Anticipating Advent
Copyright 2017 Monica McConkey. All rights reserved.
This Sunday is the Feast of Christ the King: the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, which means that Advent will be here very soon! It’s time to dust off the Advent Candles (make sure we have them!) and the Jesse Tree ornaments and the Advent Calendar!
The Advent Calendar
The Advent Calendar is a great way to countdown the days until Christmas. You’ll find lots of chocolate-filled ones in the stores right now, but you can make your own and fill it with dollar-store Nativity figures, holy medals, saint pegs, prayer cards, Super Saints, printable Advent Quest challenges and of course your favorite treats or chocolates. There are so many ways to make an Advent Calendar (including this one we made years ago) and we found 35 [Awesome} DIY Advent Calendars here.
Fill up your Advent Calendar with faith-filled toys, treats and prayers:
- Advent (+Lent) Quest
- Advent Prayer Pockets
- Nativity Figures
- Super Saints Quizzing Cards
- Painted Saints
Looking for a Calendar for the new Liturgical Year?
- Adjustable Liturgical Calendar
- Communion of Saints Perpetual Calendar
- Calendar Saint Stickies (461 stickers with our original artwork!)
Copyright 2017 Monica McConkey. All rights reserved.
The Jesse Tree
The Jesse Tree is a wonderful faith-filled activity with Biblical symbols and figures and readings for each day of Advent. Jesus’ Lineage unfolds each day, leading up to His Birth on December 25th. You can make a nicely crafted banner like our The Family Handprint Tree and bring it out for Advent each year! It can also be used for Christmas, Lent and Easter activities!
Here are some other awesome Jesse Tree kits and tips:
- Our Family Jesse Tree from Faith and Fabric
- Jesse Tree Treasures
- Jesse Tree Ornament Exchange
- My Jesse Tree: The Ultimate Guide to Making a Jesse Tree
- Printable 3-D Jesse Tree Ornaments by Drawn2BCreative!
- The Mosaic Jesse Tree at To Jesus, Sincerely
Copyright 2017 Monica McConkey. All rights reserved.
The Advent Wreath
We have a fake wreath, and every year we have the opportunity to create a fresh one with our Women’s Ministry at our Parish. It can be tricky getting those 3 purple and 1 pink candles at the last minute, so we often pick them up throughout the year when we see them, or we’ve been known to tie purple and pink ribbons around white candles in a pinch. One year, we made this Mailbox Blessings Advent Wreath and wrote little notes to each other throughout Advent, placing them in these adorable little mailboxes.
Copyright 2017 Monica McConkey. All rights reserved.
Advent Prayers
Advent is an excellent opportunity to ramp up our family prayers … morning, before or after meals, around the Advent Wreath, in the car (bustling around to different events) or at bedtime!
Here are some of our prayerful craft kit printables to get you started:
- Advent (+Lent) Quest
- Advent Prayer Pockets
- All Season Prayer Bank
- Prayer Journal Prompts
- Journal Prayers and Novenas
Copyright 2017 Monica McConkey. All rights reserved.
New Family Traditions
This time of year there is a lot of talk about different activities and family traditions to help focus Advent within the family. Don’t try to do them all! Choose one that’s right for you and get your kids involved to keep it going throughout Advent. If good deeds and sacrifices are part of your Advent tradition…consider Nesting … for Sock Baby Jesus.
Traditions, crafts, prayers for your family #Advent from @MonicaArmaDeiClick To Tweet
Copyright 2017 Monica McConkey. All rights reserved.
Looking for some extra resources for Catholic Moms…including an Advent Activity Pack and a Simple Guide for Peaceful Preparation for Advent? Check out the Catholic Mom Bundle* of 12 faith-filled Liturgical Living and Personal Faith Printables worth almost $200 for just $19 (until November 26th). More information and ordering at Equipping Catholic Families
*not affiliated with CatholicMom.com although a number of CatholicMom Contributors have contributed their Catholic products to the Bundle.
Read our other Advent 2017 articles.
Copyright 2017 Monica McConkey
