Advent Family Experiences & Toys
With Advent just around the corner, I have been thinking about different advent toys and experiences for our family and the kids specifically. (I love this post from The Art of Simple on ways to keep Advent simple.)
I have found this year in particular there seems to be SO MANY Advent resources that it is a little overwhelming, so thought I would share some favorites today.
Note that for the holiday weekend, you can get 30% off anything from DaySpring with the code 30FRIDAY15.
Advent readings for the dinner table
DaySpring offers these really simple, but meaningful tabletop devotionals that are great for prayer and discussion at the dinner table. I have two of them and plan to keep one at home and take one for my desk at work.
Redeemed Christmas – The Heart of Jesus – Advent Tabletop Devotional
Snow Birds – Blessings of Our Savior – Advent Tabletop Devotional
Jesus, God’s Promises Fulfilled – Advent Tabletop Devotional
Advent Resources for Families
Faith Gateway is offering a Free Jesus Storybook Bible Advent Calendar Printable + Reading Plan, which I downloaded for this year. We are such big fans of the Jesus Storybook Bible so I am excited to read it in a new way.
Also, Truth in the Tinsel is another fabulous resource for families with young children. We love the activities and simple teaching tools that it includes.
Lastly, we are loving Illustrated Children’s Moments’ new Advent coloring sheets and oversized Advent coloring posters. They are SO fun and keep my kids busy for hours.
Advent resources from Ann Voskamp
Ann was the first writer who really motivated to re-evaluate how I spent Advent. The books and products she offers for the season are, in my opinion, the best out there. If you are looking for one thing to buy, buy one of her Advent books.
The Greatest Gift: This is the book I plan to read each morning of Advent (DaySpring or Amazon)
Unwrapping the Greatest Gift – a book for the whole family. Truly one of the most exquisite books we own. The illustrations + storytelling is incredible. (DaySpring or Amazon)
Ann Voskamp – The Greatest Gift – Paper Ornament Set: The perfect companion to either of the books, these pearlized embossed ornaments will last for years.
Simple Advent Calendars for Kids
Our family also ADORES this Peanuts Christmas – Story of Christmas – Felt Advent Calendar. The kids have been playing with it every day since it arrived last week. I love how interactive it is. It reminds me of the felt boards from Sunday school when I was a kid.
It’s regularly $39.99, but on major sale for just $15. Use the code 30FRIDAY15 to get an extra 30% off, making it just $10.50. This is a steal.
As a little girl, I remember getting a simple paper calendar every year. Each day my sister and I would open the little paper window and talk about Advent. Here are a few fun ones.
Ice Skating Fun – Advent Calendar
Peanuts Christmas – Advent Calendar
Advent Toys for the Season
I love the idea that in addition to daily scripture and prayer, having a small toy for the kids to engage with so decided to purchase a toy for my older kids this year (they are 4 and 7). I have heard FANTASTIC things about the LEGO sets and ordered the Star Wars set for our Elf of the Shelf to bring to the kids Sunday night. They are going to be so excited.
LEGO City Town 60099 Advent Calendar Building Kit
LEGO Star Wars 75097 Advent Calendar Building Kit
LEGO Friends 41102 Advent Calendar Building Kit
Melissa & Doug Countdown to Christmas Wooden Advent Calendar
PLAYMOBIL Santa’s Workshop Advent Calendar
PLAYMOBIL Christmas Room with Illuminating Tree Advent Calendar Building Kit
Schleich Christmas on The Farm Advent Calendar Set
Hot Wheels Advent Calendar Playset
Giveaway
GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED Today I am thrilled to partner with DaySpring to offer an incredible Advent giveaway. They are generously providing the following to one lucky winner (US only):
- Ann Voskamp’s The Greatest Gift
- Ann Voskamp’s Unwrapping the Greatest Gift
- The Greatest Gift Paper Ornament Set
- Peanuts Christmas – Story of Christmas Felt Advent Calendar
This giveaway is going to last for just two days so that we can get everything shipped to you on Friday, so enter right away.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
We do advent wreaths and calendars and have a family worship book we read but are on the hunt for a morning one now that our children are getting bigger. The first Sunday of Advent is always a special family celebration to set everything up and we always eat pizza and Oreos.
