December is a busy month–parties, pageants, plays, shopping, cleaning, baking, decorating, lightseeing, traveling, and in the middle of all of it trying to make room for Jesus!

Advent is one of the liturgical seasons of the church, a time when we both celebrate the memory of Christ’s incarnation as the baby at Bethlehem and remind ourselves that we believe Christ will come again. It is a time for reflection and preparation, a time to learn what it means to wait for the Lord. The waiting of Advent, though, is not about twiddling our thumbs hoping Jesus will show up on time. The waiting of Advent is about preparing ourselves to respond anew to Jesus’ presence in our lives.

As always, the best spiritual practices are the ones we’ll actually do, so here are some quick and easy ways to keep Jesus at the heart of your seasonal celebrations.

Spiritual Practices Advent Calendar

Chocolates are great and all, but if you’re looking for a Christ-centered way to count down to Christmas, check out this Advent Calendar from Rev. Traci Smith. Rev. Smith has a lot of ideas, so give your family the grace to choose the ones that work for you!

Advent Unexpected Blessings Cube

While the Messiah was long-awaited, no one expected Christ to come as a baby in a stable. Cut out, tape together, and roll this Advent Die to prompt conversations about the unexpected blessings of your Advent season. Works especially well as part of a devotional time or meal grace.

Interactive Nativity Set: Playing Out the Christmas Story

Nativity sets are a great, tangible way for kids to learn the Christmas story. If you don’t have a kid-friendly set at home, you can print out this one (stable and characters). Let your kids free play with the characters or follow this Interactive Nativity Set devotional to tell the story of the season together.

DIY Advent Wreath

While the advent wreath as we know it is a fairly modern tradition, the practice of lighting candles in the darkest weeks of the year has long been used to represent Christ’s light breaking through the darkness. Advent wreaths can be beautiful creations of live greenery and colored candles, but there are alternatives for the last-minute preparers among us. Let these photos be your inspiration!

No fire advent wreath! Make the wreath out of your family’s handprints and tape one “flame” to a candle each week. You can also wrap toilet paper tubes in paper for a more “pillar candle” look. (Source: http://njcraftymomma.blogspot.com/2012/12/wonderful-diy-advent-wreaths.html)

If you, like me, have a random assortment of white pillar candles hanging around, tying purple and pink ribbons to them makes a quick and easy advent wreath–no wreath needed! 

Another kid-friendly wreath, small enough for each family member to have their own! (Source: http://whenrunningamok.blogspot.com/2012/11/an-advent-wreath-made-by-kids-for-kids.html)

Carpool Caroling

Pick a favorite radio station or personal playlist that includes songs about Christ’s birth and sing along with your family as you run errands! Music strengthens memory, so help your family make Christ-centered Christmas memories by jamming along to Hark the Herald Angels Sing, The First Nowell, or Away in a Manger!

 

Looking for more simple Advent ideas? Check out this site. And however your season plays out, remember that Christ is coming whether you’re ready or not! So take a deep breath, relax your shoulders, and open yourself to the blessings of Christ’s hope, peace, joy, and love!