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Christmas Traditions: The Jesse Tree
As the holidays are nearing, we are prepping ahead of time. Typically, we don't start Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving, but this advent tradition will take a little prep work, so I want to share it with early, so you that you can get your ornaments together.
About nine years ago, I joined a local group that mentored new & young mothers. During our annual Christmas party, we did an ornament exchange with a twist. Everyone (25 moms) signed up to make 25 of a particular ornament. Then each batch was placed in a bowl and set on the table. The moms that participated, then took a gift bag, and collected one of each ornament. Each mom ended up with a complete set of Jesse Tree Ornamants - 25 unique, handmade ornaments to hang on their tree during advent!
The Jesse Tree is a great way to keep your focus on Christ during the Christmas season! The way it works is each day of advent, you will read the bible story that corresponds with the ornament of the day, then hang the ornament on your Jesse tree. The Jesse tree tells the story of Jesus from creation to His birth in 25 days. This has been a super fun activity that we have done for years!
This year, we got a new tree for our ornaments. This is our setup.
We will begin the Monday after Thanksgiving, which allows us a few extra days,
just in case we miss family devotions one day.
Our Jesse Tree Ornaments in their "special" box.
Our first Jesse tree - Christmas 2013
I keep my ornaments stored in a special box with a lid. It lives in our foyer coat closet during the year, so the ornaments are in a temperature controlled environment, ensuring they stay intact.
I have participated in two Jesse Tree ornament exchanges, so each of my children will receive a set of ornaments when they are older.
Typically, we read the bible stories right from the kids' children's bible, but this year, we borrowed the Jesse Tree book from the library. Our plan is to do family devotions before bedtime during the advent season, and let the kids alternate hanging the ornaments.
Recommended Resources:
Have you ever participated in the Jesse Tree during Advent? Tell me about it in the comments!
Be Blessed,
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