Courtney Gibson is part of a Lifegroup with 25 children under the age of 10. Below is her step-by-step experience creating miniature Advent Wreaths with her LifeGroup.
Last year our LifeGroup decided to make Advent Wreaths for each family to have in their home. We found it very cost-effective to buy the materials in bulk and then split them among the families. Each family pitched in $5 and then our LifeGroup leader purchased all supplies ahead of our Advent Wreath making time. All of our supplies were purchased at Dollar General and Hobby Lobby.
The materials we purchased were:
1. hard plastic disposable dessert plates
2. miniature garland
3. 4 extra small candles
4. 1 small candle
5. purple ribbon
6. pink ribbon
7. cardboard gift tags
When we gathered for our Advent Wreath time, we started by explaining to the children in our group the purpose of the wreath. (This year, you can use the script found in the Letter to Parents in our Advent Guide Introduction.)
First, each family received a dessert plate and took turns hot gluing the greenery around the edge of the plate. Several adults brought hot glue guns so this step went quickly!
Next, each family received 4 smaller candles. While often in Advent Wreaths there are three pink candles (to represent penance) and one purple candle (to represent joy), that didn’t fit into our budget…so we opted to tie purple string around 3 of the candles and a pink string around the 4th. We used little gift labels to write out what each candle represented: hope, peace, joy, love.
After the ribbons with labels had been tied to each of the smaller candles, each family received a larger “Christ” candle to place in the center of the plate.
Though certainly not extravagant, this simple Advent wreath has become a treasure and our family can’t wait to use it again this year! (And because our candles did not burn for very long, we are even able to use the same candles this year!)
We found there to be something very unifying about visiting each other’s homes throughout the Advent season and seeing each other’s wreaths displayed on the kitchen table. Whatever supplies you end up using, or whatever creative spin you end up taking, I certainly encourage you to get a group of friends or Lifegroup members together and take time to create Advent wreaths together that will serve as markers throughout the season as together we anticipate the coming of our Savior.