So… Advent, which is the Christian term used to describe the season leading up to Christmas, officially started this past Sunday (11/27) and will continue through Christmas Day on December 25th. Alternately (and, thankfully, for people like me who will always wait until the very last minute to do ANYTHING), it’s also pretty widely accepted these days to begin Advent traditions on December 1st instead. That was… yesterday. FYI.
We started last night – sort-of. Mostly, Nora cried and ripped the Bible I was reading from, the day’s Jesse Tree ornament broke, Sam spilled water all over the puzzle we were working, I couldn’t get the cute countdown stickers I “made” to print, and Jeff and I were really just dreaming of bedtime during the prayer. So, you know, it was exactly how I envisioned our Advent — full of joy, hope, and peace. #reallife
This is my sixth Christmas with a little person in the house, and I can tell you from experience that nothing ruins a season like a grumpy Mom, so my goal – always – is to avoid that. Still though, I really do WANT to do special things for and with my kids in December. I love that Christmas is celebrated all month, and making that time fun and meaningful actually is important to me. I’ve tried several different things over the last five years, but the main lesson I’ve learned is that SIMPLE IS BETTER. In the words of G.K. Chesterton (and quoted recently in the Christmas traditions episode of The God Centered Mom Podcast), “Anything worth doing, is worth doing badly.”
Now is the time for you to re-read the second paragraph up there… Advent is worth doing to me, and I’m totally doing it badly.
In case you haven’t noticed from my lack of blog posts lately (or the fact that I’ve whined about it a few times here already), I’m currently in a super demanding season at work and experiencing a bit of overwhelm. (Read: I’m-behind-in-virtually-every-area-of-life.) I’ve been working on this post for a couple of weeks actually, and it’s taken on quite a few iterations so far; but, when the start of Advent (and then the alternate start of Advent) came and went this week, I decided I better just wrap it up and throw it out there – badly. In fact, I convinced myself that maybe I’m not the only mom that really wants to be intentional about how I spend my time this month, that really wants to build traditions and make memories with my family, but that – honestly – is tired, stressed out, and running late ALREADY. The *last* thing I need right now is more to add to my To Do list. Can anyone relate?
If so, I proudly present to you… The Lazy Mom’s Guide to Christmas and Advent:
Below are seven – VERY LOW KEY – ideas that will be meaningful and fun for the holidays with little ones, but require very little effort/time on your part and can be started as soon as tonight – or any time that works for you. Pick one or combine lots. Throw out the things that sound stressful. There are no rules, just get started, and be ok with doing it badly if you have to. Enjoy! <<Warning: Some of the links below are affiliate. Click at your own risk.>>
1. Follow a reading plan.
For the last few years, we have followed a simple Advent reading schedule using Sam’s Jesus Storybook Bible. This sweet children’s Bible does such a beautiful job tying all of the Old Testament stories many of us grew up hearing in Sunday School back to the much larger story of a Savior. At Christmas, in particular, it’s fun to start at the beginning (with Adam and Eve in Genesis) and watch the details of God’s perfect plan unfold as we move towards Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem. This is, by far, the most important (in my humble opinion) thing we do throughout this season. Jeff and I usually alternate reading each night when we do bedtime stories. It takes five minutes max, and if we miss one night, we just two (or three or four) the next. Not to be pushy, but if you don’t do anything else (which is 100% fine), I recommend starting here – even if your kids are tiny (we started when Sam was about 2). Reading plans all over the internet, but here’s one we’ve used in the past (with a cute, free printable) to get you started. (Btw, there are tons of plans to go along with other Bible versions etc. if you have older kids or prefer something else – just Google.)
Free printable Advent reading plan from homewiththeboys.net
Side note: This year, we are using a Storybook Bible reading plan that goes along with a little Jesse Tree kit that the “seniors” ministry made for young families in our church. Basically, we read a passage every night (it follows a very similar schedule as the one above), and we have a little handmade (by the “seniors,” not me) ornament that goes along with the scripture to hang on a mini tree. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have gone through the effort to get all this together on my own, but since it was just handed over ready to go, I’m all about it.
