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‘Tis the season, my friends! I am feeling very Christmas-y lately thanks to my new printable advent calendar.
Working on this fun new activity has me imagining rainy afternoons baking cookies, teaching my kids the joy of giving by donating to toy drives and charities, all while decking our halls with all things merry and bright…I’m sure, in reality, there will be lots of flour messes, misunderstanding about why we’re “giving away toys”, and tiny hands that prevent me from decking the halls anywhere within their reach. But a mama can hope, and dream, and plan anyways! Haha!
This will be our first year introducing Advent into our Christmas traditions and I’m so excited!
Advent is the celebration of Christ’s birth, a remembrance of why He came, and the anticipation of His return. It’s a time to reflect on the gift God gave us in his Son and a wonderful reminder of the gifts he gives us daily. Advent literally means “coming” in Latin. So during this time we can celebrate not only Christ coming to earth in human form, but also Christ coming into our lives as we accept him into our hearts, and also his future second coming as Ruler and Judge.
To help us stay focused on these characteristics of Advent we’ll be using my new printable Advent calendar.
Not only is this thing crazy cute (I love buffalo plaid!) and simple to assemble, but it’s such a valuable tool for teaching your kiddos the reason for the season. Each card has a Bible passage to read for the day and an activity to encourage joy in the season. The verses were chosen to remind us of the prophesies Christ fulfilled in his birth and the grace we receive through him in his death and resurrection. Then on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we get to read the beautiful story of his birth from both Matthew and Luke.
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I chose activities for each day with families like ours in mind as well as those with slightly older children. None of the activities are super time intensive and a few are pretty open ended. For example, one day I suggest painting or coloring a Christmas picture. This doesn’t have to be a big production. A blank sheet of paper and some green and red markers, or even a free coloring page off of Pinterest (the selection is endless!). Keep it simple and fun.
A lot of the activities focus on giving of our time and resources as gifts to others as well. Generosity is a characteristic I really want to nurture in my kids. Making cookies for others, donating to a toy drive, and handing out candy canes are just a few of the activities on my Advent calendar that I’m really looking forward to sharing with my little ones to help them learn and embrace the joy of giving.
I look forward to beginning this tradition in our family to help us stay focused on exactly what we are celebrating at Christmas. The ultimate gift of God’s Son!
Get your Buffalo Plaid Printable Christmas Countdown here!
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