Happy Sunday Y’all!
I have ALWAYS loved Christmas. I love the decorations, the parties, the lights, the Christmas cards…you name it, I love it. I must tell you though, watching my first born discover the magic of Christmas has been more fun than any of it! He is overjoyed by all the lights, picked out his first blow up Rudolph and marvels at the Christmas tree in our house every chance he gets.
This is the Christmas Calendar my Pops & Patsy made and gave to us in 1993. I have so many fond memories of moving Santa every morning and the growing anticipation for Santa to come each day we got closer to the 25th!
But Christmas isn’t really about all of that is it? It is Jesus’ birthday! Luke 2:11 “
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” So, how do we talk about this with our littles? Here are just a few simple ways to get started:
We bought this last year for Cliff when he was 11 months old. This year he is 23 months old and it has taken on a whole new meaning. He knows baby Jesus, Mary aka. Jesus’ Mommy, Joseph, the Wise Men and the Angle. We also talk about Bethlehem, the star, the gifts that the wise men were bringing baby Jesus and of course the names of all the animals. This is a very simple way to get the conversation started and no break the bank!
Tracing Glory – Advent Devotional
Sarah Rice, the Author of Gospel Shaped Womanhood, created this amazing Advent devotional. A girl in my MOPS group introduced me to this blog and this calendar and I love it!
Tips for celebrating Advent with Kids
A sweet friend of mine does this with her family. Although we didn’t start this tradition this year I would really love to in the future. “The Star From Afar is a family tradition that celebrates the true meaning of Christmas. This item comes with a hard cover book,a 14 piece colorful wooden nativity set, and wooden star. This fun hide-n-seek game encourages children to go on a hunt for their Star, similar to that of the Wise Men. Every night the Star is hidden in the child’s home. The next morning the child will search high and low until they locate it. Once they have found their Star they move all Three Wise Men to the star’s location. They will repeat this over and over again until Christmas morning when the star will be found on top of the stable above baby Jesus!”
The Wonders of His Love – A Family Advent Guide
Our church, Watermark Community Church, put out a great family advent guide. It may be a little advanced for Cliff this year but is a great resource for families with kids a little older. They give a daily devotional with questions and an activity. They also give a template to create a different ornament for each day of advent!
What do you do with your family for Advent?
