Advent is a season of hope, preparation, and reflection—a time to ready our hearts for the coming of Christ. But amidst the holiday hustle and bustle, it’s easy for homemakers like us to feel overwhelmed by endless to-do lists and commercial pressures.
As a wife, mother of five, and homemaker, I know how important it is to create a home that feels peaceful and focused on the true meaning of this season. That’s why I’m sharing some simple, faith-filled tips to help you prepare both your home and heart for Advent. Whether you’re lighting the first candle of the Advent wreath or setting up a prayerful corner for reflection, these ideas will guide your family through this sacred season with joy and intention.
Let’s dive into practical ways to make your home a haven for faith, love, and preparation this Advent!
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Advent Decor with Meaning
Some of the obvious decor choices that will highlight that the focus of the season is readying our hearts for the arrival of Jesus, like the Nativity with the empty creche and the advent wreath, I like to add more subtle elements as well. A casual visitor may not pick up on these details, but my children, husband and other family members may stumble upon them while relaxing in our home.
Some ideas I have loved are:
- Swapping out my typical art pieces and family pictures for those of the nativity and Holy Family.
- Adding picture frames with prayer cards for St Nicholas, St Ambrose or St Francis Xavier to clusters of frames around the house.
- Place a Mary on the Mantle in addition to, or in place of the Elf on a shelf.
- Not exactly decor but playing advent music throughout the day, on low volume. It creates a joyful God focused atmosphere that people enjoy without even thinking very much about it.
- Changing your table runner from week to week to match the colour of that week’s candle (either purple or pink).
All of these can be very budget-friendly, as you can find prayer cards at your local parishes, and pictures can be either printed for free online or you can buy the digital copy of many images online, quite inexpensively.
Faith-Centered Family Traditions
As the children grow older it is so fun to watch which traditions they each hold on to and which ones they don’t. Adding new activities alongside the tried and true can be a great way to capture your children’s interest, and awaken their excitement for the season.
The Joyful Mesteries
Taking time on Mondays, Saturdays and Sundays to say the rosary with the Joyful mysteries is a wonderful way to walk through the story of preparation for the coming of Jesus, through his childhood. If your children are too young to sit for an entire rosary, start with just a single decade and mystery.
Christmas Unit Study
Whether your children are homeschooled or public schooled, there are some amazing small unit studies that are filled with fun activities that focus on preparing our hearts and minds for the season ahead. This can be a great way to intentionally plan to spend time focusing on the season together as a family instead of getting distracted by the busyness of the season.
Family Read Aloud
Gathering your family for read-aloud time is a simple yet profound way to bring everyone together during Advent. This tradition not only fosters a sense of closeness but also creates intentional moments to reflect on the season’s meaning. Choose stories that focus on faith, hope, and the journey toward Christmas, like classic nativity tales, saint biographies, or Advent devotionals for children. Dim the lights, light a candle, sit by the fire and let the warmth of shared stories draw your family closer to each other and to Christ.
If your days are filled to the brim with holiday preparations, audiobooks are a wonderful way to keep the Advent spirit alive without adding extra pressure. Play faith-filled stories or Advent-themed audiobooks during car rides, while cooking dinner, or even during quiet playtime. Listening together allows your family to experience meaningful stories, even on your busiest days. Audiobooks can also be a great way to introduce longer stories, like The Christmas Carol or Jotham’s Journey, that might be harder to finish through read-aloud sessions alone. This flexible tradition ensures that the message of hope and anticipation stays central, no matter how hectic the season becomes.
DIY Advent Wreath and Jesse Tree
The Advent Season and the lead up to Christmas can be such an expensive time of year, and decor like the Jesse Tree and Advent Wreath can can come with quite a cost. Here are some budget friendly ways to incorporate these traditions in your home.
DIY Advent Wreath
While a wreath of tapered candles and greenery can be beautiful, an advent wreath can be made with 4 pillar candles (1 pink, 3 purple) and an inexpensive strand or two of wired garland.
I like to set the candles together on a plate-style candle holder and then create a wreath the size of the candle holder out of the garland. The garland can be left as is or you can glue or wire in winter/Christmas decore like small Christmas ornaments or pine cones.
The results are a simple but beautiful addition to your advent table.
DIY Jesse Tree
The Jesse Tree is a new tradition in our home. With the children being older and showing so much interest in the Christmas story and the life of Jesus, we decided that this may be the way to introduce it in an interactive way. Here is a little bit about what a Jesse Tree is if you are new to the concept.
Each night from December 1-24 scripture is read about someone from Jesus’s family tree, and an ornament is placed on the tree that corresponds with that story. For printable ornaments head over to Faithward.com to get free printable ornaments that either you can color yourself or prink already coloured for you.
Now, these ornaments don’t go onto the traditional Christmas tree but an empty tree that is simply lit and decorated with a single ornament each day.
Watch & Reflect: Bringing These Advent Traditions to Life
- Link to the YouTube video for a full walkthrough.
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