How to Celebrate Advent Sundays This Christmas Season

Celebrating the Advent of Christmas is a great way to gather with family and friends to celebrate the birth of Christ. This Advent Sunday tradition will help you slow down during the Christmas season! 

Here’s all the Advent Sunday details you need to know including: how to celebrate, German advent wreath ideas, and best Christmas goodies to enjoy. 

WHAT IS ADVENT SUNDAY?

Have you ever wondered “how is advent celebrated in Germany?” Having lived in Germany, I fell in love with the German advent traditions and am excited to tell you how you can start it with your own family! 

Advent is celebrated on the 4 Sundays before Christmas. So usually, the first Advent Sunday is the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Advent is a simple tradition the focuses on the advent, or coming of Christ.

On the first Sunday, one candle is lit. On the 2nd Sunday, the first candle and another candle is lit. On the 3rd Sunday, the first 2 candles are lit in addition to the third. And so on.

HOW TO CELEBRATE THE ADVENT OF CHRISTMAS

I learned a lot while I was a nanny in Germany for a year, but some of my favorite things I came away with were new Christmas traditions. Did you know that Germany is home to many familiar Christmas traditions we celebrate?  Some of the most popular traditions that we celebrate that come from Germany include: the wreath, advent calendar, and Christmas tree.

One of the lesser-known German traditions that we celebrate is German Advent.

WHAT TO DO ON EACH ADVENT SUNDAY 

There is no specific way you have to celebrate Advent Sundays. Typically it is time set aside to gather as friends and family and sing Christmas songs, read poems or stories and enjoy some Christmas goodies.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf shared how his family celebrated the advent of Christmas:

“Starting on the 4th Sunday before Christmas, we would get together on Sunday afternoons, light wax candles on a pine advent wreath, enjoy delicious homemade cookies, and read passages of scriptures that center the Christ.

We read accounts of ancient prophets who yearned for the coming of the Messiah. We read scriptures that proclaim the wondrous story of His birth. Each week by singing beautiful Christmas songs and having a fun time together, our family tried to focus on the true meaning of the season. I must admit that delicious hot choocolate, hot apple cider, and tasty homemade cookies helped a lot to catch the joyful feeling of the Christmas season.”

THIS IS WHAT WE DO EACH ADVENT SUNDAY

• 1st Advent Sunday- read Christ-centered Christmas stories and drink hot chocolate
• 2nd Advent Sunday- watch a Christmas Devotional with the Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square 
• 3rd Advent Sunday- have a Christmas sing & share with friends and family. Each person plays, reads, or shares something that reflects the true meaning of Christmas
• 4th Advent Sunday- sing Christmas songs, read scriptures, watch a special Christmas film like this

HOW TO MAKE ADVENT SUNDAYS KID-FRIENDLY

My husband and I have been celebrating Advent since before we had children. But even now that we have 4 little ones, we still celebrate Advent and have found some simple ways to make it fun for them. 

PLAY CHRISTMAS SONGS WITH HAND BELLS 

We invested in this inexpensive hand bell set years ago and have our children help us play Christmas hymns on the hand bells. I created these color-coded Christmas Hand Bell Song Sheets to make it easy for even little kids to participate.  Of course, we are no professional hand bell choir, but we all love it anyway.

Get the Christmas Hand Bell Songs here that coordinate with this handbell set we use and love. 

HAVE A SING-ALONG

Another fun way to involve kids is having a sing a-long. I ordered a cheap ukulele off Amazon and this awesome Christmas book. The ukulele is really easy to play. And I’m serious. I have very little musical talent and I can play Christmas songs without much trouble.

I love playing Christmas songs as my children sit around and sing or look at Christmas books or eat festive goodies.

We’ve always dressed up my little boy and had him play a piece on the piano. (Okay, so maybe it was an automatic song on the keyboard, but still. )

READ CHRISTMAS STORIES ON ADVENT SUNDAY

Choose a Christ-centered Christmas story to read. Here’s a list of our favorites if you need some ideas!

EASY ADVENT WREATH IDEAS

You’ll definitely need some kind of advent wreath. This can be as simple or lavish as you like.  

For your German advent wreath, you’ll need: 4 candles and a place to put each one.  Here’s a few examples of how you can set up a wreath: 

I scored this German advent wreath at a thrift store a few years ago and add new wax candles each year:

DIY Advent Wreath

However, if you aren’t as lucky to find one at a thrift store, you could easily make your own wreath.

What You Need:

• 4 candles
• some type of wreath or container to arrange them in.

Here’s a few examples from the web:

via little scandinavian 

 via homespun living

via one more mushroom 

Tip: your advent wreath doesn’t have to be fancy to celebrate this simple Christmas tradition. 

ADVENT SUNDAY TREAT IDEAS

Don’t forget some Christmas goodies! 

Serve some special Christmas goodies at your advent night. My children love when I pull out my cookie press and make some German kipfel. After all, German cookies are perfect for a German Christmas tradition. 

• Christmas Star Cookies 

• Hot chocolate bar 

• Cookie press cookies (using this easy cookie press!)

• sweet chocolate chip cheese ball and vanilla wafers

• The Best English Toffee 

• Fudge

• Oranges 

Even if you don’t have a connection to Germany/Europe like I do, but you can still celebrate Advent! It’s a great Christmas tradition to help you slow down, enjoy the company of family and friends, and celebrate Christ!

If you have any specific questions or need more ideas, leave a comment below! I’d love to help you start this festive and meaningful tradition with your family.