Have fun, do good: How to make Advent creative

Key ingredient: spontaneity

Have fun, do good: How to make Advent creative

Key ingredient: spontaneity

BY HEIDI KEMPSTON
Children’s ministry worker, mom of three

Cook up some fun with this simple Advent idea designed to get your family thinking of others. Think of it like a mini Christmas party in a jar … every day during the 25 days leading up to Christmas! Tailor it for your family, small group, or Sunday School class. Simply pick a new activity out of the jar to do every day up until the big day!

Recipe: Advent Jar

WHAT YOU NEED

Time:  Low   Medium   High

Budget:   $   $$   $$$

  • A fun jar
  • A dash of spontaneity
  • Wooden craft sticks (of the ice pop variety) or colored strips of paper
  • Glue, if needed
  • A handful of coloring pens
Advent jar image for recipe car.

DIRECTIONS

  1. Pick out a jar.
  2. Decorate the jar with your kids or download the guide to get an Advent Jar template.
  3. Brainstorm activities you want to do. Talk about why it feels good to be generous.
  4. Figure out how many days of activities you want to do and get that many wooden craft sticks or strips of colored paper.
  5. Write the Advent ideas on the sticks, print the words out and glue them on, or write them on your paper strips. Decorate them!
  6. Each day (or week) choose one special helper to pick a stick out of the jar.
  7. Do the activity together!

 

SEE MORE RECIPES LIKE THIS

Recipe: Advent Jar

WHAT YOU NEED

Time:  Low   Medium   High

Budget:   $   $$   $$$

  •  A fun jar
  • A dash of spontaneity
  • Wooden craft sticks (of the ice pop variety) or colored strips of paper
  • Glue, if needed
  •  A handful of coloring pens

DIRECTIONS

  1. Pick out a jar.
  2. Decorate the jar with your kids or download the guide to get an Advent jar template.
  3. Brainstorm activities you want to do. Talk about why it feels good to be generous.
  4. Figure out how many days of activities you want to do and get that many wooden craft sticks or strips of colored paper.
  5. Write the Advent ideas on the sticks, print the words out and glue them on, or write them on your paper strips. Decorate them!
  6. Each day (or week) choose one special helper to pick a stick out of the jar.
  7. Do the activity together!

SEE MORE RECIPES LIKE THIS

Get the 12 recipes download PDF

Make unforgettable memories with your family this Christmas with these 12 ideas!

DIY, Family Activities, Prayer, and more.

Get the 12 recipes download PDF

Make unforgettable memories with your family this Christmas with these 12 ideas!

DIY, Family Activities, Prayer, and more.

My 'Recipe' Story

I have been working in children’s ministry at our church for a long time, and before that I was a preschool teacher. I also have two busy boys (5 and 8) and a baby girl on the way. So I’m always on the lookout for ideas where fun and creativity meet Jesus.

Every Christmas I find myself looking for ways our family can help others and focus on Jesus. This year I landed on creating our own Advent activity grab bag jar to bring everyone in the family closer.

To start off, get a jar and decorate it (there’s a cool template you can get if you download this Advent guide). Then fill it with Advent ideas on craft sticks or colored paper.

Each day, have the designated special helper pull an Advent idea out of the jar, and do the activity together. Activities can range from simple service ideas and conversation starters to ones that are a little more involved. What I love about this is that it’s as much of a commitment as you want it to be.

Here are just a few I thought up with my husband, but you’ll want to come up with a bunch on your own. That’s half the fun! Tailor your ideas to best suit the ages of everyone involved.

12 starter Advent adventure activities:

  • Bake and deliver a treat to a neighbor you haven’t met yet
  • Buy a gift for a family or kid in need
  • Offer to untangle your neighbors Christmas lights
  • Make Christmas cards and spend time passing them out at a local nursing home
  • Go through toys and clothes to donate
  • Take items from your pantry to the local food bank
  • Deliver some Starbucks hot chocolate to your local fire station or homeless shelter
  • Pay for another family’s meal when you go out to eat
  • Everyone name the best/worst Christmas gift they’ve received
  • Everyone share their favorite Christmas memory
  • Read Luke 2:1-20 together
  • Read Matthew 2:1-12 together

Here’s the twist (besides that you twist the top off, I know): Create jars for friends and family and give them away at Thanksgiving so others can enjoy your fun idea. Or create a jar with your Sunday School class, putting in 10 or so age-appropriate activities. You’ll only end up doing three or four, but it’s fun to have a large jar of ideas to pick from.

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