Are You feeling ADVENT-urous?

We are advent-ing it all over the place over here. We love it! I have never done it before, but I really wanted to make sure that Christ is the focus of Christmas for my children, like it was for me growing up. I don't want them to miss out on the true joy of this season. The joy of a new toy only lasts for so long. The joy of our Saviour is never ending.

That being said, celebrating advent can be a daunting task. There are 8 million ideas out there of how to do so, some of them expensive, some of them cheap, some of them easy, some of them time consuming, and everything in between? I am not wealthy, especially since every dollar I get this time of year I want to spend on someone I love, and I am also not the most crafty and industrious person in the world. So here is what is working for me.

First, we got 26 envelopes (that is how many days are in advent this year) and then we got out markers, glue, scissors, the day after Thanksgiving adds, magazines, and wrapping paper scraps. My children decorated the back side of each envelope (where the flap is), and I wrote the number on the flap for each day.

Next I got that sticky adhesive and I attached the envelopes to my wall. To make it super festive, I made them in the shape of a Christmas tree. In each envelope is a piece of candy, and then a bible verse or an ornament that represents a story from the book The Jesse Tree, which we are reading this year. 

I really like this book and their are a ton of ideas to make this more fancy (giving it it's own tree, making a tree out of wood and buttons, etc.) but in order to stay with my theme of keeping it simple, we just let our kids take turns adding the ornament to our regular tree.

This book is something our kids have really enjoyed. I also have been planning a lot of  activities, and plan to put a slip of paper with the activity in the pocket. A book that we are using with some activities, and also with ADvent ideas to go along with the activities I have planned is called the ADVENTure of Christmas. Our kids are really enjoying this, as well.









We are also using a free Christmas around the world lapbook you can find here.

Also, here is a link to another blog with ideas for The Jesse Tree. Confessions of a Homeschooler - Jesse Tree

And here is another link to advent activities: montessori advent blog

Also, here is a really cute wood and button Jesse Tree from Ramblings of a Crazy Woman: button jesse tree


I will post more later, my best friend is here for coffee now!