Our Jesse Tree

My husband and I made our first Jesse tree this year. If you're not familiar, an Advent Jesse Tree is a collection of Scripture and devotions that can be read daily to prepare your heart to worship Christ at Christmas. There are ornaments that can be hung on a tree that coincide with each daily devotion. We're reading The Advent Jesse Tree by Dean Lambert, illustrations by Ginger Meador. You don't have to buy a book to use the Jesse Tree as part of your Christmas celebration. There are tons of free resources online.

We decided to make our own ornaments this year. I bought some glass ball ornaments, and had originally planned on cutting vinyl to place on them, but my first attempt looked a little scary. Then my husband had this idea. We photocopied the illustrations in the book we're reading (with permission), cut them into circles, and placed them inside the ornaments. If you're an artist, it would be pretty awesome to draw your own illustrations!

To make your own, you'll need:

clear, round ornaments

circle cut- outs of the illustrations (we used the end of a cup as a stencil)

a pencil, or long stick- like object

Take the top off of the ornament.

Roll up your illustration and carefully slide it inside the ornament.

Use a pencil or stick to uncurl the drawing.

Voila!

We're using a small, 3 foot tree to display our Jesse Tree ornaments. I'm really looking forward to celebrating the gift of God's Son this year, and teaching Gibson about the Joy of Christmas!