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 SECOND LIGHT OF ADVENT
The second light of Advent is the light of plants– Plants that reach up to the sun and in the breezes dance.
DISCUSSION
As we light the second candle on our Advent centrepiece, we will think of the light of plants. What light does this, the plant kingdom, offer up? How might the plants have participated in the journey of a father and mother with child?
Brainstorm with your family. Some things we thought up:
// They might have provided nourishment in the form of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, etc.
// Provided healing and nourishment in the form of medicinal herbs.
// Provided beauty on the long journey.
POSTER
Print out this free 8.5 x 11
Second 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 2: Light of Plants card.
CRAFTS, GIFTS & ACTIVITIES
Below are some of the ways that we will be exploring the plant 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 second week, we add plants to our centrepiece, along with the shells and stones. We add trees to our nativity scene so it has stones and trees around, waiting for animals and humans to show up in the coming weeks.
ADVENT CRAFTS – PLANTS
1. Grow bulbs indoors. If you followed along last week and saved some rocks, find a bowl or vase, and fill it partially with rocks. Plant your paperwhite or other bulbs according to instructions on the package.
2. Herbal Bath Salts. Using the mineral salts from week 1, create some lovely gifts! Get the full how-to here.
(photo: Maria Epp)
3. Homemade Vanilla. This is a super simple project with a lot of wow factor – and it makes a truly delicious product.
Get the full tutorial here, along with custom designed printable labels.
4. Make popcorn + cranberry garland. Popcorn, cranberries, thread, needles. Enough said.
5. Herbal Tea Blends. This one is super simple and great if you have a busy week and no time for a really involved project. Just gather a bunch of your favourite herbs from your local herb shop, find some tins or small canning jars – even sachets would be nice. Create some custom blends, package them up, and you’re done!
ADVENT WEEK2: GIFTS & ACTS of KINDNESS
These are the items that are in our sock advent calendar – so some items such as the first three 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. Flower bulbs such as paper whites, hyacinth, etc.
2. Food grade tins for lip balm and salve, and/or bottles for vanilla or tinctures
3. Healing herbs – whatever you prefer for use in lip balms, salves, and tea blends
4. Vanilla beans
5. Popcorn kernels
6. Trip to harvest a Christmas tree.
Acts of Kindness:
1. Volunteer at or donate to a local native plant organization. Here in Winnipeg, that might be the
Living Prairie Museum, for example.
2. Volunteer at or collect food for a food bank to help nourish others.
3. Gift some healing teas.
4. Offer to weed someone’s garden, or tend to their indoor plants, depending on where you live.
Bonus:
Watch an
Andy Goldsworthy video in which he uses plants to create beautiful works of art. Head outside and create your own plant art, or bring the outdoors in, maybe as you think or pray about Advent. Note that Rivers and Tides features not only plants, but also stones and animals, so I recommend showing just the parts that fit with each week of Advent. Definitely watch it as a whole as well, though. Truly a beautiful film that has been a family favourite for years.
