Advent Devotionals to Prepare Your Heart for Christmas

There’s just something special about the extra twinkle in your children’s eyes as the Christmas holiday draws near. The anticipation seems to build long before the season actually arrives. If they’re like mine, mid-November is filled with chatter about when the first snow fall will be, who’ll build the biggest snowman, gift ideas for others, dancing to Christmas carols, discussions on decorating the tree, and – when can they have hot cocoa?!?

Every year, it seems the consumerism around Christmas gets a little louder. In our home, we like to keep things simple and centered on the reason we celebrate Christmas. To acknowledge Jesus’ birth, give thanks for the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, and rejoice in the hope we have today.

For us, that looks like a handful of simple practices:

Minimizing the focus on gifts
Talking about Jesus’ birth often
Decorating our small, artificial tree as a family
Choosing to slow down and do less when able
Reading Luke 1-2 before anything else Christmas morning

How I Chose Our Advent Devotionals

This year, I wanted to add something new. Something that creates more intentional family time and keeps Christ-centered conversations going.

So, I started looking into Advent devotionals!

I spent a couple of days looking through nearly 30 devotional books – for both our family and myself. As I read sample pages, tables of contents, and customer reviews, I was surprised (and honestly, a little saddened) by some of what I found.

This became my list of goals for whatever I’d ultimately choose:

Meaningful reading and/or thoughtful discussion questions
A scripture passage for each day (bonus if it connects to other books of the Bible)
No sarcasm, slang, or overly “silly” talk
No pop-culture references (hymns and carols are great; movies and celebrity mentions, not so much)
No glossing over important parts of the biblical account to create a smoother storyline
Optional: simple, fun family activities

Here are a few Advent devotionals that rose to the top for me and that I feel good recommending if you’re looking for something Christ-centered this season.

	The Advent Storybook: 25 Bible Stories Showing Why Jesus Came By Laura Richie, Ages: 3-6 A single page of text each day with life like illustrations. Devotions begin with a key verse and end with a question.
	The Way to the Manger: A Family Advent Devotional By: Jeff and Abbey Land, Ages: 3-8 This one has fun “memory-maker journaling pages” to record answers and questions from year to year.
	Discovering Christmas: A 25-Day Advent Devotional with Activities for Kids By: Amanda Jass, Ages: 3-8 Engaging scenes and text paired with Read About It, Talk About It, Go About It, and Pray About It sections.
	The 25 Days of Christmas: A Family Devotional to Help You Celebrate Jesus By James Merritt, Ages: 5+ Each day offers a Scripture passage to look up, short story, prayer, and simple family activity.
	The Light Before Christmas: A Family Advent Devotional By: Marty Machowski, Ages: 5+ Follow the story of eleven year-old Mia as she and her grandmother prepare for Christmas. Three devotionals per week with hymns.

Longing for Christmas: 25 Promises Fulfilled in Jesus, Advent Devotional for Teenagers By: Chelsea Kingston Erickson

Simple devotionals with scripture reading, questions, and prayers from a variety of contributors.

Unwrapping the Names of Jesus: An Advent Devotional By: Asheritah Ciuciu

A unique approach, this devotional focuses on the names of God. Each devotional offers thought provoking questions, prayers, and further reading suggestions.

	The Dawning of Indestructible Joy: Daily Readings for Advent By: John Piper, Est. time: 3-5 minutes
	Joy To The World: Daily Readings For Advent By: Charles Spurgeon, Est. time: 3-5 minutes
	Emmanuel: An Invitation to Prepare Him Room at Christmas and Always By: Ruth Chou Simons, Est. time: 5-10 minutes
	The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas By: Ann Voskamp, Est. time: 10-15 minutes

If your family has a favorite Advent tradition or devotional, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Looking for year round family devotional ideas? Check out my list of family devotions for busy schedules!

stay connected!

Encouragement for Faith & Everyday Life

Life can feel full with faith, health, home, and all the small things in between. The newsletter is a simple way to stay connected through new blog posts, encouragement, occasional shop news, and free tools that support intentional, everyday living.