All this month I'll be posting about resources to help you live, learn, and celebrate the coming season of Advent.
Last week I posted about how and why I decorate my home for the Liturgical Seasons. It took a while to figure out what worked best for me because it seems as if many of the Liturgical Living ideas I see on social media center around celebrating with children. Obviously this is wonderful (and the topic of much of my blog content), but it doesn't work for everyone- single, married, very young children, grown children, etc.
My Catholic young adult group planned a fancy Advent party last year, and we decided to share some ideas and tools for living out the Liturgical Year, starting with Advent, for any stage of life. The party was a beautiful social event with great people, food, and music, but around the room and on the tables we set up displays about Advent traditions with explanations and cards they could take home so they could try it themselves. We featured some common Advent practices as well as Saints' Feast Days that fall during Advent.
Those displays led to a lot of great conversations and great ideas about how anyone can be living out the feasts and fasts of the Liturgical Year. I thought I'd share with you not only the ideas, but the printables we displayed at that party so that you can plan for yourself and help celebrate this beautiful season! (And FYI, if you are planning a family centered activity night, I'll be back on Thursday with three simplified handouts and projects specifically for households with school aged kids.)
Click on any of the following images for a two page file about each tradition. One page is a full 8.5" x 11", perfect for a display (we put ours in clear frames). The other page has a small version of the same info, four per page, perfect for handing out to people (we had them ready to go in a gift bag for each person, but they also could be stacked near each display).
The Advent Wreath:
The Jesse Tree:
The Nativity Scene:
The O Antiphons:
The Christmas Tree:
St. Andrew, November 30th:
St. Nicholas, December 6th:
Immaculate Conception, December 8th:
St. Juan Diego, December 9th &
Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12th:
Fulton Sheen, December 9th:
St. Lucy, December 13th:
Love how easy all these suggestions are. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alicia! That was the goal :) The post on Thursday geared toward families is just as simple.
DeleteThank you. I can't tell you how much I glean from your site.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad, Marsha!
DeleteKatie- All your creations are wonderful! I would love to use these displays at our Advent Fair next week. Any chance that you could do a version for next year in Spanish for our parents who have limited English?
ReplyDeleteThat's a super great idea! It isn't a need in the parishes where I work and is out of my rudimentary Spanish skillset, but I would be happy to share the editable files if you have someone who could translate. Feel free to email me at looktohimandberadiant (at) gmail (dot) com
DeleteThis is perfect! I run a family catechesis program and will be setting up these displays to inspire our parents at our next meeting!
ReplyDeleteYay! That is great! You might also like the more family oriented booklets in this post from today.
DeleteUPDATE: The parents in my group loved it! I used all of your materials and added a few of my own. (Epiphany blessing, formed.org resource list, recipe card for St. Lucy bread and a couple other things) They especially liked the simplicity of the ideas and being able to take home ideas that they could implement right away.
DeleteIs there any chance you're planning to do something similar before Lent? If not, I'll probably go ahead and make my own. This was a popular idea!
Love it! So glad it was a success! And yes, I've had several requests, so I'm planning on making some matching resources for Lent. Keep an eye out for them in early February!
DeleteI love all the easily layed our pages for traditions and feasts during Advent. Do you have more of these same layouts in another post for Lent and the rest of the year? It'd be great to print them all and organize them in a Litergical year binder :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like them! These are a brand new resource, so no, I haven't made them for the other seasons. I certainly will keep that in mind, though! I love when resources match and you can use them throughout the year!
DeleteThat would be awesome!!! Thank you SO much for all these WONDERFUL resources and for generously giving them for free--we are all so blessed to have this!!!
DeleteI used these last year and am using them again this year!
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm so glad! Happy Advent :)
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