After a long season of ordinary time, we are excited to begin preparations for Advent! Advent is a time when we look with longing and hopeful expectation to Christ’s birth. It is the start of a new liturgical year, and begins what is called the “cycle of light” as we celebrate Christ, the light of the world!

The Resurrected Home exists to equip families with creative ideas and biblically based resources to transform everyday moments into organic discipleship opportunities. Our community uses the historic liturgical church calendar as a guide for personal family discipleship. The goal being to create meaningful family rhythms that point us to Jesus all year long.

This post incorporates direct links to some of our favorite family discipleship resources. By no means does our family incorporate all of these, and neither should you. Browse and identify what you think would best serve your family this year. Plan ahead, and set your family up for success. The month of November is the perfect time for you and your spouse to pause and ask yourselves what is most important to you this December, and where family discipleship falls on that scale. Next, sync your calendars and be realistic! Realistic in scheduling protected family time, and realistic in not overbooking your limited schedule! 

Now, our family travels out of state 2 out of 4 weeks in December, this is a joyful endeavor for us and is expected in our schedule. Nevertheless, it requires some forethought when it comes to maintaining our Advent rhythms as a family on the go. If you’re like us, perhaps pick something that packs well, or can be printed wherever you land, or even something that cousins and grandparents can easily participate in together when being hosted. 

The Jesse Tree family devotional journeys from creation to Christ’s birth helping families experience God’s great redemption story. This historic liturgical tradition dates back to 1086. Receiving its name from the prophecies of Isaiah, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” Isaiah 11:1.  

With a family and church tradition over 1,000 years old, there are numerous accessible versions of the Jesse Tree curriculum. The Keeping Company’s rendition includes heirloom quality wooden engraved ornaments shipped in a wooden storage box retailing for $59.99. This devotional is perfect for the whole family and all ages (and this particular set is no crafting required). It can also be accompanied by a book titled, Unwrapping the Greatest Gift available on Amazon for $29.99 and currently on sale for $16.99. 

A meaningful family tradition incorporating these (or any other Jesse Tree ornaments) would be to place each ornament in an Advent Countdown Calendar that your children can take turns retrieving and placing on the tree each day after your bible reading.

Good News, Great Joy Advent Wreath Guide is a beautiful booklet that walks families through the weeks leading up to Christmas using the traditional Advent candle wreath. The first Advent wreath dates back to the early 1800s with the concept created by a German protestant pastor named, Johann Hinrich Wichern. It incorporates 4 colored candles (1 pink, and 3 purple) encircled in evergreens that are to be lit each Sunday of Advent finishing with a center white candle lit on Christmas Day. This devotion has the option to be used every single day, or once a week as your family lights the corresponding candle. This Daily Grace Co booklet can be purchased on their site for $8.

A meaningful way to incorporate an Advent wreath would be to have your family meal only lit by the candles incorporated that week. As each new Sunday approaches the dinner table grows a little less dim, signifying how Christ brought light into the darkness.

This Etsy Advent Kit incorporates so much and is certainly worth the upfront cost as a digital download that can be printed again and again each December. Our family in particular loves the 25 “Names of Jesus” Advent countdown paper chain. Each day a name of God is added to our tree encompassing it in the truth of Christ’s character.

The Kindness Manger (also referred to as the Giving Manger, Filling the Manger, or the Christmas Crib) is another historic church tradition. The premise is to recenter your child’s focus back to giving and service throughout Advent by training and encouraging them to participate in simple acts of kindness. Each action is encouraged by the child laying a piece of hay in the manger where baby Jesus lay. This Christmas-specific visual displays that our faith, actions, and lives ultimately are all unto Him. The Advent Kit digital download retails for $11.

The Truth in the Tinsel Ebook is a Christmas-focused family devotional used during the season of Advent. Each day has a bible reading along with instructions to create a simple corresponding ornament using accessible household supplies (If crafting isn’t your thing, you can buy the ornament printable PDF set that your children can color as you read the bible story). One aspect I love about this study is that at the back of the Ebook, there is an “Alternative Schedules” page with several curriculum options: Using the study every day for 24 days, 6-day bible basics, 6-day book of the Bible study, 10-day bible character, or 7-day prophecy study – making it approachable to any family regardless of scheduling or travel conflicts. Perfect for preschoolers-elementary age children. The ebook costs $9.99. 

Our family loves to build and create together. When my husband and I first came across the history of first-century Bethlehem it brought the Bible to life in a whole new way. Studying the scriptures, researching archeology, and the relational customs at the time of Jesus’ birth changed the way we visually approach the nativity in our home. This Historically Accurate Nativity House is an interactive family activity that we modeled together last Advent for our nativity figurines to sit. 

This digital download of a first-century house plan can be modeled out of cardboard boxes, legos, gingerbread, or wood. (For more on why a historically accurate nativity matters click here.) The digital download for the house plans retail for $4.99. 

Wooden Peg Doll Nativity: Etsy has a wide variety of wooden peg doll nativity sets from countless small businesses. The best part about wooden Peg Dolls is that they are intended for play! We wanted figures of the Christmas story and later the visitation of the magi to be accessible to our kids to encounter and enjoy everyday of Advent. You might even find Joseph driving an excavator in our living room from time to time, but nevertheless they’re learning!

We chose this particular set because we purchased the Resurrection Crèche peg doll set from this same small business during Lent. Both have held up beautifully even with vigorous play from our two young boys! This particular set retails for $135.00.

Alternatively, a Plastic Toy Nativity does the job equally as well and can withstand interactive play! I have seen this set being sold secondhand on Facebook Marketplace countless times for an even greater discount. This retails on Amazon for $47.98.

Advent is intentionally purposed to slow the pace of the family down, to recenter and focus on what Christmas is truly all about. We hope in your pursuit of family discipleship throughout the month of December that you are growing in Christ just as much as your kids. As we retell the glory of Christ’s coming to our children it refreshes our souls and transforms us all simultaneously. We pray for a blessed Advent season for you and your family, as we mark the time as set apart, intentionally different, and sacred. Come thou long expected Jesus! 

For access to the TRH Advent & Christmastide Spotify playlist click here.