A Beginner’s Guide to Celebrating Advent as a Christian

November 13, 2025

This year, my Instagram and TikTok feeds have been full of people who have gone to church or read the bible for the first time. I’ve also seen lots of people returning to faith after drifting away from Christianity for a while. If this is you, I’m so excited for you and the journey God has you on right now.

We are now approaching one of the most exciting times in the Christian calendar – Advent. As someone who has celebrated this period as a Christian for 25 years, I thought it would be helpful to give some background, context and ideas to help you celebrate and mark Advent for the first time. This will probably be quite different to how you've celebrated (or not celebrated) in the past.

red fabric family heirloom advent calendar filled with gifts

What is Advent?

Advent, meaning ‘coming’ or ‘arrival’, is a season of waiting, anticipation, and preparation. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, so it actually starts in November. It’s the reason we have Advent calendars, though these usually cover the first 24 days of December, probably for convenience.

During Advent, we think back to the coming of Jesus, and look forward to his coming again. There is a lot of emphasis on light in a dark world. This is particularly effective in the UK where it gets dark at 4pm during Advent!

The Story of Christmas

Are you familiar with the story of Christmas? You may have heard parts of it read, heard Christmas carols, or seen nativity plays, but much of what is sung, shown or ‘told’ isn’t actually in the Bible.

Did you know, for instance, that the Bible doesn’t say there were three wise men? As travelling such a distance would have required lots of supplies and support from camels, it’s likely there were far more than three. I also doubt it would have been a ‘silent night’ with a newborn baby in a barn, animals everywhere, shepherds pitching up, and a great crowd of angels appearing in the sky (although, nowhere in the entire Bible does it say angels sang).

With this in mind, my first recommendation is that you read the story for yourself and take in all the details. There are portions of the nativity story in Matthew and Luke, each focusing on different aspects. You can also find prophecies in the Old Testament. They are peppered throughout Isaiah, Micah, the Psalms and Hosea, amongst others. Sometimes it’s just a verse or a sentence.

A study to go alongside your reading will be of great benefit. I’ve shared some of my favourite resources at the end of this article. Many of the details will leave you marvelling when you learn the context, such as the culture at the time and the prophecies fulfilled by this incredible event in human history. My advice is to savour it and take it slow.

How We Celebrate Advent as a Family

Some of our favourite things about celebrating Advent are the traditions that give us a sense of family, belonging and home. Here are some examples…

Our Heirloom Advent Calendar

When I was about 5, a church friend gave us a handmade Advent calendar. After inheriting it, I now use it with our children. The calendar is over 35 years old and a real treasure. I wrap a chocolate for each child and hang them on the loops for them to take turns opening each morning. I have treasured memories of doing this with my brothers, and I love that my children get to do the same.

Skipping Santa

We don’t teach our children about Santa. Instead, we point them towards the giver of gifts who doesn't require you to be nice to be on His list. With Jesus, it’s about grace. You don’t need to be deserving of anything to be given the greatest gift.

Reading the Book of Luke

I also read through the book of Luke during Advent. There are 24 chapters, one for each day leading up to Christmas Day. I love that it paints the bigger picture, telling not just of Jesus’ birth, but also why he came to earth – to show us the way to God, to die in our place, and to come back to life to save all who believe.

Going to Church

Going to church is an important part of how we celebrate Advent. Each Sunday, a portion of scripture is read as a new candle is lit on the Advent wreath. Christians often light five candles. A purple candle on the first Sunday of advent for love, another purple candle on the second Sunday of advent for hope, a pink candle on the third Sunday of advent for joy, a final purple candle on the fourth Sunday of advent for peace, and on Christmas day, a white or gold candle is lit to symbolise Christ’s coming.

I love this practice. It gives us time to pause, reflect, and rejoice that the light of the world has come. We also sing Christmas carols – both traditional and modern.

Christmas Music and Christmas Cards

In the evening during Advent, I listen to Christmas music and write Jesus-centred Christmas cards. I have a Christmas playlist on Spotify you can listen to here.

I’ll be honest, I don’t like many of Christmas songs you hear on the radio. They feel so hollow and sometimes a bit creepy. However, the scores for ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Charlie Brown’s Christmas’, Christmas songs by Sufjan Stevens and Coldplay, as well as Christmas songs featured in The OC are included alongside Christian Christmas songs and carols.

children holding a Christmas gingerbread house decorated with sweets

Spending Time Together

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of ideas you can copy or take inspiration from…

We tour Christmas lights around our neighbourhood.
We make and give homemade gifts to our neighbours (usually slow-cooker fudge).
We have a Christmas movie night with popcorn (usually Elf!)
We get Domino's pizza for the last day of school
We decorate our Christmas tree together
We enjoy Christmas Adam Paddington Pudding. We call Christmas Eve Eve Christmas Adam—a play on Adam and Eve: Adam came before Eve! Paddington Pudding is something I invented – basically bread-and-butter pudding made with marmalade and chocolate chip brioche instead of bread.
We build and decorate a gingerbread house (usually the kit from Ikea!!)
We have three nativity sets (I love them so much!) and one has magi (‘the wise men from the east’), which we move around the house until they reach the rest of the scene on Christmas day (I know this isn’t accurate… but it’s how we do it – a way of moving towards Christmas).
We lead a homegroup and have a meal as part of our gathering before Christmas. Chinese takeaway keeps things easy for everyone, and we do a white elephant secret Santa which is lots of fun. Our children are usually in bed for most of the bible studies we do, but they join us for this event as it starts earlier.
This year, I have designed a simple colouring book advent calendar that I’ll be giving to each of my children. There are portions of scripture on each page, making it a great festive activity to help you focus on slowing down and reflecting on words from the bible.

And Hope Designs Advent Calendar Colouring Book These things make the season special, family-focused, and anticipatory. I am adamant we don’t need to create magic by going crazy with an elf destroying the house or booking expensive events. There is already so much excitement and busyness at this time of year. Keeping things low-key but special has worked really well for us. It’s a season we all look forward to!

Useful Books, Studies and Devotionals for Advent

You will find many studies, devotionals and reading plans specific to Advent, some of which will take you through prophecies of the Old Testament and their fulfilment in the gospels. Others which will have a theme such as focussing on slowing down in the business of Christmas, like Lucy Rycroft’s devotional called Redeeming Advent.

Some Advent books, studies and devotionals I would recommend for young or new Christians include:

God With Us by J.John
Hallelujah! By Dave & Sally Gobbett
The Dawn of Redeeming Grace by Sinclair B. Ferguson
Come Let Us Adore Him by Paul David Tripp
Family Advent Devotional by Matt & Lauren Chandler
The Biggest Story Advent by Kevin DeYoung

The Jesse Tree is a lovely way to read through and understand how Jesus fits into history. It is a way of telling the story of God’s plan from the beginning of time to redeem His people by sending a Saviour. Each day comes with a reading and an ornament to add to your Jesse tree. We got a card one a few years ago, but I have my eye on this one because I love the idea of making it an annual tradition as well. It’s perfect for children and adults alike – I learned so much doing this.

There is a lot of nonsense, heresy, prosperity gospel and wolves in sheep’s clothing in the Christian world, so knowing where to look for sound theology and Bible-based teaching is paramount.

If you’d like to search for something that suits your needs, stage in life and time commitment, here are some websites that sell good books, devotionals and studies.