Creating a Jesse Tree is an exciting Advent tradition! But for many of us it is brand new. When visiting my sister during Advent, I was inspired by the simple things she did to turn hanging ornaments on the Jesse Tree with her children into a special tradition.

You may have your tree, readings, and symbols all figured out, but organizing it all into these simple steps will help to bring everything together successfully.

1. Assemble with Singing
Rather than running to find everyone, start singing to signal to the family that it is time to come to the Jesse Tree. The first lines of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” work great.

2. Set the Mood with Candles
Be sure to light the candles on your advent wreath as part of your Jesse Tree tradition. This will both set the mood and signal to everyone that you are entering a time of prayer and reflection.

3. Read the Readings
After singing and lighting the candles, your family will be more ready to pay attention and absorb information. Here, my sister’s family is using the Jesse Tree readings from our book, Bible Characters for Advent. This year they’ll be using our My Jesse Tree Sticker Set.

4. Include the Bible
While our readings are written for children, it is also important to familiarize them with the Bible. Each story in our book has a reference to the verse in scripture from which it was taken. My sister’s family started with the story from Bible Characters for Advent and followed that with the corresponding Bible verse.

5. Sing While Hanging the Ornament
Finally, it’s time to hang your Jesse Tree ornament! Or stick your Jesse Tree ornament on your My Jesse Tree Sticker Set like they will be this year. My sister would alternate which child would hang the ornament each night. While hanging the ornament they would sing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” which serves as a good “bookend” to the little ceremony.

Adding these simple steps your Jesse Tree tradition will help to make it a hit. Plus today is the last day for our Advent Specials!

BONUS idea: Find a Jesse Tree traditional that works for YOU! It was incredible seeing all my sister-in-laws beautiful diy ornaments on her tree… but when it came to my house our rowdy little boys thought it was more fun to pull the ornaments apart than hang them on the tree. That’s why I created our new My Jesse Tree Sticker Set. Our tree has all the same symbolism and beauty, but with stickers, the fun comes in putting them on the tree not pulling them off. 🙂

We want everyone to share the joy of the saints this Christmas season so we’re doing a crazy sale on My Catholic Magnets!

These deals give you well over 50% off.

I don’t know when or if you will see these deals again! Now is the time to stock up! Think of your children, godchildren, class…

If you haven’t checked them out yet, My Catholic Magnets are 3”x4” magnets for kids that each feature a different hand drawn saint or Catholic figure. They also include a holy card with the saints story that is specially written for children to understand.

We have two amazing deals to choose from:

Black Friday Deal #1

You can choose 12 saints in our store for only $25! Saving you $35!! COUPON CODE: BUY5GET7FREE

Black Friday Deal #2

Order the 12 month saint subscription for $60  where you receive a newly released saint magnet each month for an entire year! (January – December 2017) and you’ll receive 13 saint magnets free as an immediate bonus!! A $125 value for only$60!!

These deals will only be live Black Friday – Cyber Monday 11/25-11/28! Don’t miss out!

We are already getting ready to ship out over 1,000 magnets of the saints to children around the country! Are yours on the way??

There are two distinct memories I have of my First Communion day. The first is the joy and anticipation as we lined up before Church in our beautiful First Communion dress knowing that at this Mass I was going to receive Jesus into my heart for the very first time.

The second memory, was having a friend brag to me later that day that they received more money in gifts than I did. I remember thinking as a little kid… “Well the day isn’t about the money” But thinking back on the moment it reminds me of the importance of giving meaningful religious gifts.

Watching my own children grow and a godparent and I often struggle with the thought… “How do I get a unique gift that has significance, but the child will also enjoy?” My life got much easier after writing Bible Characters for Advent it has been my go to gift for religious events. Now it may seem odd to give a gift named Bible Characters for Advent for a First Communion gift. But there is no Holy Eucharist without Christmas.

During Advent we walked through all the moments of Salvation History from the moment God created the earth till Jesus birth on Christmas day. But we also looked at all the moments in the Old Testament that told us what to look forward to with the coming of Jesus. Like Jesus giving us his Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist.

