One unique commercial version of the Advent calendar available at the Pauline Book and Media Center in Honolulu offers the traditional countdown to Christmas in the round. ( HCH photo | Anna Weaver)
Fresh ideas on the annual tradition that you and your kids can make this season
By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Companies have been coming out with a flurry of new food, drink, candy or toy-filled Advent calendars in recent years.
But since Advent calls Catholics to a time of preparation for Jesus’ birth, not one long season of indulgence, how about making some more spiritually focused Advent calendars for December?
“Reclaim the Advent calendar!” said Lisa Gomes, the director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry.
She says Advent is “a great opportunity to recommit as a family to praying daily, reading Scripture, and staying faithful to the church.” She recommends starting off the season reflecting on 1 Corinthians 1:3-9.
Here are some Advent countdown ideas to inspire and have fun with your children. They’ll help keep the focus on the religious side of the season amidst all the material mayhem that can overwhelm the days leading up to Christmas.
Nativity set calendar
Pick out an Advent calendar with drawers or pouches, which are big enough to hold small Nativity figurines and other parts of the stable and manger. Alternately, you can create a paper bag Advent calendar with one bag per day strung on a long clothesline or string to put larger figures in. Then fill each day of the calendar with one piece of the Nativity set. Your children will put together their crèche scene day by day as they pull out each piece from their Advent calendar. Save the manger and baby Jesus for the last calendar days.
Straw in a manger countdown
Create an empty manger from a small wooden box and purchase some straw or raffia. Each day of Advent, your children can put one piece of straw in the manger and say a prayer or sing a song. On Christmas Day, have them place a figure of the Baby Jesus in the manger, cradled by all the straw prayers your children have placed there.
Blank calendar
Create a blank calendar for the days of December. Sit down as a family and go over the acts of kindness, service and spirituality you plan to do together each day of Advent. They can be as simple as picking a particular intention to pray for each day. Give up certain favorite activities or foods on a few days of Advent as an offering to God. Watch “The Nativity” or another Christian Christmas movie together. So many possibilities! (Idea courtesy of Malulani Kamanu, St. Anthony Retreat Center)
Tuck small Nativity figurines in an Advent calendar with pockets and have your kids slowly build their creche as the days of Advent progress. (HCH photo | Anna Weaver)
Kindness calendar
Similar to the blank Advent calendar, the Kindness Advent calendar uses a paper chain. Cut pieces of construction paper into 24 strips. Brainstorm ideas for acts of kindness with the kids. Write the ideas on each strip. Once all the strips have an act of kindness written upon it, staple or tape the first one into a circle. From there, loop the next piece of paper around the first loop and staple it to create a chain. Each day of Advent, tear off one ring and read it with your kids. Try to complete each act of kindness and discuss what it was like to do these small acts of service. (Idea courtesy of Jayne Mondoy, Office of Religious Education)
O Antiphons calendar
Create a “Kindness calendar” using a paper chain made of good deeds and prayers your children pick to do throughout the season. Take off one each day and complete the task. (HCH photo | Anna Weaver)
During the seven days leading up to Christmas Day, the church celebrates the “O Antiphons” (O Key of David,” “O Root of Jesse,” etc.). The hymn “O Come O Come Emmanuel” is based on them.
They have been sung in the Roman Catholic Church since the eighth century as part of evening prayer between Dec. 17-23. As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website puts it, the O Antiphons contain “ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming of Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well.”
Create your own calendar for these seven special days. Behind each window, put the symbol for that specific O Antiphon (i.e. keys for “O Key of David”). When your kids open the window, they can say the prayer for that day. (Idea courtesy of Lisa Gomes, Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries)
Not feeling crafty?
Online stores like the Catholic Company and Loyola Press sell Catholic Advent calendars with daily scripture readings and images to open each day of the season. If you’re on Oahu, Pauline Books and Media in downtown Honolulu has a selection of Advent calendars to pick from, incuding the one on the cover of this issue.
More Advent ideas
Jayne Mondoy, the Diocese of Honolulu’s Office of Religious Education director, provided these additional Advent ideas to do with your children, targeted at kids from birth through elementary school.
Read
Add a Christmas book to your bedtime reading list.
Read Nativity books, Christmas stories or stories of the Blessed Mother to your children at bedtime.
Sing
Sing Advent songs around the Advent wreath, in the car or wherever the Spirit inspires.
“Advent is a Time to Wait” (To the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”)
Advent is a time to wait,
not quite time to celebrate.
Light the candles one by one,
‘til this Advent time is done.
Christmas Day will soon be here,
time for joy and time for cheer.
“Advent Candle Song” (To the tune of “Jimmy Crack Corn”)
Light one candle, Advent’s here, (3 times)
Christmas time is near. (Clap, clap)
Kindness Angels
An alternative to Elf on the Shelf, Kindness Angels use painted wooden peg dolls to inspire more acts of kindness. This activity is particularly suited to grades three to five. You can read the whole idea at catechistsjourney.loyolapress.com/2016/07/kindness-angels.
Saints of Advent
Celebrate the Advent Saints. On the night of Dec. 5, have your children leave a shoe or a pair of shoes outside their bedroom door. After they are asleep, fill the shoe with candy, small treats and toys for them to find in the morning, little gifts from St. Nicholas. On Dec. 13, make a crown-shaped coffee cake or traditional buns to celebrate St. Lucy and her martyrdom.
Reconciliation
Consider participating in the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a family. Advent is all about preparing and there’s no better way to prepare your heart and spirit.
Birth story picture book
Invite your children to create a picture book that tells the birth story of Jesus. Use a children’s Bible or a Gospel account to help them remember all the parts to include. Then, use their picture book to encourage their own retelling of Jesus’ birth story. You can also tell them their birth story as a way of relating it to their own life.
