Friday, November 28, 2014

Kids' Advent Wreath- Free Printables


*** Update: Click here to get the printable in Spanish and here in Dutch!

This year at our CCD Family Advent Night, we decided that we would focus on the meaning of the Advent Wreath and have the kids make their own to take home.  I will post pictures of how we make that work for a group, but I wanted to make sure to share the printables before the first week of Advent. Here is how I put them all together:

1. Print out the three page printable.  I like to have kids color before cutting, so they don't have to worry so much about staying in the lines or tearing edges while coloring.  I colored the flames and the holly with marker to make them more vibrant, and colored the actual candle with crayon so that the words would be more visible.




Side Note: Do you know the Christian meaning of holly?  The prickly leaves remind us of Christ's crown of thorns, and the red berries symbolize the blood He shed.
 2.  Then cut out the candles.
 3.  Next, wrap the candle printables around a toilet paper tube.  (Note: if you or your school are not big on using toilet paper rolls, you can use paper towel rolls cut down or a cylinder of card stock.)
I first taped the printable on the little tab (which has a reminder about which Sunday of Advent it is for) and then taped the opposite edge.  There is also a Scripture verse on each candle from the Sunday readings this year.
 4.  The candle flames can be lit or unlit.  Here is the Hope candle lit...
 ...or you can gently fold and push the flame inside the tube...
 ...where it isn't visible.
 I also made a Christ Candle to use during the Octave of Christmas.

5. The candles could just be set on/in an evergreen wreath on a table, or you can make a wreath to put it all together.  I used a paper plate- green would have been great, but white is what I had.  I traced a glass to make the circle in the middle and then drew four Xs that were about 1 3/4" in length.
6.  The I cut out the circle and the Xs.  I would recommend this job for adults or older kids only.  Scissors work, but an xacto knife is better.

 7.  If you have a green plate, you could stop here, or you can add the leaves as decoration.  One of the printables has holly & berries that you can use.
 I also cut out some simple leaves from green paper:
8.  Glue the leave and the berries on the plate, not covering up the Xs that you cut out.
 9.  Next, add some glue on those Xs and put the candle on top of it.  To stabilize it and make the glue stick, roll up a strip of cardstock (mine was about 8" long), put a little glue on it, and stick it on the inside of the Xs. Let it unfurl and it will help everything stick together as it dries.

 10.  Let it all dry and use it to count down the weeks as we wait for the coming of Christ!


Another cute idea: A former coworker sent me the pictures of her kindergartners making these wreaths and she added battery operated tea lights to them!  She said she used the rolled cardstock inside (that was holding the candle to the plate) tall enough that the tea lights could rest on at the top.  Love it!


Click here for the free printable:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5ETRkL51fhMUUFyTWs2QlhOdW8/view?usp=sharing



53 comments:

  1. If you print them on cardstock you could probably get away with not putting them on toilet paper rolls.

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  2. I'm the Editorial Assistant for Fun Family Crafts and I wanted to let you know that we have featured your Advent wreath! You can see it here:

    http://funfamilycrafts.com/printable-advent-wreath/

    If you have other kid-friendly crafts, we'd love it if you would submit them. If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above. Thanks for a wonderful project idea!

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    1. So cool, Cindy! Thanks so much for sharing my project! Feel free to check out all the links under the tabs above- almost everything has to do with kid friendly crafts. I'll send you an email with a few favorites. Thanks!

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  3. What a lovely idea for children! Congratulations, your work is lovely and your site is filled with absolute creavitivity! :)

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  4. Thank you so much for sharing freely. May Jesus reward your kindness with His richest blessings.
    I have shared your website with my Catechists. Have a wonderful Advent! Gratefully - with prayers.

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  5. Thank you for sharing this wonderful idea for an Advent wreath. I teach Grade One and we are going to create these wreaths next week. I can't wait to try it out with students.

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    1. Yay! I am so glad this project will be useful to you and your kiddos, Mrs. Schneider!

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  6. Great idea...but I'm having issues trying to download the file. I get a pop up screen that says this is considered "unsafe" by the Smart Screen filter. I tried saving it to a flash drive, but when I opened it just a bunch of code popped up...no pictures. Please advise. I like the other activities on your site and hope to be able to download and use them with my CCD class. Thanks.

