Advent Week 4 :: The Light of Humankind

This post is a part of our Tiny Advent series. All of the posts are housed over on this page for your convenience. We hope you follow along and enjoy the series.

Welcome! Each week’s post contains the following:

// Family Discussion Points      // Poster       // Memory Verse      // Centerpiece Decorating
// Crafts      //Gift, Acvitity & Act of Kindness Ideas

To see our advent calendar tutorial and download our gift/experience/acts of kindness lists, head over here.


 

THE FOURTH LIGHT OF ADVENT

The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind– The light of hope that we may learn to love and understand.

DISCUSSION
As we light the fourth candle on our Advent centrepiece, and add little photos of friends and family (What will you add? Share in the comments!), we will think of the light of humankind. What light does this, the human kingdom, offer up? How might people have participated in the journey of a father and mother with child?

Brainstorm with your family. Some things we thought up:

// May have provided companionship, nourishment, etc. along the way.
// They would have celebrated and shared the good news!
// They would have participated in inner preparation. If you haven’t checked them out yet, both We Will Wait and the 28 Day Inner Winter Celebration are wonderful guides to prepare the heart.  Many people would have celebrated and shared the news!

 

POSTER
Print out this free 8.5 x 11 Fourth Light of Advent Poster to rest on your mantle, piano, or hang on your wall, to remind you to think of these things this week. There are three more to add to your display over the coming weeks.
MEMORY VERSE
Those who wish to add on some verses, you can download and print our Memory Verse Cards. Each week has one simple verse related to the week’s light. The verses were picked by the lovely Heather of heatherboersma.com, who is offering her own amazing Advent series for grown-ups called We Will Wait. Just cut out the cards, and work on the Week 4: Light of Humankind card.
Tiny Advent Memory Verses Printable

 

CRAFTS, GIFTS & ACTIVITIES
Below are some of the ways that we will be exploring the human kingdom in our home this week, in addition to some of the other Advent ideas mentioned in the first post in this series.

 

ADVENT CENTERPIECE
For this fourth week, we add little cutout photos of friends and family to our centrepiece, along with the shells, stones, plants, and feathers. My husband was a little uncertain of what to think when he found a bunch of friend and family photos from year’s past lying on the counter with faces cut out – until he saw our centerpiece! We also add Mary and Joseph to the nativity scene – and baby Jesus (on Christmas eve while the kids are sleeping)!

ADVENT CRAFT/RECIPE – HUMANKIND

 

1. Homemade Fudge to Gift

Try making this fudge, using fair trade chocolate and sharing it with others in the spirit of giving! Get the recipe here.

candy cane fudge ingredients

2. Write a Letter

Grab some lovely pens, paper, an envelope and a stamp and write a letter to a friend or family member. This often forgotten practice is a great way to connect with others in a special way. And who doesn’t love getting mail? Check out our letter-writing resources for some inspiration!

TP letter writing

3. Give warmth.

Knit ear warmer or scarves to hang on trees for adults and children who are on the streets and in need of some warmth – physically and emotionally.

ADVENT WEEK 3: GIFTS & ACTS of KINDNESS
These are the items that are in our sock advent calendar – so some items will actually be in the socks. The others will be little notes that might lead the kids to find the supplies for the craft, or just telling them what we’ll be making for that day.

 

Gifts:
1. Book about fair trade, such as Roses for Isabella or Think Fair Trade First.
2. Fair trade chocolate – we like these Cocoa Camino Mini chocolates – they are just perfect for leaving two or three on someone’s desk or to gift in other creative ways as acts of kindness.
3. A note with a dollar amount that the kids can donate to an organization of their choice that helps people in need. Our kids love looking through online catalogues to choose what to spend their money on – animals, school supplies, sporting goods, trees, medicine, etc. This year, they might choose to donate the funds to the Dressember campaign. Note that this doesn’t have to be a large amount of money. Even $10 can help, and they can also choose to pool their funds to get something bigger.

 

Activities:
1. Visit Ten Thousand Villages or another fair trade shop to select a fair trade ornament and learn more about their products.
2. Make something to give away, with the fair trade chocolate. Try this amazingly simple and delicious fudge.
3. Watch a documentary about fair trade chocolate – check out the documentary Nothing Like Chocolate 

 

Acts of Kindness:

1. Give fair trade chocolates to strangers and neighbours.
2. Acts of Kindness – add light to the lives of others through small acts of kindness – shovel a walk, bring over a meal, leave a couple quarters taped to a phone booth or dollars taped to the bus shelter (with a note), etc.

 

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