Family Christmas Tradition: Jesse Tree
For our Jesse Tree, we have a small, artificial fir tree trimmed with white lights. We have been collecting ornaments to represent each symbol, finding them mostly at the Dollar Store. N15 thinks our Jesse Tree looks kind of tacky, but the rest of us like it. It has made a fun tradition.
We follow the children’s section of The Advent Jesse Tree: Devotions for Children and Adults to Prepare for the Coming of the Christ Child at Christmas
We try to do the reading every evening in December, but sometimes we double up or even skip a day or so. We want it to be fun, rather than a burden. If we know the suggested hymns, we sing. The children enjoy these special evenings before Christmas. They take turns putting on the ornaments. On each of the five advent Sundays, we add in the lighting of the advent candles and a few extra comments.
a globe or picture of the earth
an apple with a snake wrapped around it
an ark with a rainbow
(We found this little Noah with a storybook backpack.)
a camel and a tent
(We just have a camel, although we could use the army guy tent from upstairs.)
a lamb
a ladder
(Not exactly a ladder, but this part of an old toy does the job.)
a colorful coat
(We found this Joseph who also has a storybook backpack)
a tablet with ten numbers
(We wrote on a smooth rock.)
a cluster of grapes
a sheaf of wheat
a slingshot
(Uncle David made this sling shot for N years ago.)
No picture
a scroll or Bible
a stump with a fresh shoot or green leaf
(We had this Christmas decoration.)
a lion and a lamb
a dove and a crown
(I forgot to put them together for the picture)
a lamb and a shepherd’s staff
(Not so great, but haven’t found anything better yet.)
No picture
a cross
a heart with writing on it
(Forgot to write on it.)
a Bethlehem town silhouette with star
a fiery furnace
(This was originally a small lion’s cage, but we took it apart and threw in some flames.)
a brick wall
(More like a door, but it does have a brick wall.)
a star
a candle or light
an angel
a baby in a manger or a nativity scene
(This was our Jesse Tree in 2004.)
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Very nice!