This year I do plan on spending more time getting into the spirit of the holiday with my entire family. I will definitely be looking into this book.
I also loved your book, The Fringe Hours, it’s rare that I don’t have a project or book with me now!
I try to simplify, if that’s even possible, by making a calendar with just one thing on it per day. I start by adding all the Christmas programs, events, parties, etc., that have definite dates, and then I fill in with little family events, like baking cookies or quick bread to take to the neighbors, several nights of drinking hot cocoa or making popcorn while we read different versions and parts of the story, and a few crafts that add to our Christmas decorations each year. We don’t give our kids gifts from Santa, but we do read about St. Nicholas when we hang up our stockings, and we see him around town (it is up to them if they want to sit in his lap). I try to space it all out so we don’t feel busy but we do feel like we are preparing and remembering an important story and time of year.
We have Ann’s cradle to the cross advent wreath and we do that along with trying to do a reading to celebrate the real reason of Christmas every year.
We wrap books for each day leading up to Christmas!
Thank you for posting these ideas!!
We celebrate advent by doing our own little advent calendar. It’s homemade and the activities change year to year. My kids love the tradition. We also have a homemade Jesse Tree that gets put up every year and they LOVE that one, probably more. 🙂
Sarah M
We like to light candles and tell our kids what they represent, and read The Christmas Story leading up to Christmas! I just love the Peanuts Christmas – Story of Christmas – Felt Advent Calendar, so adorable!!
We have a calender with activities like family story time, baking goodies for a neighbor, helping at the nursing home, etc.
We set up an advent wreath and light the candles each Sunday, and we read a daily Advent devotional written by the pastors of our church. This is such a precious time, I hope to spend more time celebrating the true meaning of Christmas this year and less time on the shopping and business that eventually steals my time each year!
Growing up in a Lutheran church more emphasis was placed on the season of Advent than my church does today. Even at home we had an Advent log we lit each night at dinner. As an adult my husband and I have tried a few different Advent devotionals with our kids and have done Advent calendars a couple years as well, but carefully to make sure we really understand that we are looking forward and celebrating — Christ’s birth, not presents. I enjoyed The Greatest Gift a bit last year, but it was a library book – I’ve already planned better for this year. Grin! The Women of Christmas by Liz Curtis Higgs has become an Advent tradition for me.
We have done a Jesse Tree for several years. Our church introduced the concept, and provided ornaments for our kids to color. I laminated them and we use them each year. We love this tradition. We also do an Advent wreath on our dining room table.
We do an Advent wreath and use Ann’s resources. Plus I got some Peanuts stuff from Dayspring last month.
One of these years we will get the Star Wars advent calendar!
I love advent probably more than any other time of the year. Thanjs for all these ideas and resources.
Both my girls have a wooden advent calendar. They open the door each day and there’s a little chocolate treat and a sticker for a sticker advent calendar or something similar. Then we read from the Advent Storybook and one of Arnold Ytreeide (sp) books. We love advent!
We just get a little advent calendar with chocolate inside and I let my son open one every day1
We wrap up a present for each Advent Sunday and the kids get to enjoy those for the month of December. We also wrap up a book for each day before Christmas and read one a night.
Reading The Jesus Storybook Bible is one of my favorite ways to be intentional with Advent with my kids.
We light the candles on our Advent Wreath every Sunday night.
We use The Story of Christmas Story Book Set & Advent Calendar. It has a tiny little book for each day that you read and then hang on the tree as an ornament.
We have a traditional advent candle set which I love… pink and purple candles.
Some years we are purposeful about celebrating Advent, while others we just do whatever our church is doing (on Sundays). Haven’t decided yet for this year – I need to!
Would love to win this, I’ve been just recently looking at something that my girls ages 8 and 6 would enjoy doing with us.
