Let Go of Holiday Guilt: Stress-Free Advent for Families

The last thing we all need during the holidays is one more thing to add to the to-do list, right? I don’t know about you, but I’m heading into the holidays already feeling a bit frayed and frazzled.

Don’t get me wrong, I want to be the mom who does all of the fun things – the cotton ball crafts, the handmade Christmas ornaments, the sugar cookies from scratch – and especially the mom who does the important things, too, like teaching our children why we celebrate Christ’s birth.

What mama doesn’t want to give her kids a good Christmas?

But there are only so many hours in a day, and I’m weary of this holiday guilt before we’ve even really begun!

Honestly, until a few years ago, we had never really attempted any kind of advent for families other than reading the Christmas story from the Bible, mostly because I knew my perfectionist tendencies would make it a burden rather than a blessing, a duty rather than a delight.

After all, I’m a professional at making lists and checking off boxes, but I also find lists and boxes stressful because, let’s be honest, how often do we create a list of things to do today that will really take an entire week to complete? 🙂

So, if the program of advent for families involves daily activities, I’m bound to get behind at some point: cue the holiday guilt.

Here’s the thing about guilt, friends – it is counter-productive. Guilt doesn’t motivate; rather it incapacitates. The enemy knows this all too well, and he is a master manipulator, the king of guilt-inducing thoughts, man-made rules, and unrealistic expectations.

Aren’t you weary of guilt smothering your joy?

Me, too.

Yes, I want to teach my children about Christ’s birth and our family traditions, but not at the expense of experiencing Christmas joy.

When my friend introduced me to the Christmas Adventure Box – simple, stress-free advent for families – I knew it was the solution to my frustration.

The Christmas Adventure Box is one of the most flexible advent plans I’ve ever come across. I feel no holiday guilt for skipping a night (or two… or five) when real life gets in the way because I can adjust as we go to highlight the most important aspects of advent first. Additionally, the advent lessons themselves are easily adaptable to suit a variety of ages.

We have used the Christmas Adventure Box style of Advent since our twins were little (we may have accidentally skipped a year in there – ha!), and I was pleasantly surprised how much squirmy two-year-olds can learn from such a simple Advent plan. Even their older brothers were excited to spend time learning about Jesus in such an adventurous way, especially our mischievous middle boy who is always full of energy.

After using this advent for families for several years, I wanted to simplify the process even more, so I created printable cards to attach to the items in the Christmas Adventure Box (go download your copy now!).

Now I prep for fifteen minutes, and we have a box full of advent activities to last throughout the Christmas season.

We may not use them all, but that’s the beauty of this stress-free advent for families.

Get rid of holiday guilt once and for all.

Simplify this Christmas so you can focus on the real joy of the season!

Jen 🙂