Now my son won’t be making his First Communion this year being only 3 years old… But everytime we go up to Holy Communion he tries to make a dive for Jesus crying out, “I want Jesus! When can I have Jesus??” Now I want child excited about his First Communion… but my joy is usually masked by the fact that I’m terrified he is going to tackle the priest on his quest to receive Jesus.

But for the wonderful children who are making their First Communion… Bible Characters for Advent makes a wonderful gift. The simple illustrations and short stories are great to recap what was talked about during the Gospel at church, or as a springboard while looking at a particular Bible story.

As a parent, godparent, aunt, uncle or friend you have an incredible opportunity to share something when a child you know makes their First Communion. Don’t help them win the cash contest… Give something that reflects the significance of the day. A gift that will help them grow closer to Jesus who they will be receiving for the first time on this very special day.

So why make a Jesse Tree? Because Christmas is coming everyone is celebrating! There are sales to celebrate the sales coming on Black Friday.  is barely here and “the holiday season” is in full swing.

It is hard to sit back and watch the festivities. We want to excited about Christmas, but also careful that we’re not teaching our kids that buying things and Santa are the meaning of Christmas.

A Jesse Tree is a great solution! You can set up your tree, Now!Ok, I’d at least wait till after Thanksgiving. But with a Jesse Tree you can begin your celebration right away, but you’re not celebrating Santa. Instead it is all the wonderful people in the Bible that led up to the birth of Jesus.

Each day you read a short story from the Bible that bring to life the characters in a way that is simple for kids to understand. Then you’ll add your ornament to your tree.

You can pick how much time to spend each day, there are simple options for ornaments like full color printables, or you can spend time talking about the stories while coloring your own ornaments.Finally, if you want some really messy fun you can dive into DIY Jesse Tree ornaments.

Whether you read a few stories a day or make this a daily tradition during Advent the point is that your family is actively looking forward to Christmas!

What does your family do during Advent to help keep Christ in Christmas?

If you’re looking to start a Jesse Tree be sure to check out The Ultimate Guide to Making a Jesse Tree we’ve compiled all the resources you’ll need.

When we read Bible stories to our children, there are common stories that are never forgotten. It it is, after all, very important that they learn that Adam and Eve sinned (it’s the reason for Jesus) or that Moses lead the Israelites in the desert. But in my opinion, the most important Bible story that’s most often left out is the story of Jeroboam and Rehoboam.

Rehoboam was the grandson of the great King David. David’s kingdom was the largest and most powerful in all of the Old Testament and when Rehoboam’s time came, he took over as king of that kingdom.

But Rehoboam was bent on being a fierce leader, and ignored the council of the older men who advised him to be civil with the people. Instead, he listened to the advice of the people he had grown up with and tried to demonstrate his might as king by showing no mercy and taxing the people heavily.

This lead to a war that split kingdom. Jeroboam ruled ten of the twelve tribes of Israel. They became known as Israel. Rehoboam ruled two of the tribes, Judah and Benjamin. They became known as Judah.

Over time there would be conflicts and wars with people of other nations and eventually the people of the Kingdom of Israel were defeated and taken away into Exile. While the Kingdom of Judah was also later taken away, they were able to maintain their identity and eventually returned from Exile. When it was all said and done, Judah was all that was left of the original twelve tribes of Israel. And by Jesus’s time, they became known as the Jews.

The Kingdom of Israel became dispersed into other groups of people and were lost. When Jesus comes, he doesn’t simply preach to the Jews (the Kingdom of Judah), he also preaches to the non-jews, the Gentiles, who have the Kingdom of Israel mixed in.

This fulfills what’s said in the Old Testament. Referring to the Exile, Isaiah says “…the LORD will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant which is left of his people” (Isaiah 11:11). And before that in Genesis, God says to Abraham “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3) One way that Jesus makes both of these come true is by inviting all people into the kingdom of God.

Growing up, I never really understood why it was the Israelites in the Old Testament and the Jews in the New. And I didn’t get that when Jesus preached to all people it was tied into the stories of the Old Testament.

In our Advent book, Bible Characters for Advent, we were sure to include the story of Jeroboam and Rehoboam. But we told it in just 11 sentences and in a way a kid will understand. We believe that if you tell it right, kids really can understand the story of the Bible. Hope you do too.