Celebrating Advent through making ornamentsA craft activity focused on the four weeks of Advent in a storybook ornament project. A craft to do individually, as a group or as a family activity.Advent is a season observed by many Christians as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas and the return of Jesus at the Second coming. Passage reference: Luke 2: 1 – 21 (ESV)

The activity consists of: •fourornamentsforeachweekandthenafinalornamentforChristmasDay. • A bible passage or verse per week to read

Supplies needed for simple oraments: • String or twine to thread through the ornament • Scissors • Construction paper or cardstock or crafting paper or any material of your choice • Coloring pens/crayons and other crafting supplies • Feel free to adjust the ornament size to your preference

Week One: Thefirstweekrepresentshope.ItisinremembranceoftheprophetswhoforetoldthebirthofChrist.Itrepresentsthe expectation anticipating the coming of the Messiah.Bible passage: Prophecy: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call himImmanuel(Isaiah7:14).Fulfillment:Theangleanswered,‘TheHolySpiritwillcomeonyou,andthepoweroftheMostHighwillovershadowyou. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Like 1:35)Ornament:Heart Print on cardstock, color and punch a hold for string.

Make an Origami HeartThese hearts only need a handful of basic folds and you are done!You’llneedsomepapersquares.Ifyoudon’thaveanyfancyorigamipaperyoucouldjustcutasquarefromsomereg-ularA4paper,orevenuseanolddrawingorpaintingcutsquare.WeusedsomeoftheprintablepatternedpaperthatIcreated for our origami boxes and you can download and print yourself a set here.Here’showtomakeanorigamiheart.https://www.kidspot.com.au/things-to-do/activity-articles/make-an-origami-heart/news-story/f4b2a04752b067cd9e48a7b26c74a385

Week Two:Thesecondweekrepresentsfaith.ItisareminderofJosephandMary’sjourneytoBethlehemBible passage:Inthosedays,adecreewentoutfromCaesarAugustusthatalltheworldshouldberegistered.Thewasthefirstreg-istration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also wentupfromGalilee,fromthetowofNazareth,toJudea,tothecityofDavid,whichiscalledBethlehem,becausehewasofthehouseandlineageofDavid,toberegisteredwithMary,hisbetrothed,whowaswithchild.Andwhiletherewerethere,thetimecameforhertogivebirth.(Luke2:1-6).Ornament:Dove Print on cardstock, color and punch a hold for string.

Making a DoveMeterials: Oslo paper (or other printable sturdy paper) Scissors Printer Whiteglue

Step 1: Print the templates on some oslo paper.Step 2: Carefully cut the templates using scissors.Step3: Usingthefirsttemplate(thebodyandtail),cutthesolidlinesonthetailpartusingscissorsthenbendalong.

Fold the body part with dotted lines towards the back.Step4: Bendandfoldthedottedlinesonthetailpartasshowninthepicture.Step 5: Bend and fold the dotted lines on the tail part upwards to make it look erect as shown in the picture.Step6: Usingwhiteglue,saturatethetrianglepartonthetailpartandafterwards,theheadandbeakaswelltomakeit

look like the picture below.Step7: Usingthesecondtemplate(thewings),cutthesolid linesontheleftandrightofthewings,justlikewhatyou

didonthefirsttemplateonthetailpart.Step8:Bendandfoldalongthedottedlines.Saturatethetrianglecenterpartofthewingswithwhiteglueandstickitat

themiddleofthebackofthefirsttemplate.http://mashustic.com/3d-paper-dove-2

DOVETEMPLATE

Week Three:The third week represents joy. This is meant to remind us of the joy that the world experienced at the birth of Jesus.Bible passage:Andshegavebirthtoherfirstbornsonandwrappedhiminswaddlingclothsandlaidhiminamanger,becausetherewawsnoplaceforthemintheinn.Andinthesameregiontherewereshepherdsoutinthefield,keepingwatchovertheirflockbynight.AndanangeloftheLordappearedtothem,andthegloryoftheLordshonearoundthem,andtheywerefilledwithgreatfear.Andtheangelsaidtothem,“Fearnot,forbehold,Ibringyougoodnewofgreatjoythatwillbeforallthepeople.ForuntoyouisbornthisdayinthecityofDavidaSavior,whoisChristtheLord.Andthiswillbeasignforyou:youwillfindababywrappedinswaddlingclothsandlyinginamangerOrnament: Star Print on cardstock, color and punch a hold for string.

Folding the 5 Pointed Origami StarMaterials:asquaresheetofpaper.Iliketouse 12x12 scrapbooking paper.scissor

ThefinishedstarChristmasornamentswillbeabout60%ofthesizeofthesquareyoustartwith.Soa12”squarewillmakea7”star,ora8.5”squarewillmake a 5” star

Firstup,you’llneedtocutapentagonoutofyoursquare.You can either trace pentagon template, or you can use an origamitrick.Ipreferusingtheorigami trick from the website because it works for any size of paper,andalsoit’squicker.

PENTAGON TEMPLATE

https://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/5-pointed-origami-star.html

Week Four: Thefourthweekrepresentspeace.Itremindsusofthemessageoftheangels,‘PeaceonEarth,goodwilltowardmen.’Bible Passage:”AndsuddenlytherewasanangelamultitudeoftheheavenlyhostpraisingGodandsaying,“GlorytoGodinthehigh-est, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”Ornament: Angel Print on cardstock, color and punch a hold for string.

Paper Strip Angel Christmas Ornament CraftMaterials:Scissors or paper cutter Glue stick Yarn, twine, or string Whiteconstructionpaperorcardstockcutintostrips:Forthewings:Twostripsofpaper3/4”x6”Forthehead:Onestrip3/4”x4”Forthetopofthebody:Onestrip3/4”x7”Forthebottomofthebody:Onestrip3/4”x31/2”Or you can print out this template right onto cardstock and have children cut out their own strips.

https://buggyandbuddy.com/paper-strip-angel

Christmas Day: ChristmasDayremindsusoftheaweandwonderofChrist’sbirthBible Passage: Whentheangelswentawayfromthemintoheaven,theshepherdssaidtooneanother“letusgoovertoBethlehemand see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they hadheardandseen,asithadbeentoldthem.(Luke2:15-20)Ornament: Nativity scene Print on cardstock and color.

https://patternuniverse.com/download/nativity-pattern

Stain glass nativity ornamentsPrint onto cardstock and color.