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We have used the Jesus Storybook Bible for Advent in our home for 8 years in a row now. I have a cute homemade set of Advent ornaments and we read one story from the JSB every day and the kids take turns hanging an ornament.
Our old homemade set is looking a little worse for the wear, so every year we just glue something back together or a kiddo will make a new one to replace a broken one.
We usually miss a day here and there, but it all shakes out.
This is the simplest & sweetest Advent tradition. I thought as my kids would get older, they’d outgrow it, but actually the tradition seems to become more meaningful with age. Literally, when this old, recycled blue box comes out of the Christmas storage box, the kids all cheer & sigh with nostalgia and make adorable comments like, “Oh I love those ornaments. This sheep without eyeballs is so sad and cute.”
Kids are fun!
In fact, this is my sidebar to CHEER ON YOU MOMS OF TODDLERS AND LITTLES – start the meaningful traditions now. Even when it seems like the kids don’t get it and care. One year, they’ll suddenly care and say, “Awe I remember this from last year.”
But also – YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO ALL THE TRADITIONS. Haha!! I’m a huge proponent of simplicity & joy in your home. Even during the holidays.
Pick a couple traditions and go hard at being consistent with those. Don’t worry about anything else. Here are the traditions my big kids look forward to and care about the most.
In recent years, the Jesus Storybook Advent thing has become more popular, so there are more easily accessible ornament options… you don’t have to make your own anymore. If you do want to make your own, go for it. Here is how I set up that ornament exchange with friends. And here is a cute tutorial about how to make several ornaments.
(The JSB follows the idea of a Jesse Tree. If you’ve never heard of that, here is a quick explanation with some spinoff ideas.)
But for those of you who just want to order a set, here are several cute options that, thanks to Amazon, can be at your doorstep in a day!
Wooden + Felt
These are so cute, priced around $50-55 for the set.
Semi- DIY Ornaments
These are a tad cheaper than the above ones and come with everything you need to assemble them yourselves. They’re adhesive backed and include the twine & little round wooden pieces. They’re 2 sided too. Super cute and priced around $45.
Activity Book & Punch Out Ornaments
If you’re more of an activities person, this might be for you. The reviews on this book are great! The activities actually look super cute, and it does come with punch out ornaments. If you laminate them, you can probably use them year after year.
Activity calendars and programs like this used to stress me out because I felt like a failure if we didn’t do them all. Now that I’ve been homeschooling for 8 years, I know the secret to enjoying stuff like this. Skip the ones you don’t want to do and don’t worry about what you don’t get to. If you dig deep on the mom guilt over missing a day, you may have an inner “ah ha” moment that checking every single day off isn’t what matters when it comes to these things.
In fact, if you read the stories, punch out the ornaments, and do 1 activity PER WEEK, your kids will remember it and think it was amazing!! Then you can pick different activities next year.
Felt Cards
These advent cards is a cheaper but still cute option too! The kit comes with twine & clothespins and this would be easy to add anywhere in your home. You could definitely poke little holes & hang them with ornament hooks on your tree too.
Remember, KEEP IT SIMPLE & IT’LL BE MORE LIKELY TO STICK. I’m on Instagram as @mrsreneecook these days. Would love to hear from you there.
Pin the image below for later or share this post with a friend who might love the idea. XOXO & Merry Christmas!!!!
