Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Advent Project

Wow, it has been busy around here lately with birthdays, appointments, kids work schedules and getting ready for the holidays!  Some days I feel like I have so much to do that I will never keep up, but I love this time of year and wouldn't trade the memories we are making for anything!


Part of getting ready for the holidays for us, is starting to prepare all of our ideas for our Advent Project.  Thanksgiving is a perfect time to start planning.  As your family is reflecting on all the things they are thankful for, you can talk about how you can share those things with others around you!

The Advent Project was written for a friend after a conversation we had about Christmas and how easy it is to get caught up in all the hustle and bustle and “I want” attitude of Christmas. It started as just some ideas to celebrate Jesus’ birth, giving to others and building memories and traditions as a family. As I was sharing some of my ideas, I realized how eager others were for the very same thing! I decided to put it all together in one place and share it with everyone–my Christmas gift to you!

The idea of the Advent Project is simple, everyday there is a Bible verse (part of the Christmas story in Luke) and then there are family activities, books and movies. You can do an activity every day, once a week, whatever works for your family. Some activities will require some pre-planning and are designed for a wide variety of ages, so you choose what is most appropriate.

It is not supposed to be a complete list, but a jumping off place--ideas to get you started.  Every family has different traditions, commitments and resources.  My hope is that you are inspired to make the holiday season more meaningful for your family, to teach and encourage giving not just gifts, but your time and thoughtfulness and love.  


Every year our planning is a little different.  As our kids have gotten older, we have let them pick and plan a lot of the activities that they want to do.  It is so heartwarming to watch your kids pack shoeboxes of gifts for other children or pick a name from an Angel Tree and use their own money to buy special gifts for a foster child.  Baking and decorating sugar cookies has always been a special time for our family and we have had as many as 20 guests sitting around our table laden with frosting and sprinkles, sipping hot cocoa, listening to Christmas carols and laughing as we shared a memory and some time together.  The goal is to create meaningful memories, not necessarily centered around gifts, but around being together and celebrating the greatest gift of Christmas!




Download your FREE copy here:

 The Advent Project 1
 Feel free to print and share as many copies as you like.

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