Jesse Tree

I am really looking forward to Christmas this year. Katherine is at a really fun age where I know she will enjoy all of the festivities. Last year she enjoyed it but this year I think she can really start to understand it. So, I really want to start some meaningful family traditions at this time of year that can not only be fun but also teach the kids about the true meaning of Christmas. One thing I really want to do is a Jesse Tree. I had never heard of a Jesse Tree until last year when I read about it on a few blogs. This year I have seen even more about it.

What is a Jesse Tree? It is a small tree that is used during the Advent season. Biblical symbols that tell of God's redemptive plan are placed on the tree each night during a family devotional time. The ornaments and devotions of the Jesse Tree reveal the powerful message that the history of the Old Testament sets the stage for Christ's birth.

The idea for this "family tree" comes from Isaiah's prophecy:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
—Isaiah 11:1

The overwhelming part of the Jesse Tree is assembling and collecting all of the ornaments. You can buy ornaments already made but they are not cheap. I found a cute felt kit here that is reasonably priced. Some people shop the after Christmas sales to find ornaments for each day but that does not help me for this year. I have found a lot of examples online and plan to make my own set. I thought it would be fun for several friends who are interested in making Jesse Tree ornaments out of felt to gather one Saturday and help one another out by making them (or at least cutting out all the parts) in an assembly line. If you are interested, let me know. Another idea is to do a Jesse Tree ornament swap where each of us is assigned a symbol and makes multiple ornaments to swap. If I make my own, I plan to copy the ones found here, in felt. But if I don't finish them, I will probably make the remaining ones out of construction paper or other craft materials or even just print off these or these.

Chrys also just posted about the Jesse Tree and she has a lot of great pictures of different types of Jesse Trees. Check out her post.

Jesse Tree Resources
Devotionals for younger families - This uses two toddler Bibles for the readings and I think would be easier at Katherine's age to sit through.
Making a Jesse Tree
The Remembering Tree
History, How to Make and Scripture Readings
Reformed Church of America Devotional
Examples and Patterns from Domestic Church
An e-book of devotions you can purchase
Printable ornaments
Jesse Tree and Advent
Ornaments made from sculpey