A Countdown to Christmas!
Family Activities for Advent
Welcome to Zion's Family Advent Activity Calendar!
What is Advent?
Celebrating Advent
Love,
Youth & Children's Ministry Team
Set up your family's Nativity scene and/or Advent wreath. Talk about what life must have been like for each figure at the time of Jesus birth. Talk about what an Advent Wreath is and what each color represents (see The Purposeful Mom's graphic below). Cut red and green strips of paper to make an Advent Prayer chain to help countdown to Christmas. Click on the Advent Prayer Chain below, courtesy of www.flandersfamily.info/web/, for a fun red & green chain to countdown to December 25th!
Everyone has their favorite Christmas jams! Spend time together as a family picking out every member's favorite songs and create a December playlist. Prime Music, Pandora, Spotify & iTunes are just a few of the apps you can use to create this. Here is Reader's Digest pick for the Top 20 Best Ever Christmas Songs to get the ideas going!
Leave a note of thanks and a little treat in your mailbox for your mail carrier. Creations by Kara made this cute single page print out for the mail carrier, bus driver, hair dresser, garabage collectors, etc. Don't forget about your Amazon and FedEx delivery people! They all work so hard this time of year and a special thank you will go a long way!
The Advent Devotion for December 4th is all about humility. What better way to show humility and humbleness than by doing a chore for a member of your family - without being asked! Taking out the trash, doing the dishes, sweeping, picking up, making a bed...the possibilities are endless!
Also, tonight, Good Shepherd Lutheran's Annual "Follow the Star" will be on TV tonight and tomorrow night! Settle in as a family to watch this amazing outreach by a fellow LCMS church in our area. Check it out here: https://gstx.org/follow-the-star-fts/.
If you missed Good Shepherd Lutheran's "Follow the Star" last night, you have one last chance to watch it tonight! Check it out here: https://gstx.org/follow-the-star-fts/
Cook dinner together - the twist is that ALL of the foods served must be red or green! Get creative! Remember you can add food coloring, too! Make and Takes has some great ideas on their website for a festive red & green Christmas meal!
- health & safety for the people
- basic needs such as water, food & shelter are met
- wisdom for the leaders and authorities
- that they know know Jesus and how much He loves them.
Hot chocolate recipes to try:
- 10 Favorite Books about Christmas Trees
- 16 Favorite Christmas Traditions that Pair with These Books
- 25 Christmas Books about Christ
and one that is so awesome it gets it's own line -
- The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado (The Scott Family's absolute favorite book)
Also, have you heard of "The Christmas Star"? Go outside tonight to see if you can see a phenomenon that has not happened in 800 years!
Put on your PJ's and slipper, grab some hot chocolate to-go, and drive around looking at Christmas lights. If it's cold, take your favorite Christmas blanket on the car ride to snuggle under. If your family is competitive, print off the Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt from The Savvy Sparrow, and have a prize for the member that completes it first!
Zion's Youth & Children's Ministry Team
Email: sherlyn.scott@zionwalburg.org
Website: www.zionwalburg.org