Advent - the coming of Christ into the world.
This year I wanted to introduce Advent to my three children. (I know, my oldest is 10 years...I'm a little late). We have always stressed that Christmas wasn't about presents and trees and Santa and lights...my children have always known that we were celebrating the birth of Christ our Savior. Now that they are all old enough to understand the story deeper, I thought that it was the perfect time start Advent.
After researching many ways to do Advent, I chose to go with my friend's recommendation from www.icanteachmychild.com. Truth in the Tinsel is an eBook that you purchase online and then print out. It is a simple, beautiful, organized way to celebrate Advent. I highly recommend this to any family. By the time we reach Christmas Day my children will have each made an ornament that tells about the birth, life and promise of Jesus.
You can visit www.http://impressyourkids.org/truth-in-the-tinsel-challenge/ to purchase the eBook for only $4.99.
After printing out and putting the Truth in the Tinsel in a nice, sturdy binder, I decided that I wanted some sort of Christmas countdown that correlated with the Advent book. I did some searching on Google and found a few websites where the countdown's were made from a
24 mini muffin pan. I grabbed my Michael's, JoAnn's, and Hobby Lobby coupons and headed off to get the few supplies I needed to complete this project.
Muffin Tin Christmas Countdown
Supplies Needed:
24 mini muffin tin (found mine at Hobby Lobby, used my 40% coupon)
few sheets of Christmas scrap book paper
card stock to match scrap book paper
permanent marker
Christmas stickers and/or Christmas brads (I used stars and snowflakes...see below)
white school glue
small, round foam stickers - to apply the circles that represent the numbers
scissors or circle punchers - I used a 2 1/2" diameter circle for the main circle and a 3/4" circle punch for the countdown numbers (1-24)
Magnet dots, Magnet tape, etc....
Ribbon (optional)
3M hook (optional)
Cut or punch out 24 circles 2 1/2" in diameter from the scrapbook paper AND matching card stock paper. My scrapbook paper came from Michael's and it was two sided.
I used two 12"x12" pieces of scrap book paper for this project.
Here is a look at some of my supplies...round foam stickers to apply the smaller .75" circles that I wrote the numbers 1-24 on, card stock, 3/4" circle punch, card stock, adhesive magnets, and Christmas ornament stickers from Michael's.
These are the snowflake and star brads that I mentioned above in the supply list.
These came from Michael's.
I stuck the snowflake and star brads in assorted 2 1/2" circles.
The back of the circle after inserting the snowflake brad.
Next, I glued a card stock circle over the brad. I glued a card stock circle onto ALL of the 2 1/2" circles. It gave the circles a more sturdy feel.
Gluing the card stock over the brad as mentioned above. Remember to glue card stock to all large circles to make them more sturdy.
Next, I cut out 24 smaller circles with my 3/4" punch. I placed an adhesive round foam circle on the back of each circle and then wrote the numbers 1-24 on each one.
After preparing the number circles, I peeled off the back of the adhesive and then put one on each of the larger 2 1/2" circles.
Almost completed....after adhering the numbers, attach two small magnets to the outer part of the back of the large circles. The magnets will make the circle attach to the muffin pan.
If you want to keep your Muffin Tin Christmas Countdown laying as it is for display then you are finished with the project. I decided to hang mine on a kitchen cabinet using a ribbon and 3M hook which is placed upside down on the back of my cabinet as shown below...
...hanging on my kitchen cabinet.
...a closer look.
I added a bell on a red ribbon to the bottom of the muffin tin for fun!
Now what will I put inside each circle???
The eBook, mentioned about has print outs that give children clues about the daily Advent topic...for example Day 1 is Flame. On Day 1 (which is the #24 circle on the muffin tin since we are counting down) we will be reading Isaiah 9:2-7 and making a candle light ornament.
Can you see the clue folded up in the muffin tin? We will also be adding small candies, pieces of paper telling our children we will be doing various activities that day such as:
watching a Christmas movie (The Nativity Story, Elf, Polar Express, The Grinch, etc...),
going to pick out our live Christmas tree, make brownies, cookies, etc...,
going to get frozen yogurt/ice cream, family game night...
BE CREATIVE...you can pretty much do/plan what ever you want! If you have a treat too large to fit into the muffin tin, make a scavenger hunt or leave a treasure map for the kids to find the larger items! I have decided to plan only three days at a time because I don't want the muffin tin to become too heavy for the hook and I never know what our schedule looks like.
If you have any questions, please ask! Merry Christmas to you and your family! God Bless!
