Last year I was introduced to the idea of using The Jesus Storybook Bible throughout Advent. Each Old Testament story points directly to the coming of Jesus. Starting December 1st, we would read one story each night and with each reading, the excitement for Jesus’s birthday grew in all of our hearts.

It was exactly what I was hoping for and we will most definitely be using The Jesus Storybook Bible for bedtime devotions throughout Advent again this year.

But we like to do fun, hands-on projects each day of Advent as well. We’ve enjoyed the Advent calendar we used the past two years, but I felt like a change was needed. I just wasn’t sure what else to use that would be appropriate for a three-year-old and five-year-old.

And wouldn’t you know, the exact thing I was looking for fell into my lap.

Impress Your Kids is one of the BEST blogs out there for activities to do with young children that will help impress the Word of God on their little hearts. The genius behind IYK, Amanda, is also the woman behind Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands.

After one look through this brand new ebook, I had no doubt it would be the hands-on part of our Advent calendar this year. Each day involves reading a portion of the Christmas story from the Bible and making an adorable ornament craft to go with the story.

But there is much more than that…

I try to leverage this Jesus-centered month by helping my kids meditate on and learn the real story of Jesus’ birth.

First of all, getting little ones to sit still and actually LISTEN, even for a short story, can be a challenge. Truth in the Tinsel includes word clues for each day – the kiddos can either take the clue from your Advent calendar or off a paper chain and then listen for that clue in the story! Brilliant!

Secondly, the ornament-making is not only a fun, meaningful way to decorate your tree, it also provides an opportunity for you to talk more with the munchkins about the story of the day. And wouldn’t you know? Truth in the Tinsel provides a “Talk About It” section for each day to help guide the conversation!

This is an adventure for families to learn the story together. It’s an experience with the greatest story every written and the greatest gift ever given—God’s own Son, Jesus the Christ!

A few more features that make this ebook everything I could have hoped for for Advent…

*A full supply list – One page listing ALL of the supplies you will need for all 24 days of activities. So handy for shopping ahead!

*A daily supply list –  This page makes it easy for you to plan ahead and gather your supplies for the next day. We all know kids do NOT like to wait!

*Step-by-step instructions WITH pictures & templates – I really appreciate pictures that show me EXACTLY what to do and templates I don’t have to create myself 🙂

*Ideas for doing more together each day – The story and craft for each day should take less than 30 minutes, but you can take it further with ideas in the “Do More Together” section for that lesson!

*Alternate schedules – This is where many of you will want to give Amanda a great big hug. Activities for ALL 24 days of December can sometimes be too much. Truth in the Tinsel offers ideas for scheduling if you only want to do six, seven, or ten days of lessons. It doesn’t HAVE to be done 24 days straight to mean something to your children!

I’m giddy with excitement over this book! I cannot wait until December 1st arrives, the boys pull the first word clue out of the Advent calendar and we begin our journey toward the birth of Jesus.

And I am very excited to tell you how you can get this book for yourself!

This 45-page ebook is well worth the low price of $4.99! I think you will want to use it every year – and your kids will want to do it every year!

Please do NOT miss this ebook! And to connect with other families taking the Truth in the Tinsel challenge, “like” the Facebook page and tweet with the hashtag #truthtinsel!

And a GREAT BIG CONGRATS to my dear friend Amanda on this amazing ebook – I know many families will be blessed by it! You rock, girl!

{Now go buy the ebook!}

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