This year, almost all of our Advent and Christmas traditions are being disrupted by the pandemic. So many of the touchstones of this sacred season have relied on us gathering together, but that won’t be possible this year. So, I have put together some boxes that include lovely resources for celebrating a holy Advent and Christmas at home.

Here’s a sneak peak at just some of the content:

An Illustrated Advent Devotional for Families

This year’s devotional’s theme is “Do Not Be Afraid” and it centers around anxiety, which I think is really helpful at this time. I love resources from Illustrated Ministry. They seem committed to representing all of God’s people in their depictions of sacred stories. In addition to some lovely and thought-provoking devotional materials, check out this gorgeous coloring page (one of many!) that come with it.

Each devotional comes with an advent calendar coloring page, so you can color in each day of Advent leading up to Christmas! There are lots of stops along the way.

St. Nicholas Celebration

It’s been a longstanding tradition at St. Paul’s to welcome Bishop Nicholas of Myra (commonly known as Santa Claus) on or around his feast day, and Bishop Nick distributes bags of chocolate coins to help us remember his story. Each box includes a bag of chocolate coins and a short devotion about St. Nicholas so families can remember him together.

Handmade Advent Wreath

Each box will contain some Crayola Model Magic and four chime candles as well as a votive, and the Model Magic can be used to create bases to stand up the chime candles, and once dry it can be painted. Advent wreaths are an old tradition for remembering the Sundays of Advent, and there will be a devotional for families on their use.

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Sweet Treats

Each box will come with a muffin or cake mix, as well as a packet of hot chocolate mix for each person in a household. It’s as good a time as any to gather together and be thankful for the birth of Jesus and for one another. Cozy moments teach us something about the goodness of God. Bake a treat on Christmas morning as a family and stick a single birthday candle in it to remember the birth of Jesus.