Children's Advent Calendar Ideas

I have decided to make my own Children's Day by Day Advent activity calendar, as everything I have found online or in liturgical supply catalogs are dubious at best.

My one ground rule is that it has to be Advent related. There are plenty of so-called Advent calendars out there, but upon examination, you find that they are simply Christmas activities disguised as Advent. Also, I am probably going to try a two-track one, with an activity for younger and older kids.

Anyone have any ideas to share? I am willing to share my finished product with anyone who wants one.

Comments

TLF+ said…
I think a key is to have a layout that is clearly liturgical Advent, not "Activities 1 thru 25" based on calendar December!
9/21/2010 8:24 PM
Loren said…
Last year my family used a "Jesse Tree" instead of an Advent calendar. We had a reading for each day of Advent and up to Theophany (Jan 6). For each day we hung a symbol related to the reading on a tree. There are many versions available on the internet so there are options for all age ranges.(e.g. http://www.cresourcei.org/jesse.html#Jesse Read) My children are middle-school age and older so the readings are pretty long and involved. This really puts the emphasis on the promise of the Savior leading up to Christmas.
I can send you a copy of the readings we used and a description of the symbols, if you would like.
9/21/2010 10:15 PM
The Archer of the Forest said…
I would like to take a peek at those readings and symbols, Loren.
9/22/2010 8:00 AM
Loren said…
Here is a link to a PDF of the book we use. The ornament for the day is listed at the beginning of each section. I have a separate list somewhere, but I think it is on my other computer. Since we are Eastern Orthodox, the readings start on November 15, the beginning of the Nativity fast.

http://files.ofile.com:/ofile?controller=Share&action=shareFile&key=cfc5d9422f0c8f8ad796711102dbe32b

If you wish to contact me directly, please email me at lwmakus@yahoo.com

Loren
9/22/2010 6:31 PM
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