Our Jesse Tree Stories & Ornaments (This year, at least!)

Why mention that it's only for "this year", you ask? Well, a couple reasons:

1. The length of Advent is different from year to year. I've always known that Advent is the 4 Sundays that precede Christmas - but it never really dawned on me until recently, that this means the number of days in Advent can (and does) change from year to year. This year Advent is 28 days long - the longest it can possibly be - and that's because Christmas itself is on a Sunday. Next year though, Christmas will be on a Monday, which will mean that the season of Advent will only be 22 days long. So next year 6 of our ornaments will have to be cut from the rotation. Which ones will they be? Decisions, decisions. (Glad I have a year to figure it out.)
2. I reserve the right to change my mind. It's a work in progress! Already there are ornaments/stories that I don't like and want to swap out for ones that I do. (What do we call this? The woman's perogative? 😉 ) For instance, last year I made a baby Moses in a basket-boat ornament, which I actually really like! But in terms of story-telling, it makes much more sense to just tell the story of Moses at the burning bush (and use that ornament) and add another ornament/story in somewhere else.

Since this isn't a crafty how-to kind of post, I'll cut right to the chase. Wherever possible, I'm reading the story from the Jesus Calling Bible storybook, but when that fails then I'm just reading the story straight from the Bible. My audience is a 2 year old and a 4 year old though, so pictures really help, and I really like the artwork in the Bible storybook.

First Week of Advent

Sunday - Isaiah 11:1-10 - the Jesse tree stump
Monday - the Creation story - world
Tuesday - Adam, Eve and first sin - apple
Wednesday - Noah and the flood - ark
Thursday - God's promise to Abraham - field of stars
Friday - Abraham offers Isaac - ram
Saturday - Jacob & Esau - 2 twins

Second Week of Advent

Sunday - Jacob's ladder - the ladder (duh!)
Monday - Joseph - many-colored coat
Tuesday - Moses - burning bush
Wednesday - the first Passover - lamb
Thursday - God gives the 10 Commandments - 2 stone tablets
Friday - Samuel anoints Saul as king - crown
Saturday - David and Goliath - slingshot

Third Week of Advent

Sunday - Elijah and the widow - oil jar and sack
Monday - the story of Ruth - heart
Tuesday - the calling of Isaiah - tongs with coal (I still have to make this one!)
Wednesday - Jeremiah - tears
Thursday - Jonah - whale
Friday - Daniel captured by Babylon - plate of veggies
Saturday - Daniel and the lions' den - lion

Fourth Week of Advent

Sunday - Gabriel appears to Mary - lily
Monday - Mary visits Elizabeth - rose
Tuesday - John the Baptist - seashell
Wednesday - Joseph, protector of the holy family - hammer
Thursday - the wise men - star
Friday - Jesus, creator-redeemer: John 1:1-18 - ChiRho
Saturday - Jesus, born in a stable - manger

So there you have it! Does your family do a Jesse Tree? Are there stories/ornaments that I really should have included that I missed? I would love to hear your thoughts!