Advent is not a word I remember hearing while growing up. I don’t think I really knew what it was until I was an adult. At our current church we hear about Advent continuously. I am pretty confident that my kids know the meaning through church and what we teach them at home.

Advent-the coming or second coming of Christ

This is an exciting time. Thousands of years ago, the Israelites were anxiously waiting for their King, their Saviour. He came. Now we are in that same waiting moment, for that same person. We know the story of Him coming, now we are expectantly waiting for Him to come again.

I have been trying to share this excitement with the kids. Here are a few simple ways we are celebrating this Advent Season.

1. Luke 2- Starting December 1 we started reading Luke 2. We start with verse 1 and add an additional verse each day. This is our third year of doing it and I love it. Usually by Christmas Day the kids will have it memorized because we have reread the verses so many times.
2. Advent Devotional- This year I have also been doing an advent devotional with them by Ann Voskamp. One of the children read the scripture and I read the devotional. It’s really neat going through different parts of the Bible and seeing it point to the coming of Christ.
3. Jesse Tree– This is the second year that we have skipped the traditional Christmas tree and replaced it with a Jesse tree. The kids choose one thing each day to hang on it that reminds them of Jesus. I love how we can point the children to Jesus in one more way. Isaiah 11:1
4. Gifts– We usually do three gifts like the wise men got Jesus three gifts. Each child gets one practical, one spiritual, and one fun gift.
5. Birthday cake or donuts- We have tried to make a cake for Jesus birthday each year. Sometimes we go out for donuts because that is the birthday tradition in our family.

He is coming. What a day that will be!

Are you ready?

Listen to my radio interview about this post.