Favorite Things for Advent & Christmas
From beloved Christmas and Advent traditions to thoughtful gift ideas and a family friendly Advent devotional book, we’re sharing a few of our—and Simquily readers’—favorite things for celebrating the most wonderful time of the year.
Good Reads
An Advent devotion book for the whole family, Unwrapping the Greatest Gift: A Family Celebration of Christmas, invites your family on a journey to discover together the greatest gift ever given: Jesus Christ. Written by Ann Voskamp, this book features daily devotions, Scripture readings, questions and activities to engage the whole family, and beautiful illustrations. ($18.35, Amazon.com) Read more about this book >
Traditions
We asked Simquily readers to share some of their favorite Advent and Christmas traditions. From Advent wreaths to a twist on the Elf on the Shelf idea, here is what they have to say:
The Christmas Star From Afar
“One tradition we have started with our kids is something called The Christmas Star from Afar. This is similar to Elf on the Shelf, but the focus is on Christ’s birth. Each day in December, we hide the Star, our kids find it, and then we move the Wise Men closer to the nativity set on our fireplace while we read the Scripture verse that goes with the card for the day.” —Sarah
The Advent Wreath
“We celebrate advent by using an advent wreath with four candles on the kitchen table. During each of the four weeks of Advent, we light one candle each week until we light all four the last week in Advent. We usually light the candles at breakfast time while we eat breakfast and read our devotions—a great way to start the day! Sometimes we really feel like celebrating and light the candles for other meals as well.” —Jan
A Candlelit Christmas Eve
“Our most special tradition is attending a candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve. The night feels so holy as we each hold a lit candle and sing Silent Night. When we get home, we all get into our pajamas and read the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2. We also read Twas the Night Before Christmas. The next morning is a sweet time of exchanging gifts and having a late breakfast with all our family.” —Meredith
Christmas Pajamas & Waiting on Mom and Dad
My parents always let us open one present on Christmas Eve, and it was always a new pair of pajamas. Even though it was predictable, this gift was always so exciting because of the anticipation of Christmas and wanting to open presents. Also, in our family, Santa did not wrap any gifts—he just displayed our gifts in the living room. So each Christmas morning we could not go into the living room until our parents were awake (or until we woke them up)—we had to wait until they were in the living room and ready for us to come out. The anticipation was both fun and annoying as a child, but now as a parent, I love this tradition! I have a front row seat to see the magic, excitement, and happiness on my child’s face as he first lays eyes on each gift that was methodically picked out and bought for him.” —Samantha
Gift Ideas & Inspiration
For specific gift ideas—especially for the dad, husband, brother, or son on your Christmas list—be sure to check out this nifty Simquily gift guide, which features fourteen different gift ideas ranging in price and category, from bluetooth speakers and moleskin notebooks to guided fishing tours and cordless hedge trimmers. Or, for help thinking through some creative gift ideas that speak directly to someone’s particular love language, check out this gift guide, which we based off the popular book The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.
Whatever gifts you end up buying this year, we hope you and your loved ones have a most blessed Christmas as you celebrate the best gift ever given: Jesus Christ!
