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A dad sits next to his elementary-aged daughter, who has the biggest grin on her face.
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Christmas Family Event: 12 Advent Ideas

You’re probably familiar with the classic Christmas carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” In it, a true love gives a gift every day for 12 days — from a partridge in a pear tree on the first day to 12 drummers drumming on the very last. In the spirit of that song, we’re giving you 12 amazing advent ideas you can use or share with families to help them prepare their hearts for Christmas. Try one, or try them all. They’re our gift to you — out of true love!

Advent Idea 1: Picture Frame to Bring God Praise

You’ll need:

  • Christmas decorations
  • a digital camera
  • cardstock
  • tape
  • stickers
  • scissors
  • clear vinyl adhesive
  • markers
  • dry-erase markers
  • adhesive-backed magnets (available at craft stores)
  • a frame template

Advent Ideas

Creating Your Frame

This idea is easy to pull off if your church decorates for Christmas. Set up a photo booth in front of your Christmas decorations and have families pose for a photo. If possible, set up a printing station so families can get their pictures right away.

Then direct families to a craft station where they’ll follow these steps.

  1. Create an 8×10-inch frame out of the card stock.
  2. Decorate the frame with a Christmas theme. At the top write, “Glory to God.”
  3. Attach your family photo in the center of the frame.
  4. Cover the frame in clear vinyl adhesive, turning the frame into a dry-erase surface with the picture in the center.
  5. Attach an adhesive-backed magnet to the back of the frame.
  6. Write praises to God with dry-erase markers and keep adding to and changing the praises at home.

Advent Idea 2: Matching Items

You’ll need:

  • a Bible
  • multiple sets of pictures of things that go together, such as a pencil and an eraser, a coffee pot and mug, a checkerboard and checkers, or a baseball bat and ball

matching game

How to Play

Play this game to kick off your Christmas celebrations with families. Hand a picture to each family. Then have them hunt for the family with the corresponding item. When families have found their match, have partnering families sit together and discuss why their items complement one another.

Then read the following pairs of Scripture: Isaiah 7:14 and Luke 1:26-38; Micah 5:2 and Matthew 2:1. Have families discuss how the pairs of Scripture complement one another — and why it’s significant that God knew the details of Jesus’ birth long before it happened.

Advent Idea 3: Gifts for Jesus

You’ll need:

  • a Christmas tree
  • costume jewelry
  • a scented candle
  • a tube of lotion

Set up a small Christmas tree in your children’s ministry area, and arrange some costume jewelry, a scented candle, and a tube of lotion underneath the tree.

Gifts for Jesus

Offer gifts to Jesus with your family to remember the gifts of the wise men.

1. Read Matthew 2:2.

Say: The wise men gave baby Jesus gold to show that he is a king.

Find something fancy like a gold-colored picture frame or a fashionable piece of costume jewelry, and place it under your Christmas tree as you take turns naming things you love about Jesus.

2. Read Revelation 5:8. Say: The wise men presented baby Jesus with frankincense, a spice used when people worshipped God. Set an unlit candle or another fragrant item under your tree, and take turns offering prayers as a gift to Jesus.

3. Read John 19:39-40. Say: The wise men brought myrrh, an ointment people put on bodies that were going to be buried. Set out lotion or perfume as you thank Jesus for dying for your sins.

Advent Idea 4: Weekly Mailings

You’ll need:

  • email or mailing addresses for families

Help families mark the four weeks of Advent by sending mailings that focus on the traditional theme associated with each candle on the Advent wreath. These mailings, brief enough to fit on a postcard, will remind families that Jesus, the Light of the world, is coming soon. Find customizable content for these weekly mailings here.

Advent Idea 5: Golden Stars

You’ll need:

  • For each family: a “Five Golden Stars” devotional kit that includes
    • 4 small star stickers,
    • 1 large star sticker,
    • and the “Five Golden Stars” directions.

Give each family a “Five Golden Stars” devotional kit to lead their family in this experience at home.

Five Golden Stars

Follow these instructions to lead your family in celebrating Jesus’ birth.

Get four pieces of clean trash, such as crumpled, unused tissues. Hide them around the house in somewhat obvious locations, and then place a small star sticker in plain view just above the hiding place of each item.

Get a better item, such as a plate of cookies, and hide it very well. Place the large star sticker above it, but make sure the sticker isn’t easy to see.

Tell your family you’re sending them on a treasure hunt as they let the stars guide them to look for hidden treasure. Walk with your family as they search, and let them know when they’ve found all the stars.

Ask:

  • How did the treasure under the big star compare with the other treasures?
  • How does the treasure of Jesus compare with other things about Christmas?
  • What things can distract us from looking for Jesus?

Say: Jesus is the greatest Christmas treas­ure of all. He’s the very reason we celebrate! This Christmas, remember to look for Jesus. Enjoy the tasty treat together as a family.

service ideas

Advent Idea 6: Ways to Serve

You’ll need:

  • a list of homebound church members (optional)

Challenge your families to spread Christmas cheer around your community by delivering traditional Christmas goodies. Provide a list of homebound church members, or challenge families to select six people in their neighborhood. Have families deliver each household a paper bag of hard candies, oranges, and apples, and linger to chat for a couple minutes or sing to the residents.

If possible, schedule deliveries for December 6, known in many countries as St. Nicholas Day. Tell kids in your ministry about the true St. Nicholas, and read James 1:17-18 to emphasize that Jesus is the source of all good gifts.

