Advent this year starts just after Thanksgiving, November 29th!! I have a few activities that you can do with your kids to get in the Advent spirit. These activities are for the Catholic meaning of Advent, and deal with preparing for the coming of Jesus.
I have all the supplies and steps listed below, but watch the video to see how all the crafts are done. You can find it here.
Supply List for All Crafts
- Construction paper (1 green, 2 purple, 1 pink, 1 any color for letter)
- 2 sheets green tissue paper
- 4 yellow pipe cleaners
- 4 empty toilet paper rolls (or 2 paper towel rolls cut in half)
- masking tape
- scissors
- glue
- stapler
- jar
- hay
- box for manger
- modge podge
- crayons
- colored pencils
- black marker
- Mary, Joseph, Jesus, Angel prints
- Jesse tree ornament prints
Crafts
Advent Wreath
There are so many different advent wreaths you can find online. I liked this wreath and is the one shown in the video.
Good Deed Manger
The idea of this is to fill the manger with hay over the Advent season to make a soft bed for Jesus when he is born. I had Dan make a small box, but you could use an unused Amazon box, shoe box or something else too as your manger. We have hay barrels from our fall decorations so I am using that hay, but if you don’t you could also cut up some yellow construction paper to use as the hay.
Anytime your child does a good deed during advent, let them add a piece of hay to the manger. Hopefully it will be nice and full by Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, I plan to sneak in a little baby Jesus doll/figure in the manger so that when she wakes up she can find little baby Jesus in the manger.
Block Nativity Set
I made these when I was in 1st grade and used to love to set it up at Christmas time.. even as an adult. As a kid it was such a fun set to make believe with and my daughter has loved playing with them since she made them.
You need 4 blocks made from 2×4’s. You can have the hardware store cut them to size or have your handy husband (OR YOU!) do it instead. You need one 5″ block, two 8″ blocks and one 12″ block.
Then I went onto Google images and found a few pictures that I liked of Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus in a manger and an angel (I typed in coloring book after the person to make sure it was something that she could color herself).
She colored the pictures, I cut them out and then modge podged them onto the blocks. Let them dry and then set them up!
Letter to Jesus
Kids love writing their wish lists to Santa, but it’s also important to think about why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. Have your child write a letter to Jesus (or you can help them if they can’t write yet). They can tell Jesus about how they plan to be good, they can tell him about virtues they hope to obtain, or whatever their hearts desire.
After they are done, roll it up, tie it with a string and put it by on their windowsill. You can tell them that an Angel might pick up the letter and bring it to Jesus when they are sleeping. When they are sleeping grab the letter (and put it in a save box). When they wake up they might just run to the window to see if the letter is still there.
Make a Jesse Tree
How better to learn about Jesus than to talk about his lineage and the stories leading up to his birth. I printed these, and they explain the meaning and directions so well on their site.
Make a Care Package
This one isn’t really a craft, but I think it’s great to do with your kids starting at a young age. It’s important to teach them to give and think about those who are less fortunate. Consider making a care package to deliver.
You could donate a toy to Toys for Tots, provide some warm items to a homeless person or shelter (blanket, socks, mittens, hat, scarf & coat), or donate a meal to a pantry, homeless person or other group taking donations.
Make It Special
The last idea I have is to make the Sundays in Advent special. Light the candle, have a special meal and read the readings for the day. Kids love lighting candles, and that alone will have them looking forward to the occasion!