Are you looking for a new Advent tradition that eliminates the anticipation of presents and elevates the anticipation of Jesus’ coming? Advent Blocks were the answer to that pressing need in our family.
You will find that Advent Blocks fills in the gaps that other Advent traditions leave behind. There are multiple books for different age groups and each one speaks to the heart about Jesus Christ in a slightly different way. You won’t regret trying out Advent Blocks this Christmas!
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Like many young children, my boys are saturated in the knowledge and excitement of getting and giving. They anticipate with great anticipation what they might open on Christmas morning.
My oldest son, Wyatt, pours through catalogs when he sees them arrive in the mail and semi-acknowledges me when I gently remind him that Christmas is not about getting more ‘things’.
I want the anticipation of Jesus to overshadow any sort of gift-giving that my children enjoy. It’s not that they cannot enjoy their gifts, but we want to foster the correct type of affection and anticipation at Christmastime.
How about you? Are you looking for an activity that reminds your family about the true meaning of Christmas? Maybe you want to go deeper than that. Instead of just the Christmas story, maybe you want your family to celebrate the scope of what happened at Christmas. From the beginning of the Old Testament and beyond the birth of Jesus, everything points to Jesus as our Messiah. Maybe you want your family to taste and see the wonder of that story. Advent Blocks is for you.
What are Advent Blocks?
Advent Blocks are a tangible way to anticipate the arrival of Jesus on December 25th. Children actively turn over 25 advent blocks during the holiday season to reveal a symbol that corresponds to a Bible story that is explained in the accompanying devotional. It’s very similar to advent calendars but with more interaction, symbolism, and intentional family interaction.
Each of the Old and New Testament stories points to Jesus with anticipation as the story poses the question “God will you come back to stay?“
The Advent Blocks come in a gorgeous wooden box that you can use year after year for storage. The King is Coming advent book fits perfectly in the box as well. There are 27 wooden beautiful blocks in total with 25 advent blocks and two extra world and star blocks. The world and star block move around to mark where you are in the 25 days of Advent.
You will instructions for how to do the complete advent tradition in the first pages of the devotional.
Advent Blocks was co-founded by Clayton Greene who is passionate about creating resources that draw families to God and one another. You can learn more about the full story of the Advent Blocks directly from their website. It’s a very cute story about Clayton’s daughter making this point, “Mom and Dad, you say that Christmas is all about Jesus. But it feels like Christmas is all about presents.” Not only was Advent Blocks born out of that question but from my under it founded the entire GoodKind company.
The other founder of the company is Chris Pappalardo who is the writer of the King is Coming book that accompanies the Advent Blocks.
They both work at Summit Church in North Carolina Chris is the Editor on the Creative Arts team and Clayton is the Summit Collaborative Director.
The Unique Attribute of Advent Blocks
We love advent traditions. Truth be told, I have an abundance of advent devotional books and activities that we love doing with our boys. However, there is something unique about Advent Blocks that I have noticed is emphasized in a way that the others do not: anticipation.
This tradition is not going to just help your children anticipate Jesus, but Biblically walk your children through the stories of the Old and New Testament that point to Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas. It’s a wonderful tradition to add to your Advent Season.
We try to set aside time each morning of the Advent season to sit down and do the story and devotional. True be told, we also use the Shepherd Treasure in conjunction with this tradition. Most mornings the Shepherd brings the newest Advent Block and then we read the corresponding story together. Last year it was something that we all looked forward to each day.
How to Set Them Up
Good Kind recommends that you set up the Advent Blocks in a straight line and then the star will set on top of the Advent block of the day. However, you can also make them uniquely yours depending on your space. I set ours up in a triangle and that has worked for our space and family quite well.
You can also see more about how we used and set up our blocks last year in our Youtube review. I loved how it all worked out for Christmas Day. It was a fantastic tradition and taught each of us something new.
Making Time for a Christmas Practice
As we have said many times already, Advent Blocks are a way to anticipate the birth of Jesus. However, the activity will not work unless you are making time for it in your daily routine! Before you begin your Christmas season decide when you will want to incorporate the daily reading and activity into your routine.
It’s just like any other thing that we do as a family, we need to be intentional with our family devotions, homeschooling, and extra activities that we choose to do. Making time and planning for that time will allow you to get the most out of your Advent Blocks.
We have chosen to do our Advent Blocks in the morning before we start our other routines.
What Ages Can Participate in Advent Blocks
I was worried that Advent Blocks would be too advanced for my 3 and 4-year-old, but I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, my four-year-old has been the one adamant each day that we do the readings. New in 2023 they have a board book that is specifically designed for small readers.
Chances are your children are craving deep things. God has placed eternity in their hearts and they are seeking and looking for the truth of the scriptures. Advent Blocks is an excellent resource for coming alongside them and showing them the gift of salvation.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV
Advent Blocks are for all ages!
What is the Cost?
The full-color set with wooden blocks is $59.99 plus the cost of shipping. If you order a second Advent Blocks set, shipping is free. The basic box comes with:
- 27 – 1.5 inch beech blocks with rounded edges (in full color or white and gold)
- The hardback version of The King Is Coming, the 25-day guide, and a red place-keeping ribbon
- Natural wood finish, sliding top wood box
If you want to add the He is Here devotional which is made for Adults (and is wonderfully written), that book is $14.99. The board book, which is new for 2023 is $15.99 and I would highly recommend it for children ages 5 and under. We will be using the board book this year in 2023 and then reevaluating it in upcoming years. The graphic designers of the book do a wonderful job of making it very visually appealing to children.
Supplemental Mateirals
We have also used additional supplemental materials to reinforce the concepts and stories that are within the devotional. Here are just a few of the printables we have used.
Noah’s Ark coloring (with scripture)
Christmas Coloring (with scripture)
New for 2023!
God is Coming to Earth to Stay for younger readers! Teach them the love of Jesus through these 25 stories from Adam to Jesus.
Advent Blocks for Adults
But, what about adults? I’m pleased to say that Good Kind has also come out with an adult advent book that corresponds with the reading from The King is Coming. He is Here has been completely refreshing to my soul as we work through the Advent Blocks each day. If you are doing some Christmas shopping for other adults in your life, this devotional makes a great gift.
GoodKind Advent Blocks also has a local church program which is really remarkable! What’s quite amazing about this program is that once you register you get a coupon code for 30% off! Basically, you could order enough Advent Blocks for anyone in your whole church or small groups who wants to participate and you will get a very large discount. It’s a great way to get your church community to do something together!
They also have a buy-back program for any that your church does not use AND they share shipping costs. Your church leaders are going to love a program that can fit within the scope of a budget!
Beyond Christmas
Good Kind has other Christ-centered products that extend this impactful tradition beyond Christmas. Although we have not yet done the Easter Blocks, we did receive the product and fully intend to review and use them this upcoming Easter season.
In addition to Advent Blocks and the Easter Blocks, Good Kind also has the Sabbath box and Graticube. We are in particular excited about the Graticube as gratitude is a muscle our children need strengthening in!
We started Advent Blocks in 2022 and will continue them in 2023 and I’m sure for many years to come. The GoodKind company is consistently coming out with valuable resources for families and I have loved seeing what ways they will present the Christmas story and the gospel story.
We have found ourselves beyond grateful for the Advent Blocks this year and highly recommend this great resource to any other families.
