The day after Halloween, my kids begin to ask: when can we decorate for Christmas? My wife and I tell them we have to wait a few weeks but that doesn’t stop them from asking again: when can we decorate for Christmas?

As a parent, I want to tell them it is too early to think about Christmas, especially with Thanksgiving a few weeks out. Certainly, there is some truth to this. It is important not to skip over Thanksgiving and decorating just after Halloween (unless you are in the retail business, haha) does feel early. However, there is something we can learn from their early and persistent requests.

With the month of December now in full gear, we have officially decorated the house for Christmas. The lights are hung, the tree is up, and Christmas has become the official theme of the Belt household. Needless to say, my kids are very happy. They are also very excited. In fact, this is the word I would use to describe their state from the beginning of December. They are excited for Christmas. Yes, they love the decorations, but it is really what they represent that animates them. They know when the decorations go up, Christmas is on its way.

This is what we can learn from my kids, and children in general, when it comes to Christmas. This past Sunday kicked off the traditional Advent season for the Christian church. It is a tradition that has been practiced for hundreds of years and is still observed in most Christian denominations. While it would be easy to just go through the motions of lighting the candles on each of the four Sundays and Christmas Eve, Advent has an expressed purpose: to prepare and anticipate the celebration of the birth of Jesus and his promised return. Advent invites us to get excited about Christmas.

As fun as decorations and lights can be, they are not what Christmas is truly about. I don’t think this means we shouldn’t enjoy the festivities of the Christmas season–I certainly do–but I do think it means we should be intentional about focusing on the significance of the true celebration of Christmas. This is what makes Advent so beautiful. It starts almost a month before Christmas and invites us to wait as we anticipate the coming of Jesus. Similar to how my kids see decorations as an indication that Christmas is on its way, Advent serves as a tangible reminder that Christmas changed everything. This should get us excited!

For this reason, each year my wife, Jen, and I have tried to be intentional about incorporating Advent into our Christmas celebration. In the midst of the busyness and fun of the season, we have sat down with our kids to talk about and anticipate the day God came down to be with us in the form of a baby. The truth is this hasn’t always gone as planned, but the intention of it has helped us stay more grounded in the ultimate meaning of Christmas.

Over the past several years, we used a great resource called an “Advent Experience Box” to facilitate this time with our kids. Produced by an organization we have used at our church and with our kids throughout the year, it was a great and trusted resource. Unfortunately, I discovered that this it wouldn’t be available this year. This left me searching for something we could use for our family Advent time this Christmas season. While there are many great options available, I was having trouble landing on the one that I felt made sense for us this year.

This past Sunday was the first day of the Advent season and I still hadn’t come up with a plan. I was reminded of this when the first candle of Advent was lit during the service at my church. I didn’t give it much more thought until my phone vibrated and I noticed it was a text from my wife, who happened to be sitting right next to me. Curious, I checked the message and read, “There isn’t a kids advent calendar this year because you are supposed to make a kids Hope Realized advent.” Gulp. I was a bit apprehensive if I am honest.

On the way home we talked about the text message and Jen’s feeling that we were given an opportunity to create an advent activity that would point kids to the hope found in Jesus and the celebration of His birth at Christmas. I felt a little unsure but also excited to think about how we could take the concept of real hope I wrote about in Hope Realized and help kids gain a greater understanding of the hope found in Jesus through the Christmas story. We agreed we would do it, even if it was just for our kids.

Why am I telling you this as we kick off the Advent season? Two reasons: First, I want to encourage you to take advantage of the practice of Advent to build your excitement for the celebration of Jesus’ birth and his promised return. Let Advent serves as your Christmas decorations, animating you to lean further into the Christmas story and its power.

Second, I am excited to share some of what comes out of Hope Realized Advent experience Jen and I are putting together for our kids. In exploring the four themes of Advent, hope, peace, joy, and love, we desire to point to the life-changing hope that is found in Jesus and how that can change our lives, for today and for eternity. Jesus’ birth is a beautiful reminder that God loves us and created us on purpose and for a purpose. The more we understand and internalize that truth, the more hope-filled we can live on a daily basis. My prayer is that this Advent experience can help our kids understand that a little more and, in working through it, so can Jen and me. Who knows, maybe you can too.

As Advent kicks off for 2025, I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to get excited for Christmas and all that is represents. Check back next time as I share some of what have learned through our Advent experience and how it is building our excitement for the coming of Jesus!

James Belt