Thursday, October 25, 2012

Jesus Centered Christmas Activity


My favorite Christ-centered Christmas activity is our Jesse Tree Activity! Yes, it's October and I'm talking about Christmas, but I have a very good reason. If you want to do this activity for Christmas you'll need plenty of time to prepare!!


Three years ago, I was looking for a gospel-centered activity to incorporate into our Christmas advent tradition. That's when I found "Jesse Tree Ornaments". The ornament activity can either be done daily during the entire 40-day Advent celebration, or shortened to 25 days. I chose the 25 day Jesse Tree Activity, so that I could turn the ornaments into an Advent Calendar.



How the "Jesse Tree Activity" works:
  • Make 25 ornaments and decide how to display them
  • Each ornament represents a character from the Bible and has a correlating Scripture
  • Each day you take an ornament and read the daily scripture {we do this as a family after dinner}
  • After reading the verse, hang the ornament on a Christmas Tree {we have a mini-tree set aside just for our "Jesse Tree"}

Why we love the "Jesse Tree Activity":
  • It's a Christ-centered daily activity!
  • It walks through scripture from the Old and New Testament, that shows God's sovereignty and how the plan from the beginning was always Jesus {the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus}
  • It makes Christmas more than just a day, but a 25 day celebration! Doesn't Jesus deserve that?!
This year I added something new to the Jesse Tree Activity...The Jesus Storybook Bible!
I LOVE reading God's Word from Caleb's Jesus Storybook Bible, so I created an updated version of this activity by using daily readings from the Jesus Storybook Bible. 




I highly encourage you to give this gospel-centered Advent activity a try this Christmas, so I'm giving you the ability to download everything for FREE! Let me know if you try it and what you think!! 

Jesse Tree Activity Schedule {daily readings, ornaments}:
Jesse Tree Activity using The Jesus Storybook Bible {not every verse is found in the Jesus Storybook Bible, so you'll need to use your personal Bible as well}:
Ordering Pre-Made Ornaments:
  • email Larry Lindahl at: llindahl@cableusa.com, with the subject "Jesse Tree Ornaments", for a set of 25 unfinished wood ornaments {this is who I used, and then painted the ornaments myself--$15/set}
  • visit Larry Lindahl Woodcrafts' store {you might recognize him from the Martha Stewart show}

13 comments:

  1. I can't believe that was really three years ago -- my how the time goes by so fast!

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    1. whoops! miscalculation! It's been 2 years, but this will be our 3rd Christmas with the ornaments =) I still have Ruth on my patio ;-)

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  2. I will definitely be doing this. Thank you so much for sharing this.. :) Such a cute idea. Love it!

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    1. You'll have to let me know what your family thinks about it during Christmas! =)

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  3. THIS IS SO AWESOME!! I so love this. I would also love for you to add this, and some of your other amazing ideas, to my weekly Mom's Library Link-Up.
    http://heymommychocolatemilk.blogspot.com/2012/10/moms-library-link-up-3-for-me.html

    Thanks and be blessed,
    Julie

    LOVE IT!

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    1. I'm glad you like it Julie! I will link up for sure! ;-)

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    1. thanks Kendall! We love it too! Can't wait until Caleb is old enough to really participate!

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  5. This is a great idea. Although i already have a calendar, I can easily incorporate this one into it. Thanks for sharing at Mom's Library! Pinned.

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  6. Featuring this awesome activity on Mom's Library Link-Up. I would love for you to come over to Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk and grab a featured button! We would also enjoy seeing what you have been up to this week! Feel free to link up several posts!

    http://heymommychocolatemilk.blogspot.com/2012/11/co-hosting-moms-library-4-for-me.html

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  7. Thank you so much for this information. I am looking for ways to make Christmas more about Christ. This is awesome!

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    1. you're welcome! ;-) we love this tradition! =)

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