There’s something about Christmas that can make us feel like we need to do more. We need more decorations, more gifts, more lights, more parties and more bling, only to find ourselves feeling more exhausted.

Yet the whole season of Advent is about cleaning out our hearts, our minds, and our lives. The weeks leading up to Christmas are about stepping away from clutter and noisy distractions to wait in dark stillness. While the rest of the world is swirling in chaos that we know is all too capable of pulling us in, Advent is a time when we can choose to lean away from the need for more, showing children, youth, and ourselves that peace, hope, and joy is found in the idea of “not yet” and that love can be found in surprising places.

To help us lean in a different direction this Advent, Sparkhouse Digital is offering a variety of reflective Advent calendars. Each calendar can be printed and given or sent as care packages to the kids in your Sunday school, your church’s nursery school, or sent to students in college or studying abroad. For households needing to burn some pre-Christmas energy, our Family Advent Calendar offers daily activities based on the themes of love, joy, peace and hope. Each day offers ideas to keep kids creating, praying, and finding ways to serve others as they learn about the meaning of this season. For the budding foodies in your Sunday school, we have a food-based Advent calendar that has kids smelling and mixing as they make Biblical and spiritual connections to some of our favorite Christmas spices and treats. For the youth and older students in your congregations for whom December is more about finals and stress than fun and spices, we have a calendar filled with lighthearted thoughts, prayer practices, and jokes to help provide a mental and spiritual break from the stress often felt this time of year.

Each calendar contains 25 undated activities and be used for as long as you have your Sparkhouse digital subscription. Give as simple handouts, cut into fun shapes and include daily treats, or create epic care packages that will provide fun and meaningful breaks for those needing to be reminded of the season. These calendars can become a yearly Advent tradition for students of all ages to help create moments of pause and peace.

Check them out on Sparkhouse Digital! Not a subscriber? Start your free trial today!

Not the right moment for a free trial? Try this Advent Calendar from artist Agostino Traini!