Advent officially started on November 27 this year and continues until December 24. During the Advent season, we often try to reflect on Jesus’ birth into the world. If you are in need of a few unique ways to celebrate advent at home as a family this year, here are five ways. Feel free to be creative and create your own ideas of how to celebrate advent this year too.
1. Advent Calendar
One way to celebrate Advent at home as a family is by going through an Advent calendar. Advent calendars come in a wide variety of options. You can choose a basic Advent calendar, a toy Advent calendar, a puzzle Advent calendar, or a chocolate candy Advent calendar.
The options for an Advent calendar are numerous, and there are many sites online that sell Advent calendars if you cannot find one in person. An Advent calendar is a fun way to celebrate Advent at home as a family.
Advent calendars are a great way to help us stay focused on Christ during the Christmas season. It can be hard to stay focused on the true meaning of Christmas when materialism keeps trying to overtake it.
By having an Advent calendar, it can help keep our minds and hearts focused on the anniversary of the Lord’s birth into the world. Ultimately, Christmas is all about celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Jesus — not about materialism.
When you choose your advent calendar, make sure you don’t get too distracted by the advent calendar that you forget its true meaning. A few Advent calendars can cause us to become distracted away from the true meaning of Christmas.
If you wanted to, you could even make your own Advent calendar and avoid the trap of materialism that can even be found in Advent calendars.
As long as your heart and mind are focused on celebrating the anniversary of Jesus’ birth, an Advent calendar should help encourage and support our focus on Jesus.
2. Advent Devotional
A second way to celebrate Advent at home as a family is by using an Advent devotional. Advent devotionals are a great way to build anticipation for the holiday season and cause your whole family to build up the holiday spirit.
One of the many great Advent devotionals you can check out is found at Our Daily Bread. Crosswalk also has great resources for online Advent devotionals.
In addition to choosing an online Advent devotional, you can also look around a local bookstore and see if there are any Advent devotionals that look interesting to you. My sister always enjoys looking at all of the different Advent devotionals, and she wants to write one in the future.
Advent devotionals help point us back to Jesus and His birth. Additionally, Advent devotionals also direct us to look forward to the second coming of Jesus.
It is magical and exciting to count down the days to Christmas. Oftentimes the days leading up to Christmas can be even more exciting than the actual Christmas day.
Through using an Advent devotional, we can count down the days to the anniversary of Jesus’ birth as well as the ability to learn more about Jesus each day as we do our devotionals.
The birth of the Messiah was highly anticipated in the Old Testament, and many of the prophets gave prophecy of the Lord’s birth. Similar to the prophets of the Old Testament, we can eagerly look forward to the anniversary of Jesus’ birth through doing an Advent devotional.
3. Sing Christmas Hymns Each Day of Advent
A third way to celebrate Advent at home as a family is to sing Christmas hymns each day of Advent. When we talk about Christmas hymns, we don’t mean Christmas songs, such as “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree,” “Jingle Bells,” or “Winter Wonderland.”
Rather, we need to sing Christmas hymns that point us to Jesus. The secular Christmas songs may be fun to sing, but they don’t point us to Jesus. Sadly, most of the Christmas season doesn’t point us to Christ but rather points us to materialism.
In our celebration of Advent at home, we should choose Christmas hymns that are about Jesus. A few Christmas hymns to consider include “Joy to the World,” “O Holy Night,” and “Hark the Herald Angel Sing.”
These are just a few of many that we can sing in celebration of Advent. Singing a Christmas hymn on each day of Advent will cause our hearts and minds to turn to the Lord.
What we listen to does affect us even if we don’t realize it. If we listen to Christmas music that promotes materialism or the “Santa Claus” theme of Christmas, then we will miss the true reason for Christmas — Jesus.
4. Decorate Each Day of Advent
A fourth way to celebrate Advent at home as a family this year is to decorate little by little for each day of Advent. By taking the decorating slowly this year, you can day-by-day turn your house into a festive space.
As an example, you can choose one decoration to add each day. You can start with setting up the manger scene on the first day, then the second day by adding the characters, and on the third day, placing baby Jesus in the manger.
Slowly adding decorations piece by piece can help you reflect better on the Christmas season. Often, we normally decorate all at once, and if you’re similar to me, sometimes it is overwhelming.
By taking it slow, you will be able to take your time and really enjoy the process. Advent is supposed to be a time of celebration, and by decorating on each day of Advent, you will be able to celebrate each day of Advent to its fullest.
Advent is the time of the year when we remember the beautiful coming of our Lord, and we can remember His birth through decorating slowly, day by day.
5. Going to a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Service
A fifth way to celebrate Advent at home as a family is going to a Christmas Eve or a Christmas Day service. My family and I went to a Christmas Eve service a few years ago, and it was delightful. Our pastor gave a wonderful sermon, and we sang hymns to the Lord.
However, if we have to celebrate the season at home, we can always tune in and see a streaming service from the comforts of our homes. Ever since the pandemic, most churches have offered online services, and they record them for others to see later.
During the Advent season, we need to focus on the Lord and rest in His blessings. The Lord’s Advent in the world is a beautiful event that changed the entire course of history.
By attending an online Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service, we will be able to reflect upon Jesus’ wonderful birth into the world.
Staying at home has become commonplace ever since the pandemic, and it is more common to stay at home during the colder months. By watching a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service, you will be able to enjoy the advent season from the comfort of home.
For further reading:
Does the Variety of Advent Calendars Distract Us from Their True Meaning?
What Is the Obsession with Advent Calendars?
‘Tis the Season’ Meaning and Why We Say It
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/dikushin
Vivian Bricker loves Jesus, studying the Word of God, and helping others in their walk with Christ. She has earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master's degree in Christian Ministry with a deep academic emphasis in theology. Her favorite things to do are spending time with her family and friends, reading, and spending time outside. When she is not writing, she is embarking on other adventures.