Best Family Advent Resources

Advent is a great time to create memories, and so I have gathered the best family Advent resources to help you plan your upcoming Advent season.

Over 10 years ago, as we approached a Christmas season, I realized that we could celebrate Advent at home, as a family.  Stay with me here now and remember that the internet, well, wasn’t what it is today.  I had no idea that celebrating Advent could take place outside of Sunday morning church services.  But somewhere, I heard about a few ideas.

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That first Christmas, with three kids between the ages of almost 1 and 5, I bought a craft kit and made an Advent calendar.  I wrote up little slips of paper that had verses and an activity on it for each of the little pockets in that calendar.  Our kids absolutely loved it and still talk about our tradition of getting in their pj’s, getting a snack, and driving around looking at Christmas lights.  It all began that Christmas many years ago.

Each year, I take a slightly different approach.  Why?  Mostly because I don’t like doing the same thing over and over again.  Plus, it’s been so much fun trying different Advent resources throughout the years.

The benefit to you though is that I’ve rounded up the best family Advent resources right here for you.  {I’ll also share our plans for this upcoming Advent season.}  And even better: I’ve also gathered together with some other amazing bloggers who are sharing about Advent in their home.  Be sure to check them out below!

“Buck Denver: Why Do We Call it Christmas?”

My kids were all in elementary school when we used this DVD for Advent and they still talk about it.  {We even watch it again every year…}  It is both entertaining and informative.  When we purchased this DVD, it came with access to an online discussion guide. This was the part of it that really impacted our family.  We would watch part of the video and there were questions and activities to do as a family as few days a week.  {Click HERE for this DVD.}

Jotham’s Journey Series

This is actually a 4 part book series and we used one each year for 4 years.  There were some intense parts of the stories, but my kids were all lower to mid elementary school when we began this Advent series.  The story line was so exciting for them and the daily reading and reflection caused us all to really think upon Christmas more deeply.  We used an Advent wreath and weekly lit the corresponding candle.  {Start with the Jotham’s Journey book first: click HERE.}

Unwrapping the Greatest Gift

This family Advent devotion has daily reading and was written by Ann Voskamp.  We enjoyed the readings that took us through the story of the Bible.  Ann has a free ornament resource that we utilized and then we hung those ornaments on their own mini faux tree.  We enjoyed watching the tree fill up as we placed one more ornament on the tree each day.  {Click HERE for this book.}

Prepare Him Room

This book contains 4 readings for each of the 4 weeks of Advent.  If you plan to do all the activities, there is some prep work beforehand.  The first 3 readings of each week include verses and a reflection, along with a Christmas hymn to sing together.  The last reading of each week is a story that continues on each week.  We found the story to be very sweet.  {Click HERE for this book.}

The Jesse Tree

This was actually our first experience with a Jesse tree.  My family enjoyed the fact that there are daily readings.  I found some free ornament print-outs online and we filled up our Jesse tree with those.  This story was a good reminder for us in the Christmas season, but one of the main characters was a grouchy old man {in the beginning} and my kids had a hard time connecting with him for that reason.  {Click HERE for this book.}

Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family always has a free online resource to walk families through the Advent season.  We have often incorporated this into our Advent as well.  The prep work is typically minimal and each year, the calendar is different.  {Click HERE to sign up to receive this year’s calendar.}

This year’s calendar is entitled, “A Season of Hope” and has four Advent studies, one for each Sunday of Advent.  If your family is looking for daily readings, I highly encourage you to sign up for this year’s Advent.  Once you receive the email and open the link, scroll down to the bottom of the pdf for previous year’s Advent resources.  Look for the one entitled, “Tales of Christmas Past.”  It’s so good and will help walk you and your kids through a daily preparation of your hearts and minds.

Slow and Sacred

This Advent resource was quite different from what we had been doing.  But the rich depth it carried was amazing.  It includes a calendar with readings and activities to do throughout the week.  We had just recently moved, so I combined and omitted some of the calendar to accommodate the busy season we were in.  If you are looking for deep conversations, I would recommend this resource for middle to high school age and older.  {Click HERE for this resource.}

Capturing the Wonder

I recently ordered this Advent study guide.  This is through Joyful Life Magazine {I also ordered their winter issue and cannot wait!} and it is a 2 week study.  I haven’t gotten my hands on it yet, but from what I have read, it will work well for our family.  My plan is to stretch out the two weeks through the four weeks of Advent.  With current activities and holiday traveling, our time is not always free every night like it was when they were little.  This looks to be a good compromise for this season of life.  {Click HERE for this resource.}

Wild Bells: A Literary Advent

I ordered this resource as a supplement to our homeschool morning reading time through the Advent season.  It will tie in well with our focus on reading good literature.  There is a daily reading, followed by a reflective response.  My hope is that it will generate some good conversations with my middle and high school age kids.  {Click HERE for this resource.}

The Advent Project

A great free resource that will come straight to your email inbox each day is from Biola University Center for Christianity, Culture, and the Arts.  Each day has a theme and includes different resources from scripture, music, art, poetry, and personal devotionals.  I have enjoyed this resource for a few Advent seasons as my own personal morning devotion reflection.  {Click HERE for last years resource and to sign up for this year.}

We are looking forward in joyful anticipation for how God will work in our family this Advent season.  These family Advent resources have been a wonderful tool to guide our family each Advent season.  I hope they encourage you to do the same.

NEW TO ME & FREE

Maybe you haven’t had time to think through Advent in advance.  Or maybe you just want something that’s free…and all laid out for you…in ebook style.  I just came across this 5 Free Advent Devotionals.  I’ve never gone through any of these resources, but after taking a look at them, I really want to now.  Promise that you will love it too.  {Click HERE to check them out!}

Remember: don’t feel pressured to make Advent more than your family can handle.  Maybe a 5 minute devotional each morning works for you.  Or maybe once a week for 30 minutes works better in your season of life.  I encourage you to adapt any of these resources to work for you.  The point of Advent is to add to the Christmas season…not to stress you out.

And if you can recommend other family Advent resources, I would love to hear about them!

Are you ready for more Advent inspiration?  Take a moment and see what these friends of mine will be up to this Christmas season:

    The Homemaking Momma  Ι  Uniquely Taylor Made  Ι  The Tattered Pew  Ι  The Little by Little Home

White Arrows Home  Ι  Red Brick on the Lake  Ι  Crafting with Kids

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