This year I really wanted to make the most of our Christmas. Last year I spent a lot of time on this advent garland but I wasn’t able to keep up with the activities (you can read about that here.) This year there was a TON of inspiration all over the web — some that appealed to me aesthetically and some that inspired me spiritually. I tried to take a little from different sources to create an advent tree that was chic with a meek message.

This fabric tree was inspired by Oh Happy Day. I bought the fabric from Ikea and hemmed all the edges. I used a tension rod and Command hooks to attach it to a wall in our playroom.

Last year, we tried to create a “Jesse Tree,” but it seemed to be a lot of information to cover in a short amount of time. I also had a hard time keeping the kids’ attention. This year I decided to try out “Truth in the Tinsel” and couldn’t be happier! The majority of the 24 days is spent reading the first few chapters of the book of Luke. I like that the kids are getting in-depth lessons leading up to the birth of Jesus. Also, the curriculum includes craft activities for each day so the kids can create ornaments related to each lesson. The crafts can be as simple or complicated as you like. I filled 24 gift bags with the materials needed to complete the ornament for the day (actually the first 14 bags are filled, I’m still working on the others=)

Once my children complete their ornament, we slip a hook on it and just poke it through the fabric. This idea was inspired by Cuckoo 4 Design .

Lastly, to give our tree a little more life, I cut small holes, added fray check and pulled small lights through.

How ’bout you — any advent activities?