Simple Ways to Observe Advent with Kids

The four weeks leading up to Christmas offer an early gift to families with children.

“In and outside of church, the Advent season is an opportunity to introduce kids to the stories, traditions, and people that will help ground them in the love of God,” says the Rev. Matthew A. Welsch, priest and director for Children, Youth, and Family. We don’t rush to Christmas. Instead, as a community, we take time to prepare — and children are part of that.

“During Advent, we tell two stories at the same time,” says Father Matt. “And they’re both about Jesus.” First, we remember the miracle of Christmas: that God comes into our world as a human. While many expected God’s promised savior to arrive as a conquering warrior king, Jesus enters history as a vulnerable baby, born under the shadow of the Roman Empire to an ordinary woman in a stable in Bethlehem. We imagine ourselves back in time to experience Christmas anew — in awe and with wonder.

Simultaneously, we await Jesus’s promised return. “There are things in the world and in our lives that might feel broken, wrong, or just not fair,” says Father Matt. “In Advent, we remind ourselves that God has a plan to help fix the world, heal the broken things, and make sure that everyone, everywhere, has what they need to live full and healthy lives.”

Tell the story together

One way to step into these stories is by engaging the Bible as a family. Try reading our Advent Scripture passages together — and take a moment for reflection. You don’t need answers to every question; making space to spark curiosity is enough.

Adults can sign up for Trinity’s This Sunday newsletter, which includes a passage from the week’s Scripture, links to all the readings, and prompts and resources to get you thinking.

And be sure to join the Christmas Eve Family Eucharist on December 24, when children and youth don costumes to bring the story of Jesus’s birth to life during the annual Christmas pageant.

Light the Advent wreath

The luminous tradition we know today began simply as a way to mark time, particularly for kids. According to The Episcopal Church, the Advent wreath has its roots in 19th-century Germany, where an innovative Lutheran pastor came up with the idea as an answer to the children who’d ask every day if the holiday had arrived.

Originally the wreath had dozens of candles to mark the journey to Christmas, one for each day of the season, like an Advent calendar. The practice was later adopted by German Catholics, who simplified the wreath to only four candles representing the Sundays in Advent.

During Advent at Trinity, we light the candles each week in church, but it’s a wonderful ritual to carry into your home as well. It’s not only a way to cultivate patience; it’s a way to ground kids in our shared story.

For our community, the candles symbolize hope, faith, joy, and peace. As we light them, we ask God for those very gifts — God, give us peace. Each week the wreath grows brighter, reminding us that Jesus brings the light of God into the world.

Join the Advent Fair

Following the 9am and 11:15am services on November 30, families are invited to join the Advent Fair at Trinity Commons. A joyful start to the season, the gathering prepares us to head out with purpose on the journey to Christmas.

Families can make their own Advent wreaths or Christmas tree ornaments and pick up a devotional booklet filled with simple spiritual practices to help observe a meaningful Advent together. (If you can’t make it in person, you can download a PDF of the booklet.)

“As we begin this season of waiting, let’s think about the places in our world and in our lives where we might need God to come and help fix things,” says Father Matt. “And maybe, just maybe, we’ll find that God is already here — right now — keeping God’s promise to be with us and help us always.”