This isn’t mine – but it’s beautiful, and it’s for sale on Etsy here
Here’s a simple explanation of the Jesse Tree tradition and some resources if you want to try to make/do one yourself —
What is the Jesse Tree? / The Jesse Tree Project
Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp
Jesse Tree Ornaments: Advent Coloring Activities and Craft Projects for Kids with Bible Stories for the Jesse Tree Symbols
DIY Jesse Tree Ornament Kit
2. Light a candle.
This probably wins the award for being the easiest thing on this list, but it really is significant and lovely. During Advent, be intentional about lighting a candle each night to countdown to Christmas. If you want to be formal about it, you can buy or make your own Advent wreath with four purple candles in a circle symbolizing hope, love, joy, and peace, and a final pink candle representing Jesus as the Light of the World. Simply light one candle each week (or each night of the week) with your nighttime reading if you do that or even just at dinner (you’d be surprised how “fancy” and special it feels to kids to have a candlelit dinner). OR, for an even simpler take, just pick one candle to light each night – the message about light in darkness is still the same.
If you want, try a candle (like this one) that will actually burn down over the course of 24 days, OR one (like this – shown above) where you check off each day. You could also probably make your own pretty simply with a plain glass votive & a sharpie – but that’s getting a little too “crafty” for me.
3. Do a countdown.
Advent is all about waiting and expectation (for the coming of Jesus), and there’s just something fun and exciting about a countdown of any sort. We’re doing the exceptionally fancy put-an-X-on-the-calendar-with-a-black-marker countdown method (and using an old felt pocket calendar from my own childhood in Sam’s room), but I think you can do exponentially better than that with a tiny bit of effort…. If you have kids old enough to cut and staple, just have them make a garland (of chain links, paper snowflakes, whatever) with 25 pieces (or however many days are left), then tear one off each day until Christmas. If you’re feeling crazy, write a couple (don’t go overboard now) of fun things to do or little acts of kindness inside a few of the links as a surprise when it is torn off (see #8 for some ideas).
Land of Nod Kids String Advent Calendar – on sale now!
Of course, if you’d rather just buy something (hello Amazon Prime 2-day delivery), there are LOTS of cute options available – like this magnetic one from Melissa and Doug, this fabric nativity countdown, a classic chocolate-filled countdown, or this little window-opener that actually matches the puzzle I have (see #4). *I also love this one from Anthropologie – of course – and all of these from Land of Nod, and this precious Star Wars themed one from Pottery Barn Kids (50% off today only).
*Pro tip: A lot of these calendars have little pouches meant to put candy or little dollar-store treats in for each day. You can, of course, do that, but remember that YOU set the precedence for your family. If you don’t do that to begin with, your kids will never expect it. Print out some scripture (maybe from your reading plan) on little paper and stick it in there instead, fold up little “love letters” to your kids (technically, you only need to stay one note ahead of them), or – like I mentioned above – put “instructions” for some fun activities and/or acts of kindness in just a few of the pouches. You’re in charge!
4. Work a Christmas puzzle or Advent “kit.”
I bought a 1000 piece puzzle of a Christmas scene (this exact one) this year and threw all the pieces out on our dining room table vowing to leave them there until it’s done. (I’m working on getting over my need to have everything neat and tidy all the time – this is a baby step.) My original intention was just that this would help us to slow down and spend some time together over the next few weeks and was a good – slightly more personal – twist on watching Christmas movies every night. Then, last night, we read the first story in the the Jesus Storybook Bible and it actually said: “At the center of the Story is a baby, the child upon whom everything will depend. Every story whispers his name. From Noah to Moses to the great King David—every story points to him. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle—the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together.” Don’t you love when that happens? I totally felt like the most intentional mom ever – at least until Nora tore the page and Sam spilled the water. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2/72x72/1f609.png" alt="