Advent Idea 7: Kinds of Snacks

You’ll need:

  • For each family you’ll need a kit containing:
    • 4 large pretzel rods
    • 2 graham crackers
    • 1 Hershey Treasure candy
    • 1 Tootsie Roll candy
    • 2 pretzel sticks
    • 1 marshmallow
    • 5 animal crackers
    • the “Nativity Snack” directions

Nativity Snack

Create this recipe with your family to better understand why Jesus is the reason for the season. (In addition to the contents of this kit, you’ll need wax paper and a can of frosting.) Without using the frosting or any other supplies, encourage your family to try to build a barn using the four pretzel rods as posts and the two graham crackers as a roof.

nativity snack

Lay out wax paper and spread frosting on it. Stick the pretzel rods in vertically, making sure there’s enough frosting around them to secure them in place. Use frosting to glue the graham cracker roof on the pretzel rods.

Set up a nativity scene inside the barn, using the Hershey Treasure as a manger. Use frosting to secure the Tootsie Roll on the manger as baby Jesus. Place the two pretzel sticks (Mary and Joseph), the marshmallow sheep, and the other animals (animal crackers) in the frosting base, using extra frosting as needed.

Ask:

  • Why was the frosting so important to this snack?
  • Why is Jesus important to our lives?

Say: Just as we needed the frosting for our snack, we need Jesus to hold our lives together. He came at Christmas to be born for us and live for us. At Easter, he died on the cross because he wants to have a forever friendship with us in heaven. Now that’s a reason to celebrate!

Enjoy your nativity snack together.

Advent Idea 8: Supernatural Stories

You’ll need:

When families are together for a Christmas event at your church, assign each family one of the following eight supernatural dreams or angelic visits. Then have each family work together to create a comic strip of the event. Have families share their work with everyone after they finish.

The supernatural stories: Matthew 1:18-21, Matthew 2:7-12, Matthew 2:13-14, Matthew 2:19-21, Matthew 2:22-23, Luke 1:5-7, Luke 1:11-19, Luke 1:26-38, and Luke 2:8-11.

Advent Idea 9: Christmas Traditions

You’ll need:

  • green paint
  • blue paint
  • paintbrushes
  • For each family: a kit with a round ornament and the “Christmas Around the World” handout, which includes traditions from India, Bethlehem, Brazil, Mexico, Ireland, Britain, China, France, and Egypt

Christmas Around the World

Have your family name any Christmas traditions you practice. Then read the traditions (on the downloadable handout) to learn what people in other areas of the world do. Talk about why you think each tradition helps to focus on Jesus or distracts from him.

Paint your ornament to look like a globe. After it dries, hang it on your tree and pray for the people in each country you learned about.

Advent Idea 10: Listed Items

You’ll need:

At your Christmas celebration with families, share the list of baby names. Have families discuss what names they considered for their children when they were born. Then lead families in making a top-10 list of names for Jesus, having families search in these verses: Isaiah 9:6, Luke 2:11John 1:14John 1:29John 6:35John 10:11. Encourage families to call out additional names they’ve heard for Jesus.

Say: Jesus has so many names. One thing we know is that he is our Savior, and he was born at Christmas to be Immanuel, God with us.

Bonus! Turn your game into a service project. Brainstorm 10 items newborns need. Then encourage families to bring those items in for a ministry donation to a women’s shelter or pregnancy care center.

Advent Idea 11: Census Questions

You’ll need:

  • an online “Census Questions” survey

Give families a “Census Questions” list to use at home. Use surveymonkey.com to create a free census of your own, using these questions. This is a great way to get to know what your families are doing to nurture faith — and help them think through their answers, too. At the end of the survey, tell families to discuss how the “census” they just took from their home computer compares to the census Mary and Joseph traveled for in Luke 2:1-5.

Census Questions

Read aloud Luke 2:1-5 to see how Mary and Joseph had to travel for the census.

Then answer the following questions as a family.

  1. How many people live in our house?
  2. What’s the age of the youngest person in our house?
  3. What’s the age of the oldest child in our house?
  4. Why do we have Bibles in our house?
  5. What’s the best thing about our family?
  6. What do we like about our family praying together?
  7. What’s our favorite thing about Christmas?
  8. How does our family’s faith help us at school or work?
  9. What’s each person’s favorite Christmas decoration?
  10. When are the best times for our family to talk about God?
  11. What’s something you’re thankful to God for today?

Advent Idea 12: Random Objects

You’ll need:

  • For each family, a kit with:
    • a penny
    • paper clip
    • used staple
    • pebble
    • cotton ball
    • crumpled paper
    • heart sticker
    • thumbtack
    • aluminum foil
    • tissue
    • rubber band
    • string
    • the “12 Days of Christmas” handout
  •  In addition to the items provided, you’ll need:
    • an empty egg carton
    • wrapping paper
    • tape
    • scissors
    • permanent markers
    • a flashlight
    • a pen
    • a soup can

Place each item provided in the kit in its own slot of your empty egg carton. Cut a small circle of wrapping paper and tape it over each hole as a cover.

Tell your child the egg carton is full of items that’ll help your family get to know Jesus, your Savior. Beginning 12 days before Christmas, have your child choose one of the egg carton slots to open each day. Your child may remove the paper and discover the item.

Read the Scripture from the handout and follow the directions for the item your child chooses.

Check out all these Christmas ideas! And for even more ideas for your children’s ministry and daily posts of inspiration for you and your team, follow us on Facebook!

One thought on “Christmas Family Event: 12 Advent Ideas

  1. The 12 Days of Christmas begin on December 25th and go through January 5th. They do not begin 12 days BEFORE Christmas Day.

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Christmas Family Event: 12 Advent Ideas

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