Advent Packet Ideas for Kids and Families
Advent is here. I can’t believe it, really. It is my favorite season of the church year. I love the idea that God took on flesh, and, as I wrote in my church’s Advent wreath liturgy for this year, “chose to be near the Creation in an extra special way.”
This year many of us will be celebrating Christmas in new ways, apart from family and friends and our church community. The good news is that no matter what happens, baby Jesus is still born. Whether there is fanfare and tinsel and carol singers or whether you are staying inside, walking as far as around your block and Zooming with loved ones, God still enters the world in an intimate way, as a small, helpless baby.
This year I’ve been so excited to see all sorts of wonderful ideas about Advent packets to put together for families and churches. I personally look to Traci Smith, author of Faithful Families, Prayers for Faithful Families, and Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas. I really look up to Traci, though I don’t know her personally, and am so grateful for the work she has done in encouraging families to take responsibility for children’s faith formation...and making it easy.
Illustrated Ministry also has some great resources for Advent and Christmas, not limited to sticker packs (sadly all sold out for this year--but preorder next year!), coloring pages and an online Christmas pageant!
So without further ado, here’s the Advent packet I put together for my church families:
I am really excited about these packets! I think they’ll be fun for our families with kids and youth who are celebrating at home.
Vermont Christmas Company has several options with a non-white Holy Family. I always buy calendars with BIPOC people on them and write to VCC to let them know how much I appreciate having options for a non-white Holy Family.
Nativity stickers
Yes, I pre-ordered Illustrated Ministry stickers in September this year, so I snagged some! And I think it’s great that they’re sold out because that shows how much people want BIPOC nativity representations!
You can find more stickers (with no white Jesus!) here (but not from Illustrated Ministry) https://beaheart.com/collections/holiday/products/emmanuel-christmas-stickers?fbclid=IwAR1ine11COt5xuMqKgtIMsKkyucHdAvBKqx_lM0JfkNqFYs1N8DS5lkPG3s
Candles for an advent wreath. I usually give families battery-operated tea lights so that kids can feel comfortable lighting the candles themselves.
Votive light with timer.
Advent Candle Lighting Liturgy that I wrote, specific to my church.
Glow sticks. I like to provide glowsticks instead of candles to hold for Christmas Eve. Now when families worship on Christmas Eve they can get out their glowsticks!
Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt printable. I invite families to take photos of Christmas lights and then send them to me and I’ll feature them on our church social media.
Illustrated Ministry Prayer printable to color contemplatively.
Cinnamon crumb cake mix for Christmas morning. I usually make cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, because that’s what my mom always does, but this year, I will make some coffee cake! I encouraged families to take a picture of their family eating this on Christmas morning, which they can send to me and I’ll add it to social media.
Some candy (of course) and some fun Christmas erasers, which you can also get from the $1 bins at Target.
And a Word of the Day Advent page to put on the refrigerator! You can use the Word of the Day for discussion, meditation, work it into your prayers, or take a photo that reminds you of the word each day.
And for some more Advent and Christmas fun:
Include Books: see how you can include picture books in Advent worship and spiritual practices. Thanks, Traci! http://www.traci-smith.com/adventbooks/ And check out my reviews of two new beautiful Christmas books! I will be using these books, and more, for Christmas Book Storytime, every Tuesday night during Advent.
There are lots of Christmas pageants to download and use! I usually write my own, but here are some good options:
Illustrated Ministry, Do Not Be Afraid: A Virtual Christmas Pageant
Tumbuh Global, Digital Christmas Pageant
And if you’re looking for a digital Advent Calendar, check out the one I curated for my church on myadvent.net!
Let’s Chat
What are you using to guide your family through Advent? Did your church offer a packet or a kit? What are you looking forward to using? Comment below!
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