I usually just do what my church does but I need to be more faithful and do something more at home. By winning it would help me having something to start the advent season off with a great start.
We actually have the Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar for this year. I found it on Star Wars Day at Walmart in September. We couldn’t get last year’s until January of this year. I didn’t realize they could be hard to find. We also do Advent at our church.
We do an advent story I got from Noel Piper. Each night adds a line or two to the story and we put little figures on a burlap advent calendar. My kids are 2 and 3 so some nights we just double up so they can each hold one and the repetition is good for this age too. Would love to win the snoopy one too
We celebrate with an advent calendar in the form of hanging miniature stockings – one for each day. I put it in little treats for my boys, as well as one special activity for the day.
We read a devotional nightly and then the kids get to eat a little piece of candy in our advent box 🙂
We try not to overbook with activities. We also have several advent calendars including a Christmas Story/ornament set that has a portion of the story of Jesus’ birth each day from Dec 1 to Dec 25.
I do a daily devotional!
We love advent calendars! My kids get up (way too!) early to check their daily calendars. We’ve done Lego calendars before, but will just use paper ones this year.
We celebrate with special church services, an advent calendar, and Christmas story books. My favorite time of year!
I’ve never done anything for advent before and I’m really excited to start this year!!
We love advent — we have multiple advent calendars and an advent wreath and we always try to do the Jesse Tree (we usually wind up falling behind partway through the season, though). We love preparing our hearts for Jesus!
We do an Advent wreath and devotional reading.
We celebrate Advent at church. There we light a candle each week. My children used to have advent calendars too.
Our family has a traditional advent calendar but I am eager to discover more fun and interesting ideas for my little ones to embrace the season : )
We do an advent calendar but it’s mostly been activities. No specific religious emphasis, but just trying to emphasize time together and giving back. Our goal this year is more devotional activities too.
We celebrate Advent by having an Advent calender!
My kids love having a Christmas advent calendar and also counting the days to Christmas!!
I would love to use some of these resources in our home!!
The kids get their chocolate advent calendars and we also have a wooden calendar.
So excited about Advent this year and being intentional in how we celebrate and navigate the season!
We have a calendar that have pockets. Some days the girls get little gifts, and other days we do a craft or bake, and then other days it’s something we do for others. We also read every night together.
We are just starting to build our traditions, and I’m excited to start some new ones this year with our 3 year old little boy and 5 month old baby girl! That Peanuts Advent Calendar is adorable!
We’ve done Amanda White’s Truth in the Tinsel Advent study and ornaments for a few years, but I’m trying to introduce other things. I’m wanting to make a wreath for this year and hoping to read more often this year as a family.
We have a wall hanging advent calendar that I made. Each day I put a slip in for that with a holiday related activity for that day. Make paper snowflakes, go look at Christmas lights, etc are all some of the activities. The Truth in the Tinsel book looks really neat though, we might have to add that!
We haven’t really celebrated Advent before. It always seems to get away from us and I have had trouble finding something that doesn’t seem like it would add to the craziness of the season and the consumerized focus.
Love Dayspring sales! Thanks for doing this post.
Would love to win this, I’ve been just recently looking at something that our kiddos would enjoy doing with us.
What a fun idea! Thanks for putting this list together and sharing it with us. The Peanuts calendar sounds like a great, hands on idea. I’m definitely going to look into it.
We’ve been doing Truh in the Tinsel but as my kids kids older I’m looking for something that would be just as meaningful but also not overwhelming or complicated.
My family reads a special Advent book every year. The book has beautiful illustrations and tells the story of Christ’s birth straight from scripture a little bit each day. Each day we re-read what we’ve already read and add the page for that day. By Christmas day we have read most of the Christmas story multiple times. It has been the one consistent Advent tradition we participate in each and every year. We also light the Advent candles on our wreath each Sunday and recall the meaning of each candle.
Love celebrating Advent! Always looking for fun, new things to incorporate with my kiddos.
Last year we got Anne Voskamp’s advent book and read it every night before bed — it’s definitely going to be a tradition!