As the afternoons draw in, and the kettle goes on a little earlier, many of us start wondering how to keep Advent simple, meaningful, and do-able with real family life. If that’s your hope,, I have created something to help: Celebrating the Seasons with Children: Nature Advent Calendar, an open-and-go guide to a Christ-centred, nature-rich Advent.
It isn’t a project to “get through.” It’s a gentle rhythm you can pick up and incorporate into your ordinary days. No rush; no busywork. Instead, small, steady steps towards Christmastide.
What’s inside
- A clear, open-and-go format. Everything you need for that day is on the page.
- A short introduction to Advent and then we begin with the British tradition of Stir-Up Sunday to set the tone for the season.
Our daily structure:
Create an Atmosphere of Reverence, Wonder, and Devotion.
The atmosphere of home is an important part of childhood. As you approach the daily scripture reading and prayers with your child, you are encouraged to create an atmosphere of reverence, wonder, and devotion. You will find practical suggestions in the introduction to the guide.
Scripture reading
This is included in the text and uses the ESV translation. Please feel free to use your own preferred translation of the Bible.
Moment of Silence and Prayerful Response
Take a moment to ponder the scripture reading, then pray the included short prayer together with your child.
An Outdoor Activity
An Indoor Activity
The Advent Journal
Keeping an Advent Journal is an important part of this curriculum. I would heartily recommend this practice, for the parent as well as the child. These journals become real treasures, capturing moments in time, and are such a pleasure to revisit.
Supplies for Today
Each day has its own list of supplies that you may need.
Real life note: You are not expected to do everything, every day. Print the calendar, look at your diary, and mark what truly fits for your own family. Skip without guilt and return the next day.
A Centred Advent
Charlotte Mason reminds us that education is first an atmosphere, the tone of home that children breathe in long before they can read a Bible verse. Even the very young learn to recognise an atmosphere of reverence: the table cleared, a small candle lit, a gentler voice, the tiny pause before we read. These cues say, this matters. In such a setting, Advent becomes more than information about a season; it is felt. The quiet expectancy, tender attention, the sense that we are making room for Someone. Children remember how it felt: the warmth, the hush, the nearness of love. That atmosphere teaches them to receive the season with wonder, and it forms their hearts as surely as any lesson.
Here are a few gentle, practical ways to keep Advent centred on faith and family rather than commercial noise:
- Decide your “enough” early. Choose a simple gift rhythm (e.g., something to read, wear, need, and delight in) and stop when you reach it. A clear limits will feel kind, on your wallet and on your spirit.
- Keep an altar of ordinary things. A candle, a sprig of evergreen, the family Bible open to Luke 2. Let children tend it: dust the table, change the sprig, strike the match. These small acts are pure wonder to a child..
- Make presence the plan. Put two or three “anchor moments” in the family diary, perhaps carols one evening, a starry walk, Christmas Eve reading by lamplight, and guard them dearly. Everything else is optional.
- Practise the art of un-hurry. Leave blank space on your calendar. Say “not this year” to one good thing each week, so you can say a wholehearted “yes” to what truly matters to your own family.
- Choose one kindness together. A neighbourly note, a food-bank donation, biscuits for an older friend. Children remember the doing, and it gives meaning to their memories.
- Sabbath the screens. Pick times when phones are tucked away (meals, bedtime reading, Christmas Day morning). Eye contact is a kind of blessing.
- Let the home teach. Keep the kitchen simple: a few reliable recipes, shared jobs, gentle music. A tidy corner and a warm pudding trump over the top perfection any day.
- Read the Story often and briefly. Little and often beats long and infrequent. A single verse and a one-line prayer keeps the heart tuned to the manger.
- Receive the imperfect day. Things spill, tempers fray, the weather howls, and yet Love is with us. Name the grace you did see and let the rest go.
A gentle invitation (and a little thank-you)
If you’re longing for an Advent that feels unhurried and holy, Scripture, a candle, a breath of fresh air, and a few well-chosen tasks, this will serve you beautifully.
Download the free sample: Celebrating the Seasons with Children: Nature Advent Calendar
Enjoy 20% off A Nature Advent Calendar with code ADVENT20 at checkout.
(Please do share with a friend who needs a more rooted Advent.)
From my home to yours,
