Advent is a time of patience and preparation…two words that little ones find difficult to grasp. How many times have you, as a parent, had to say “not until tomorrow,” or “once we get there,” or “wait your turn,” only to be met with cries of frustration?
The importance of waiting can be tricky to impart to children…some adults even have trouble with it! This Advent, we have resources to help your kids “wait” for the Lord’s coming on Christmas Day!
Here are the top products we know will help you celebrate the best Advent season yet! Each one is high-quality, faithfully Catholic, and engaging. More importantly, each resource is EASY for you to incorporate into your daily life.
Everyone loves coloring books…and this year’s Advent & Christmas Season Coloring Book ticks all the boxes! One parent told us “it’s so convenient to have an open-and-go resource for all the special days of Advent,” and we agree! Coloring a page every Sunday or feast day helps remind kids of the joy to come on Christmas morning!
Each coloring page also comes with a simple meditation and prayer, either on a saint’s feast day or on the Gospel. The prayers are just short enough that a child can pray them with ease.
It covers the Sundays and Feast Days from November 28, 2021 – Jan 9, 2021 (the first Sunday in Advent through the last Sunday of the Christmas Season)! This is a great way to keep kids busy during the weeks you are preparing for Christmas! It also includes pages for important feast days such as St. Nicholas, St. Lucy, Our Lady of Guadelupe, and more!
What is the Jesse Tree tradition?
Children and adults learn the History of Salvation (from Creation to the Birth of Christ) by going day-by-day through the “family tree” of Jesus! Each day, an ornament is added to the tree as a visual reminder of God’s Plan for the world. It’s a great way to truly make Advent a season of preparation for the birth of Christ!
While there are plenty of complex Jesse Tree crafts and projects on Pinterest, we have an easy way for your kids to learn the family tree of Jesus!
The Jesse Tree Advent Activity Book is designed to both entertain and educate kids about the Catholic faith! It’s filled with mazes, coloring pages, and tons of other fun activities that instill Biblical knowledge in a memorable way. There are even different difficulty levels so that every kid in your family can participate!
You can also get FREE Jesse Tree ornaments (full-color or black & white) from our website! Click here to get your FREE Jesse Tree ornaments that you can print off from home!
Want an even easier way to complete your Jesse Tree? We also have a NEW Jesse Tree Poster with stickers! With this poster, your smallest children can easily stick each Jesse Tree Ornament sticker to the “tree” every day!
Want a visual component as well as a workbook? The Jesse Tree Advent Activity DVD is easy for families to use–your kids can pop it in the DVD player or laptop and manage this year’s Jesse tree all by themselves! No need to spend long hours researching the Bible or constructing crafts…we’ve done all the work for you!
You can download FREE Jesse Tree ornaments to accompany the DVD too! Just download and print–no stree and no mess for Mom!
The DVD is reusable year after year, regardless of how long Advent is (it varies!) because we added EXTRA Jesse Tree days for those longer-than-normal Advents. Who knows, maybe this could become a new family tradition!
Bring the Advent Wreath tradition to a new level by making your own Advent candles!
Our Advent Candle Kit is a hands-on way to engage kids in the season of preparation. The candles are made with 100% pure beeswax sheets…they’re very easy to make and smell heavenly when burned.
The kit also includes a detailed information sheet on the beautiful symbolism of beeswax candles, directions for how to make your own Advent wreath (wreath is NOT included), and a reproducible Advent prayer sheet.
NOTE: we sell out of these Advent Candle Kits every single year, so order yours now! They are one of our most popular and best-selling items for a reason, so don’t delay!
Or…are real candles not your cup of tea (or not allowed in the classroom or apartment)? Check out this Lego block set! It’s small, but oh so cute (and kids can assemble it quickly)!
4. Advent and Christmas Season Calendar
For kids, the days before Christmas can seem to stretch on and on forever. For moms, December and January are the busiest times of the year! A calendar helps children visualize the passage of time, and helps mom and dad keep track of life’s craziness.
Last year’s colorful Advent & Christmas Seasons Calendar was a great hit, and we’ve brought it back!
This calendar is sturdy and coated…it will last through grubby hands, weak magnets, and marker smears. The calendar squares are nice and big, so you can record all the things you need to do! Plus, it now comes with stickers…use them like an Advent calendar (one sticker per day), to keep track of feast days, and to celebrate the coming of the Lord and the new Year!
Like our Advent Candle Kit, you should order your Advent and Christmas Season Calendar now. We print a limited number each year, and there’s no time to reprint…don’t wait!
If your family is like ours, Advent is the most hectic time of the year. With all the work you do to create that joyful Christmas Day, who has the time (or energy) to make Advent into a fruitful time of spiritual anticipation and preparation for your family?
Let our family take yours on the fun and easy Holy Heroes Advent Adventure!
It’s FREE–it costs you nothing, nada, zilch.
It’s easy– we do all the work for you, then we send you daily emails full of fun for ages 3 and up. You just click-and-watch short videos … click-and-print off fun activities … click-and-pray along with us!
We do all the work for you, sending you daily emails full of fun:
- Prepare your heart for Jesus through our Sacrifice Manger activity!
- Make family memories as you explore Advent Traditions and Feast Days together!
- Get more out of the Mass with “Mass prep” activities for each Sunday of Advent!
- Learn the ‘big picture’ of Salvation History through the daily “Jesse Tree” activities!
- Fall in love with the Rosary. Pray a “decade-a-day” and get “rosary certified” this Advent!
6. Advent Adventure Sacrifice Manger Craft
Did you know that Advent is a penitential season, just like Lent?
Part of preparing our hearts for Christ involves making our hearts more like His. One way to do this is through sacrifices or small acts of self-denial. Giving up little things and doing small acts of service is part of “waiting in joyful hope” for Jesus’ birth!
Why not encourage your family’s practice of virtue (and make the preparation for Christmas more tangible) with this Sacrifice Manger Craft? It comes on a single sheet of paper, and kids cut out and fold along the dotted lines. Just add some “straw” (yarn will do) and you’re ready to go!
To use, add a piece of “straw” every time you do a good deed for another. By Christmas, your family should have a cozy bed for the Christ Child to sleep in!
To make it even easier, we’ve created a starter list of sacrifices that will work for all ages! Download the Sacrifice Idea Sheet here!
Ever seen a Catholic home with strange writing in chalk over the doorway? Maybe looking something like “20-C-M-B-20”? No, it’s not aliens!
For centuries, Catholics have blessed their homes anytime between New Year’s Day and Epiphany. The head of the household gathers his family in prayer; all ask for the intercession of the 3 Magi who left their homes to search for the newborn Savior of the World! All year long, every time you pass through the doors of your home, you’ll call to mind that you are under the protection of God as His adopted children!
Although this tradition usually falls after Christmas, it teaches children about the importance of continuing to prepare their hearts for Christ! After all, He will come again a second time, and we are all waiting for the joyful day when we see Him face-to-face in Heaven!
It’s a beautiful blessing, and it’s simple to do! The Holy Heroes Epiphany Home Blessing Kit contains everything you need! It comes with complete step-by-step instructions with the prayers and actions to accompany the blessing, a reusable Holy Water Bottle, and of course chalk. Fill the Holy Water bottle up at your local parish and you’re all set!
We’ve also included the Mysterious Magi Map to help your family learn more about the Three Magi.
We hope this helps you have a fruitful family Advent! Don’t forget to sign up for Advent Adventure!
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