A Plan for Advent

Since Advent started yesterday, I guess it's about time I devise a plan for my advent wreath, right?  Last year was our first time to celebrate Advent as a family.  It was a sweet time for us, and I looked forward to doing it again this year.  Because the Advent literature seems above our collective preschool minds, however, I was once again at a loss on how to proceed.  I had my trusty wreath and candles but lacked a plan.  But no more!

Not a moment too soon, inspiration came in the form of, what else?, pinterest (I just KNEW this little addiction would be fruitful!).  I found a pin to this blog, which is doing a series on Christmas, and specifically this post, which talked about making ornaments with the names of Jesus, and which linked to this list containing names of Jesus.  Lying in bed, I decided I couldn't let this inspiration go to waste and hopped up to type out a plan for Advent.

Using the blog post about ornaments and the linked list as a springboard, I have developed the below plan for our advent celebration, basing it heavily on names of Jesus.  We're not doing the ornaments this year--maybe in a few years when we're looking for some crafts to pair with our names (and when we can be trusted with glue and markers).

Originally, I envisioned the nightly discussion as follows:
1.  Light the candle.
2.  Talk about the theme for the week (based on the traditional advent candles--hope, love, joy, peace, and the Christ candle).
3.  Recite theme verse for the week (the theme verses are the same ones we used last year in hopes that they may stick).
4.  Discuss one name of Jesus, including reading the verse where it is mentioned, the meaning behind it, etc.  We would have 25 total names of Jesus, one for each day of December leading up to Christmas Day.
5.  Sing Christmas Songs.
6.  Pray.

And then I came to my senses.  We're dealing with a 3 and 4 year old here--let's not push our limits.  I want to captivate and maximize their attention, which requires good planning and succinct "lessons."  And lots of "Go Tell it on the Mountain" when they get too fidgety to listen any longer.

So, below, is my rudimentary plan.  We will start each week with one night focused on our theme, along with an introduction to our theme verse.  The other nights of the week we will light our candle, say our verse and then focus on a specific name of Jesus.  We'll end each night with two Christmas songs, one chosen by each girl, and a prayer.  So we will cover less names than originally planned, but I hope that, by setting aside a day each week to discuss the theme, they will retain more of what it means to have hope, love, joy, and peace--and specifically how Jesus is the source of all of these!

I am very excited about this year's Advent season--what better way to turn our hearts to Jesus, the reason for our celebration, than to talk about His different names and qualities each night?  I hope this helps anyone else who may be looking for a late-in-the-game Advent plan.  You don't even have to start till Thursday, so go get some candles!

Advent Week 1:  Hope Candle

Theme Verse:  Psalm 71:14        “I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and more."


12/1:  What does it mean to “hope”?  How is Jesus our hope?
12/2:  Names of Jesus:  Baby
12/3:  Names of Jesus:  Child

Advent Week 2:  Love Candle

Theme Verse:  John 3:16             "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son."

Additional Verse:  1 John 4:7            “Let us love one another, for love comes from God.”

12/4:  What is love?  How do we know God loves us?  Why do we love others?  How?
12/5:  Names of Jesus:  Gift of God  [giving gifts to those we love/God’s gift to us]
12/6:  Names of Jesus:  Son of God
12/7:  Names of Jesus:  Emmanuel
12/8:  Names of Jesus:  Counselor
12/9:  Names of Jesus:  Mighty God
12/10:  Names of Jesus:  Servant [Jesus served those He loved.  This is how we should love.]

Advent Week 3:  Joy Candle

Theme Verse:  Psalm 66:1           "Shout for joy to God, all the earth!"


12/11:  What is joy?  When have you shouted for joy?  Why do we shout for joy to God?
12/12:   Names of Jesus:  King of kings
12/13:   Names of Jesus:  The Way [to heaven]
12/14:   Names of Jesus:  Great Light/The Light of Men
12/15:   Names of Jesus:  Vine
12/16:   Names of Jesus:  Bread of Life
12/17:  Names of Jesus:  The Holy One

Advent Week 4:  Peace Candle

Theme Verse:  John 14:27           "My peace I give you."

12/18:  What is peace?  Who gives us peace?
12/19:  Names of Jesus:  Prince of Peace
12/20:  Names of Jesus:  The Good Shepherd [no need to fear; sheep trust the Shepherd]
12/21:  Names of Jesus:  Teacher [Jesus will teach us to have peace.]
12/22:  Names of Jesus: Alpha and Omega
12/23:  Names of Jesus:  My Rock and My Fortress
12/24:  Names of Jesus:  Prophet

Christmas:  The Christ Candle

12/25:  Final Name of Jesus:  The Savior  [Read the Christmas story from Luke.]