of Jesus – Dayspring
• The Family of Jesus by Karen Kingsbury (make sure you get the book, and not the leader guide, or do it as a study with a group of friends)
• Fresh Entity
• Characters of Christmas
• Sitting each night to enjoy the décor and Christmas environment in your home
• Journaling with a cup of hot cocoa at the end of the day – something that made me smile, something I did with the kids, something I’m grateful for
• Wonder of Advent study
• Daily Writing Prompts or a photo a day
• Mary and Martha tools and resources for Advent

Advent Tools for Families

• Unwrapping the greatest gift – read aloud
• The Wonder of the Greatest Gift – Pop-up version with a tree to hang ornaments (the one Staci talked about)
• Advent Calendars – pre-bought from the store is totally fine – the thing with 24 squares and something inside!
• Hanger with activities – buy one from my etsy store!
• Prayer Calendar – start and write out 24 prayer requests or people to pray for – then put them in the pockets and pray together each morning before the day starts
• Lighting the advent candles each Sunday and doing the theme devo – hope, joy, peace, love, Christ\

• Watching The Star movie together
• Start out Serious in early days and move towards more serious in later years
• Preschool activity weekly themes – Angel, Mary and Joseph, Shepherds, Wiseman – activity ideas
• Baby Jesus Breakfast
• Jesse tree – Mary & Martha
• Shepherd on the Search – Mary & Martha
• Uncovering Mercies at the Manger – Primary, Junior, Youth, Parent – all members of the family can do their level of this activity
• Advent Wooden Blocks from GoodKind
• Lifeway Family Advent Guide & Lifeway Advent Search
• She Reads Truth for Kids | conversation cards & Daily Ornament Set
• Pearl and Rose Design – advent cal with Jesus Storybook Bible – $15
• Jesus Storybook Bible companion – daily reading and ornaments – $3 downloadable
• Risen Motherhood
• Faith Gateway | ‘Twas the Season of Advent
• Truth & The Tinsel – craft heavy and for littles
• Daily Grace Co Advent resources
• Sharing kindness – kindness advent calendar
• Kiwi co – village advent calendar
• Crew and Co | Jesse Tree ornaments, Cards, Downloads
• Mary and Martha tools and resources for Advent

If your family has found success with another tool, share it in the comments, and I’ll add it to the list. There are so many ways to celebrate the season.