Many people to go great lengths to prepare for Christmas yet fail to appreciate the true meaning of the season. At our November MOPS meeting we will be making an Advent calendar which hopefully can be used to make the Advent season become one of the most meaningful times of the year for your children and family and provide a time where you could prepare your hearts and lives for the birthday of Christ. Below are some ideas to help you do that!
Ideas to include in your Advent Calendar:
- Prayers or verses to read and discuss together.
- Special Christmas carols, songs, or hymns to sing together.
- Good deeds to do each day.
- Fun field trips like looking at Christmas lights or ice-skating.
- Charitable activities like finding items around the home to donate to the needy, collecting food for food banks, volunteering at soup kitchens, or purchasing presents off a Christmas Angel Tree.
- Recipes to try as a family
- Fun craft activities like making ornaments or Christmas cards together.
- Clues to a treasure hunt. Hide special ornaments or figures from the family nativity set around the home and provide a clue to the location of one each day.
- Treats
- Plan activities like building a snowman, watching the “The Nativity” together, Christmas caroling.
How Parents and Children Can Work Together to Fill an Advent Calendar
- Divide the 24 days of Advent up among family members and have each person responsible for filling certain days.
- Have the whole family make a joint decision about what objects to buy or make to fill the spaces.
- Work with other family members to research fun and enriching ideas for holiday activities for each Advent pocket.
- To share the fun, involve all family members in filling the Advent calendar.
Love has entered our world through the birth of Jesus. He came to die on a cross as punishment for our sins. That’s amazing love and something worth taking the 24 days before Christmas to think about!
