HaleyNow that my kids are a tad older—no more babies in the house!—I love the idea of using an Advent calendar each December as a countdown to Christmas and as a daily reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. Last year, I loosely followed Truth in the Tinsel, but I’m not really a craft person and neither are my boys. Even though my kids were nearly 2, 3 and nearly 5 last year, some of the content felt too complicated for their little ears. I purchased 24 tiny gift boxes, cut up the scripture reading and questions for each day and placed inside, along with some tiny toys. My kids were beyond excited to find the tiny toys, but I could barely get them to sit still as I read the scriptures. Maybe that was my fault–and I should have changed things up after I realized the crafts didn’t engage my Rowdy boys.
So this year, I debated on what to do for an Advent calendar. I searched Amazon and Google for days to find my options. I saw cute Disney character Advent sets that were simply a 24-day countdown to Christmas and I saw pricey toy nativity sets that would be cute for a couple years but my kids would definitely outgrow.
In my searches, I also came upon some high-end Advent calendars, and despite the more expensive price tag, people raved about the calendars in their reviews. So I bit the bullet and purchased a Buyer’s Choice Nativity Advent Calendar for my kids and plan to use it for years (barring any accident from my Rowdy boys).
When it arrived in the mail, I could not be more pleased. It was beautiful and perfect for my kids, but classic enough that it will be relevant for years to come since it is the Nativity scene. I purchased a set of miniature ornaments to fit in each box—and there is plenty of space left to fit in other items if I choose to. But I’m trying to steer them away from a piece of candy a day (for health reasons) or a toy a day (for self-centered reasons). So instead, they will discover a tiny ornament each day to place on their kids’ tree. They will also find a clue to the day’s Advent scripture reading from She Reads Truth. The past three or four Christmases, I have splurged on the She Reads Truth Advent study for myself—and this year I bundled it with the kids advent calendar. When my kids open that day’s box, there will be a scavenger hunt clue to find the scripture reading around our house. It should be lots of fun!
I chose the nativity set, but Byers’ Choice has many beautiful Advent calendars that are classic and will last for years to come. {Click on an image to enlarge.}
