Children's Advent Houseنموونە

Children's Advent House

By: Tara Davis

Merry Christmas, sweet friends! Are you looking for a Christ-centered Advent activity to do with your children? Look no further! This Children's Advent House will add a dose of truth and beauty to your children’s lives each day of Advent!

You can make this as simple or as involved as you would like, just seek the Lord for what He wants you to do this Christmas season! Each day of Advent will feature a Scripture passage for you to read as well as a little picture for your child to color in their "house."

*You can print out the coloring house at the end of today's devotional.

We know you are busy moms, so we provided two free days each week with just a blank window or door for your child to color in. Take these free days to catch up on days missed, whenever you might need them. We've also included simple Scriptures and prayers just for you on the free days to help keep your own heart focused on Jesus this Christmas.

At the end of each day's devotional, there is an optional activity to take the Scripture reading a little bit further. Feel free to do as much or as little as you would like! Now, on to the fun preparation!

Prepare: We recommend doing the following to prepare for this fun activity. Again, make this activity your own by doing as much or as little as you have time for!

1. Print off a copy of the Advent House for each of your children (found at the end of today's devotional).

2. Gather markers or crayons for your child to daily color the house.

3. Purchase a bag of candy so you can give your child a little sweet treat each day as you read the daily verse. God’s Word is like honey on our lips, so give your child a sweet taste for Scripture this Christmas! (Psalm 119:103)

4. Look ahead at the daily activities and decide if you would like to do any of them, and consider if you will need to gather any supplies.

5. Now you are ready to begin!

Read: On December 1st (or even the day before if you would prefer), read the following introductory paragraphs to your child:

Today is the day! The first day of Advent! Can you believe Christmas is almost here? This is such a special time of year! Have you ever seen a Christmas gingerbread house, decorated with all sorts of delicious candy, sparkling with sugar, and almost glowing with all of the excitement of Christmas? Our souls are just like a house, too, a spectacular mansion with lots of rooms. But each of these rooms in our house is empty, just waiting to be filled, and it is up to you to decide how you will fill them!

Now, I must tell you about your most amazing heavenly Father who loves you so much! He loves you enough to send His Son to rescue you from your sins and invites you to follow Jesus and live with Him forever! This loving Father desires that you fill the rooms in your house with His beautiful treasures. Proverbs 24:3-4 tells us that “By wisdom a house is built, through knowledge, it’s rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” In order to fill the rooms of your house with the treasures of the Lord, you must seek wisdom! And guess where wisdom is found? The Bible! As you read God’s Word, His love letter to you, you fill each room in the house of your soul with the most lovely treasures imaginable! Treasures that shine with faith, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness!

This Christmas, as much as you are drawn to all of the decorations and presents, I want to encourage your heart to seek Jesus and learn to love His Word, too! Jesus loves you so very much; you are His precious child, and He wants you to seek Him this Christmas and every day throughout the year! So, each day for the next twenty-five days, we will read a few words from the Bible, and you can color in a room from your Christmas house. All of these rooms are filled with the true treasures of Christmas! As you color each picture, I want you to think of the love God has for you and how He has many amazing treasures in store for you to find in Him!

Activity Instructions:

Day 1: Read Revelation 5:11-13

This may seem like a strange place to begin the Christmas story, but it is indeed the best place to start! From the time of the Garden of Eden, when sin entered the world, until now, there has been no one who could save us from our sins and from death. We needed a Rescuer! We needed God to bring us back into a right relationship with Him. And God loves us so much that He always had a plan to save us! He came to earth as a baby, like a precious, perfect little Lamb. He grew into a man, a man who never committed a single wrong and gave His life for us so that our soul, that which makes us who we are, would be able to live with Him forever, even after our body dies. In these verses we just read, angels and other creatures are praising Jesus, singing that He is God and is the only one worthy to receive honor, glory, power, and strength forever and ever. Now that’s what Christmas is all about! We, like the angels, are given an opportunity to live our lives with the purpose of loving and serving Jesus! What a priceless treasure we have been given! As we learn about the Christmas story over the next few weeks, keep in mind that this isn’t just a story, but a gift that will change your whole life!

Activity: Think about a gift that you would like to give to Jesus this Christmas. It could be desiring to talk to Him more, committing to reading the Bible and learning more about Him, treating your brothers or sisters with kindness, telling others about Jesus, having a heart of thankfulness, or anything else! Find an old box or bag to decorate as your Jesus gift box. Over the next few days, when you decide what you want your gift to Jesus to be, write it on a paper, place it in the box, and talk to Him about it. Let the Lord know how you would like to follow Him more closely this Christmas!

**Click here to print the "Children's Advent House" coloring page!