Family Advent Resources
November 30, 2011
Books
These resources can be found locally through the Cokesbury Bookstore at Beeson Divinity School, on Samford’s campus or at a local Christian bookstore.
The Advent Jesse Tree: Devotions for Children and Adults to prepare for the coming of the Christ Child at Christmas, by Dean Meador Lambert, from Abingdon Press.
This wonderful little book uses the medieval church Advent tradition of the Jesse Tree in order to provide daily devotionals with two tracks, one for adults and one for families with children. It is brief and fairly simple and is customizable for each family, and I highly recommend it if you are looking for nightly family devotionals throughout the season. It could become an annual family tradition!
Jotham’s Journey, by Arnold Ytreeide, from Jericho Quill Press
This storybook devotional is a creative take on Advent. Follow the fictional story of 10-year old Jotham, who lives in ancient Palestine and discovers the miracle of the first Christmas. The first in a trilogy of three Advent devotional storybooks, this text captures imaginations and hearts of children and adults ages 5 and up. It is broken into daily readings—don’t peek ahead! Although I have not read the entire book, I have skimmed it and was captivated.
Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas, selected readings, from the Plough Publishing House.
This text is appropriate for adults or families with older children and includes writings from authors across the span of Christianity, broken into daily devotional reading format. The writers include people ranging from C.S. Lewis to John Donne to Dietrich Bonhoeffer to Phillip Yancey to William Willimon, and it has come to me highly recommended. This text, unfortunately, is the only one that cannot be purchased at Cokesbury. It is out of print, but is available on Amazon for a very affordable price.
What is Advent? Preparing for Christmas, by Marcia Stoner, from Abingdon Press.
This booklet is geared for children and their families and uses a combination of puzzles and brief written blurbs to look at Advent through Scripture and traditions. It provides activities for the entire advent season. This would be a great purchase for each child (or member!) of the family and at just a couple of dollars apiece, the price certainly allows for that.
What We Do In Advent: An Anglican Kids’ Activity Book, by Anne E. Kitch, from Morehouse Publishing.
This children’s activity book has great Advent information from both Scripture and tradition in a fun, interesting, and accessible format. It is intended for use throughout Advent, allowing kids a different activity or discussion for each night. It is geared for ages 4-7 and can be enjoyed by even younger pre-readers with parent involvement.
Websites
Reflection and Advice on Advent
Though Roman Catholic, this article is still useful in considering what we do in Advent. It has great tips about keeping Advent a simple, thoughtful season. By searching on catholicmom.com for the keyword “Advent,” there are also lots of free kids activities that relate to the season.
This site gives easy, understandable information on the background and purpose of Advent wreaths. It explains how to make them and gives a brief example for weekly Advent readings.
This Advent calendar has directions for a nightly Advent wreath, a nightly Scripture reading, songs and activities for each day. It makes Scripture reading as a family easy and includes an Advent wreath each night.
Weekly Advent Family Devotionals
This online, printable family devotional is targeted for families with children from 3rd-5th grade, but could be used for a range of kids and adults.
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