Advent Traditions for Busy Families

Kristen Tropea
As soon as the month of November begins, I get a little panicky. You know, the holidays are approaching and I am envisioning all the shopping, baking, running around, decorating, etc. Yikes - I’m not ready! Sometimes the responsibility of making Christmas all that I want it to be for my family can feel overwhelming.
When I was a young Catholic wife and new mother, I didn’t understand the meaning of Advent. As our family grew, at church I would hear about the interior silence, peace and simplicity that Advent can bring, and I couldn’t relate. Truly, there was NOTHING simple about the holidays in my house. We have always been a loud, busy and energetic (and did I say LOUD?) family. But as I grew to understand what Advent is all about – preparing my heart to encounter baby Jesus on Christmas day – I began to long for the peaceful serenity of Advent, and I wanted my family to experience this kind of joy, too.

Don’t get me wrong. Shopping, wrapping, baking and decorating are wonderful. This is, after all, a preparation for the greatest birthday in history. But I knew we needed to add a more spiritual element to celebrating Christmas, and I wanted to feel that something had changed – that we had changed in some small way – by the time we gazed upon the baby Jesus in the manger at church on Christmas Eve.

There are many, many ideas out there on observing Advent. The trick is… and this is very important…choose a few that your family can be consistent with, and keep it SIMPLE.

Here are three ways in which our family observes Advent in preparation for Christmas:

  1. The Advent Wreath. Every evening of Advent, right before dinner, we light the Advent wreath as we sing a verse or two of O Come O Come Emmanuel. We also have a nice booklet that has a simple scripture and a prayer. And then, here comes the best part… we eat dinner only by the light of the candles. The kids love it! I am always tempted to turn just a small lamp on so that we can actually see what we are eating, but the dim light is a great reminder that without Christ, we are in darkness. The first week of advent, we are so far away from Christ and there is only one candle lit, so it is really dark. But by the time week three and four roll around, we have a few candles lit because we are closer to Christmas -- hence it is much brighter! Yes, Jesus is the light of the world.
  2. The Jesse Tree. This one is our favorite. We have a felt tree that hangs on the wall and felt ornaments that tell the story of salvation history beginning with Genesis and leading up to the Nativity of our Lord in the Gospel. The kids love to take turns reading and putting on the ornaments. You can do this as a way to create some family prayer time before bed or do it right after dinner. I have a very special book that I read from for the Jesse Tree called Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Anne Voskamp. I cry every time I read it.
  3. A Stocking for Jesus. We have a stocking for Jesus hanging next to our own stockings. The kids are encouraged to make acts of charity or a sacrifice for family or friends throughout advent and write what they have done on a piece of paper to put in Jesus’ stocking. We look forward to an overflowing stocking for Jesus on his birthday and we read each little act of love on Christmas morning. Yes, this makes me cry, too, and laugh, since you never know what you might read from a particular 9-year-old boy – I’m not saying any names!

These are just a few ideas that can become special advent traditions in your home. Remember to keep it simple so that you can be consistent and it doesn’t add stress. You can find ideas to create your own traditions or purchase Jesse Trees and Advent Wreaths online. Enjoy and have a peaceful and blessed Advent!

*Disclaimer … if you think doing these activities will turn your rambunctious kiddos into peaceful angels, I am not promising anything. We are still busy and loud.

Kristen Tropea is a mother to seven children and has been part of the Pinecrest family for 15 years. Kristen can be reached at kristentropea@gmail.com.