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    1. Hi Veronica! I'm sorry you are having trouble. I checked all the links/downloads, and they are active and working. I'm not familiar with Smart Screen, so I can't help you there. Have you tried using a different browser (firefox instead of chrome, etc.)? Sometimes plugin updates don't match up. Also, this is a pdf, so you would have to have Adobe Acrobat on your computer to view and print it. You might want to make sure that you have the latest version. If you still have trouble, send me an email at katherine (dot) bogner (at) gmail (dot) com and I will just directly send you the file. Thanks!

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  7. This looks fantastic! What a great idea I look forward to trying this!

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  8. Made ours today! Perfect for our toddler and preschooler. So thankful for this!

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    1. I'm having trouble with the holes in the plate and getting them attached... any good tips on this part?

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    2. Maybe don't cut holes and just use scotch tape on two sides of each candle?
      I also know many people don't do the holes, they just set the candles on the wreath so that the children can move/assemble/play with them. Being attached isn't necessary!

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  9. Making these today for Sunday School! Thank you so much for the great project!

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  10. Thank you so much for sharing this project. It is the 2nd year in a row I have done it with my Kindergarten CCD class. The kids LOVE it!

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  11. Our entire school did these and we LOVED THEM. They are everywhere- hanging for ceilings, in the hallways, on doors......THANK YOU

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  12. My third Grade class made the wreath and it turned out beautiful. Thank you for sharing it.

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  13. click here for free printables.... NOTHING HAPPENS! Help.

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    1. Sorry you've had trouble! I checked, and the links are active. When you click on the image at the end of the post, it opens up the pdf in Google Drive. If you are still interested or have trouble in future, email looktohimandberadiant (at) gmail (dot) com

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  14. I love this! Your printables never disappoint! I totally linked to this from my Advent wreath craft round up. I love how you included the words on the candles. :-) https://www.catholicicing.com/advent-ideas/

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  15. sending out to families of my congregation since covid will not allow in person worship this will be a great alternative Pastor Terrie lynn

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  16. This seems like the perfect 2020 Advent project with toilet paper rolls!

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  17. This seems like the perfect 2020 Advent project with toilet paper rolls. If I can figure out how to include this in our parish bulletin I will make sure to give this website credit and link to it.

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    1. Ha! I hadn't even thought of that ;) You could always just have copies available in the back of church if you need physical copies, or include a digital link to this post in your bulletin if it is online.

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  18. I don't see a printable version. I only can click on the Spanish and Dutch version.

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  19. Where do I click for the English printable version?

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  20. I found it! No need to post my comment :-) Thank you so much!!!

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  21. I did it with my kids and they loved it! I should make this a terdition!

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  22. We loved this! Thank you!

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  23. Bless your heart, thank you for creating these. They are perfect!

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  24. Thank you for this idea. It is my first time teaching an RE class so this is very helpful!

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  25. So cute! Looking forward to using this this year with my homeschooled preschooler!

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  26. Such a great idea for my grandchildren. Thank you very much! Colleen

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  27. Thank you so much for this template. I just started teaching catechism this year and was searching high and low for the perfect advent wreath activity and yours was just the best!!!! Like you I only had white paper plates, so I have painted them green. They look great šŸ˜Š also got the battery tea lights!! Amazing idea.
    Thank you again and god bless šŸ™šŸ»❤️

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    1. So glad it is helpful! And I know, the battery tea lights are the perfect addition!

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  28. Thank you I’m very excited for this activity! I’m a bit worried about cutting the wholes! Also for those have done this before? How long has it taken for an entire class to finish? Thank you all! God Bless! šŸ„°

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    1. The holes for the candles are definitely the trickiest part! You can tape or glue them down in anyway that makes sense, or leave them free standing so that kids can assemble/disassemble the wreath as many times as they want!
      Timing totally depends on the age of your students and how much you prep ahead of time. If the kids are really taking their time and coloring, as well as making all of the leaves, etc. you might need an hour. If you have younger kids that aren't going to spend as much time coloring and/or if you cut out the candles ahead of time, it will take less. Hope that helps!

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    2. The catechist or assistant can use a hot glue gun to glue the rolls to the plates while the children color the candles and cutting the leaves, I would print the leaves on green paper so they don’t have to color them.

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  29. Thank so much for this activity for advent. I just started teaching Catechism for 5 to 6 years old and was looking high and low for an advent activity and came upon this on Pinterest.. thank you so much and wishing you many blessing this advent season. God bless šŸ™šŸ»šŸ¤—

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  30. I am so thankful for your resources!

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  31. i lave the candles so much

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  32. Katie, thank you so much for making this available! I teach 1st grade Faith Formation at our parish and wanted something for Advent that the kids could take home. I was trying to be economical so thank you for your generosity! Debbie

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