December Family Activities

Thanks for your comment, Nichole! How exciting that you’ll be using Godly Play! I absolutely love Godly Play as a way of making Advent a living religious experience for children. And what a great idea to share a weekly meal with other families!
Deb Chitwood recently posted..Activity of the Week – Montessori Gratitude Jar for Year-Round Gratitude

Thank you SO MUCH for letting me know about such wonderful Christmas printables, Maureen! What an awesome resource – I added the link to my post! We always loved to read a Christmas book each day through Christmas as well.
Deb Chitwood recently posted..Activity of the Week – Montessori Gratitude Jar for Year-Round Gratitude

Thanks, Cara! I love your Christmas Book Countdown – and I love that you rewrap and reuse the same books each year! Have fun doing Advent activities with your son this year – holidays with 3 year olds are wonderful!
Deb Chitwood recently posted..Activity of the Week – Montessori Gratitude Jar for Year-Round Gratitude

Thanks, Sherry! I’m so glad I was able to help! I’m a real lover of Advent activities and look forward to adding more links as I discover them. I hope you have a blessed CHRISTmas season, too!
Deb Chitwood recently posted..Activity of the Week – Montessori Gratitude Jar for Year-Round Gratitude

What a great question, Viv! I wanted to provide as many ideas as possible so that each family could choose the activities that were the most meaningful for their family. But how true that it’s overwhelming if you’re trying to figure out where to start.

When my children were very young, we used an Advent wreath. You could follow Rev. Ken Collins’ post on how to make and use an advent wreath. We purchased ours from a florist, and you could do something like that or make your own. Even though today is the First Sunday of Advent, you could light the first candle during the week. You could simplify the readings and prayer for your children.

We used an Advent calendar as well, but we did it very simply. We shopped for our Advent calendar together at a religious book store each year. That made it very simple yet still meaningful. Then we just opened the doors together and read the Bible verses each day until Christmas.

We read a Christmas book each day leading up to Christmas, but some families read a special Christmas book once each week. Do what feels best for your family.

A Jesse tree is a lovely tradition, but we only used one a couple of years. You could wait until another year to start it unless you want to use one this year. It is simpler now with the printable ornaments. If you want to use a Jesse tree, the link for the 2010 Jesse Tree Printables and Ornaments from Tired, Need Sleep might be the simplest. It already has the prayers and readings. You can just use a large branch in a pot of dirt or a miniature Christmas tree to put the ornaments on each day.

I’ve also asked for suggestions regarding your question on how to celebrate Advent simply but meaningfully with young children at the Living Montessori Now Blog Frog Community: http://bit.ly/e9KjVT There have been some lovely suggestions already! Just choose what you feel would be especially meaningful.
Deb Chitwood recently posted..Activity of the Week – Montessori Gratitude Jar for Year-Round Gratitude

You’re welcome, Catherine – thanks for sharing so many fun activities! And thanks for the link to the nature-based Advent calendar! I hadn’t seen that one before and just added the link to my post.
Deb Chitwood recently posted..How to Teach Your Child to Say Thank You for Holiday Presents