This year for the Advent season we’re doing a few different things.

Our church blessed us with a copy of this Advent devotional, The Christmas Code, and we’re going through it together as a family every day. My husband is the one who is reading it to the family and saying prayer.

When we’re done with that devotional my oldest daughter opens up the Bible and we follow along with her as she reads one chapter from the Book of Luke. There are 24 chapters in Luke so if you start reading one chapter a night, every night leading up to Christmas, you’ll finish on Christmas Eve. Do this and you’ll get up Christmas morning knowing about our Savior’s life!

I wanted my youngest daughter to be able to participate and while she can pray she’s not able to read just yet. I’ve seen so many pictures on Pinterest and Facebook about a reverse Advent calendar and I wanted to do something like that. A picture came across my FB feed last week and I knew that we’d for sure do it, I’d love to start a new tradition with my children. The purpose for the reverse Advent calendar is to help us think of others while waiting for King Jesus’ birthday and what better way to celebrate Him than to serve others? It’s really quite simple! You take a box or basket (or bag!) and fill it up with items every day, starting Dec. 1, and then on Christmas Eve you take the items and donate them to a charitable organization local to you. We chose to fill a box with food donations to donate to a local food pantry when we’re done. The best part about doing the reverse Advent is that you can really do just about anything. You can customize it to fit what you want you to do and you can just put your items in a regular basket or you could fix up something cute together and make it a family project/craft time (I am not good with crafts and didn’t think much about it this year, maybe we’ll do something like that next year). What we’re doing is having our 4 year old pick out one item from the pantry each day through Advent. You can can choose to donate more than one item a day if you’d like or you can choose other items.

You can donate just about ANY food items (please don’t donate jars, opened, or expired items) because your donation will make a difference but if you’re interested, I’ve found that some of the most requested food items at food pantries are:

• Canned Beans
• Applesauce (unsweetened)
• Canned Soup (low sodium)
• Canned Meats
• Peanut Butter
• Cereal
• Bottled Water
• Rice

If you’d like to donate to a shelter, crisis center, or other ministry then these are often requested items this time of year:

• Toothbrush/Toothpaste
• Body Wash
• Razors & Shaving Cream
• Shampoo & conditioner
• Diapers & Baby Wipes
• Laundry Detergent & Lysol
• New Socks & New Underwear
• Gloves & Hats & Scarves
• Coats
• Wallets & Watches (these are practical donations for those in shelters trying to get back on their feet I’ve learned)
• Sleeping Bags & Blankets
• Ziploc & Gallon Baggies

For me, because how silly would it be for the other three to be actively doing something during Advent and not me, I’ve chosen acts of service during the month. I’d like to think I’m usually doing something but I’m being intentional on doing something to serve someone else each day leading up to Christmas and really this is something we can all do. Whether it’s calling to check on a neighbor, or running an errand for a friend, or purchasing groceries for someone at the store, or allowing someone to go in front of you at the post office, or holding the door open at 7-eleven, or . . . I probably shouldn’t have to make a list, you should be able to think of plenty of things to do. If you sincerely need a list, email me and I will make you one (sincerely), but you get the idea. I’m sure that most of these things are things that a lot of us do (or would do) on a daily basis anyway but it’s about being intentional and trying to serve others this season!

I would love to know what are some things that your family has done or is doing for Advent!!!

“He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Luke 1:14-17