Christmas is coming – it’s Advent!
Advent means “coming” in Latin and is the 3-4 weeks before Christmas. It is a special time of year when people prepare to celebrate the coming of Jesus on Christmas day. On this page we have some videos as well as a variety of ideas and resources for your family to do this Christmas season. Scroll down and select what you want to do and when!
It’s going to be “A Very Different Christmas” this year so you might like to use these special Together at Home pages to chat to your children and help prepare them for how things might be this year: CLICK HERE
There are also a few (socially distanced) special events being organised by St Andrew’s, such as the Nativity Hunt, Do It Together Prayer Tree, Advent Prayers & Crafts and a live-streamed Christingle Crib Service at 4pm on 24th December.
Nativity Hunt – 1st December to 6th January
Find the nativity characters in the windows of St Andrew’s Church and watch the Nativity story come together. Each week there will be new characters to find – watch the scene at the stable grow!
Week 1 – Mary & Angel
Week 2 – Joseph & Angel
Week 3 – Mary, Joseph & Donkey
Week 4 – Shepherds
Christmas Eve/Day – Jesus
Week 5 – Wise Men
Please keep safe and socially distanced.
Do It Together Prayer Tree
Please help decorate our Christmas tree outside Church! We are focusing on a different advent theme each week: HOPE, PEACE, JOY and LOVE. It could be a decoration you have made or bought and you could come back each week to see the tree and maybe hang another decoration. Please observe social distancing when hanging the decorations and be aware that for health reasons we will not be able to return any decorations to you.
While you are at the tree you might like to say a prayer too.
Activities
Make Christmas cards – who can you send a card to this year?
Christmas Wrapping – make your own wrapping paper or gift tags
Christmas Baking – www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/christmas-kids-recipes
Personal Christmas Cracker – make your own eco-friendly, personalised Christmas crackers. Use a kitchen roll or the inside roll of wrapping paper, fill it with a gift you know the person will use or want, add your own joke and wrap it in biodegradable paper (try to avoid foil or glitter so it is eco-friendly eg tissue paper)
Christmas Activity Sheets – have a look at the Together at Home pages in these links for activity pages, colouring in, and ideas for Family Fun and prayers each day leading up to Christmas Day! Start with Mary, then do the shepherds and finish with Jesus!
Join our families music video!
This year we are hoping to make our own St Andrew’s Families music video to the fantastic song “Oh What glorious Night” by the Sidewalk Prophets. Karin has recorded some actions – see below – and would love you to send in clips of you doing the actions to the song so we can compile a video in time for Christmas Eve! Please email children@standrewsgwp.org if you would like to take part
Advent Prayers & Crafts
Each week in Advent we will be focusing on a different theme: hope, peace, joy and love.
Click here to download the prayers to print, or email children@standrewsgwp.org if you would like an Advent envelope:
First week of Advent – Hope
Jesus, you are light even in the darkest places.
Help us to trust in you when we are lost or lonely.
Shine hope into our hearts we pray.
Amen.
Second week of Advent – Peace 
Jesus, you are peace even when there is anger.
Help us to forgive like you when we are hurt or upset.
Bring peace into our hearts we pray.
Amen
Third week of Advent – Joy
Jesus, you are joy even in the saddest times.
Help us to praise you even when we are upset or grieving.
Shine joy into our hearts we pray.
Amen.
Fourth week of Advent – Love
Jesus, you are love even if we are afraid.
Help us to pray to you when we are scared or fearful.
Bring love into our hearts we pray.
Amen
Videos
This year Engage have not been able to do their usual Christmas Assemblies in Woking primary schools, but they have produced a brilliant video. They have given us permission to watch it here. It lasts 22 minutes.
Bible Society – It Begins in Bethlehem (5 minutes)