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November 28
Make and bless the family Advent wreath.

November 29
Make plans to receive the Sacrament of Penance prior to Christmas.

November 30
Kids make dinner night! Older children do the cooking; younger children set the table.

December 1
Family Movie Night: Make some hot chocolate and popcorn and settle in to watch a Christmas classic, especially The First Christmas.

December 2
Start a Family Rosary Night. Pray at least one decade of the rosary before dinner or before bedtime.

December 3
Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, priest. Pray for missionaries and all who work to spread the Gospel.

December 4
Write Christmas cards to loved ones. The whole family can be involved: older children can write notes and address envelopes; younger children can seal envelopes and affix stamps and stickers. Make sure to tell stories about the cards’ recipients.

December 5
Make Christmas decorations, such as clay or ceramic ornaments or paper or popcorn chains.

December 6
Saint Nicholas Day. (Saint Nicholas was a fourth century bishop in Asia Minor.) Leave small treats in the children’s shoes. At dinner, say a special prayer for all bishops.

December 7
Read a Christmas card at the dinner table. Prayer for the sender and, during dinner, recall stories about this person. Continue this practice each night through Epiphany (January 2).

December 8
On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, learn some of the traditional prayers to Mary in the Book of Mary.

December 9
Family Rosary Night

December 10
Family Forgiveness Night. Apologize to a member of the family you have hurt during the past year. Forgive those who have apologized to you. End the evening by sharing a sweet dessert.

December 11
Put up and decorate the Christmas tree.

December 12
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe: Share a special breakfast of hot chocolate and pan de dolce. Place some flowers (roses are traditional, but any flower is fine) before the family’s statue of Mary.

December 13
Bless and light the Christmas tree.

December 14
Bake Christmas cookies. Share some with neighbors or shut-ins.

December 15
Gather some friends and go Christmas caroling at a nursing home, homeless shelter, etc.

December 16
Family Rosary Night

December 17
Begin including the “O Antiphons” as part of your table prayer or bedtime prayers.

December 18
Finish Christmas shopping. Select at least one or two purchases for donation.

December 19
Deliver gifts to a local shelter, refugee center, or crisis pregnancy center. Rather than just dropping the package off, spend some time learning about the work of the facility. Find local Catholic Charities agencies at www.catholiccharitiesusa.org.

December 20
Wrap Christmas presents.

December 21
Write and send thank you notes to pastors, parish staff, and volunteers who worked on the Advent and Christmas celebrations.

December 22
Put up and bless the Christmas creche.

December 23
Family Rosary Night

December 24
Begin the Novena for Peace (to end on January 1).

December 25
Celebrate the Birth of Christ by attending the Eucharistic Liturgy and spending time with family and friends.

December 26
Celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family with a special family dinner. Pray the Prayer for Families before dinner.

December 27
Write and send thank you notes to some people who serve you at home, at school, in the office (e.g., mail carriers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, housekeeping staff, etc.).

December 28
Feast of the Holy Innocents. Pray for greater respect for all human life, from conception to natural death.

December 29
Family Fun Night. Children take turns choosing activities. Consider making this a weekly or monthly observance.

December 30
Family Rosary Night

December 31
Review fundraising requests from charitable groups and decide which ones you will support. Send out the checks to make the December 31 deadline for charitable deductions.

January 1
Resolve to pray as a family in the year ahead. Start today!

January 2
Today begins National Migration Week. Pray for those who journey far from home in search of peace, opportunity, and security.

Advent Calendar for Adults

November 28
Make or buy a clay pot. Put it at the center of your prayer space or near your Bible. On small slips of paper, write down the ways in which you see or watch for the presence of God in your life during this Advent. Fold the slips of paper and place them in the clay pot.

November 29
Adopt a form of grace before breakfast, lunch, or dinner to use throughout the Advent and Christmas season. Suggestions can be found in Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers.

November 30
Write your Christmas cards. Include a copy of the Prayer for Peace (link: ) or A Prayer for Families and invite your friends and loved ones to pray the prayer with your throughout the holiday season.

December 1
Pray the rosary using A Rosary for Peace.

December 2
Make your Christmas gift list. Set a limit on Christmas gift buying. Donate a percentage of the total amount spent on gifts to a local charity.

December 3
Today is the feast of St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit missionary to Asia and the Pacific. Learn three facts about Catholics today from Asia and the Pacific Islands. How has the Asian and Pacific presence influenced your local community?

December 4
Reread Sunday’s readings. What is the Gospel’s sense of time? How is the Gospel’s sense of time a challenge to our cultural sense of time during these weeks?

December 5
Reflect on the readings for this Sunday. The response of psalmist today is one of great joy in the justice of God. As you prepare for the coming of Christ, how would you characterize your response?

December 6
The virtue of St. Nicholas was his love and charity for the poor. Read short excerpts from Principles, Prophecy, and a Pastoral Response and reflect on your response to poor in the world.

December 7
Reread The Harvest of Justice Is Sown in Peace. What one action can you take as an individual, a family, a parish, and a taxpayer to sow the seeds of justice this Advent?

December 8
On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, identify in what ways Mary is a model of holiness for you. Examine some of the traditional prayers to Mary in the Book of Mary.

December 9
Adopt one of the spiritual works of mercy from Penitential Practices for Today’s Catholics as part of your Advent journey.

December 10
Put up and decorate your Christmas tree. Bless it using the “Blessing of a Christmas Tree”.

December 11
Celebrate Eucharist at a Spanish-language or bilingual Mass on the eve of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

December 12
Reflect on today’s Gospel. How do you respond to the question, “What should I do?”

December 13
Light a candle in your home or at a Church and pray for the blind on this memorial to St. Lucy.

December 14
Today is the feast of St. John of the Cross. What are the calls and “costs” of discipleship today?

December 15
Pray the rosary using the A Scriptural Rosary for Justice and Peace.

December 16
Today is the first day of the nine-day celebration of the posadas, when the difficult journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem is reenacted. As you hear the figurative “knock on the door,” how do you respond to the question, “Is there room at the inn?” and welcome the strangers at your door?

December 17
Sing O Come, O Come Emmanuel, the sung version of the O Antiphons, as part of your prayer. Each antiphon addresses Christ using a Scriptural title. One of the seven antiphons is prayed each day from December 17 to December 24.

December 18
Reread the second reading from last Sunday. In what ways in your ability to patient weighed down by anxieties, fears, or other burdens?

December 19
In Sunday’s Gospel, we hear of Joseph’s trust in the Lord. How do you demonstrate to others your trust in the Lord and your willingness to do God’s will?

December 20
Make a list of the ways in which, like Mary, you have said “yes” to God’s presence in your life.

December 21
Collect old, usable clothes, non-perishable food items, and unused toys and donate them to a local shelter or charitable organization.

December 22
Pray the rosary using Unity in Diversity: A Scriptural Rosary. Identify the migrants in your community and how you can be a more welcoming community during this Advent.

December 23
Finish wrapping your Christmas gifts.

December 24 Begin the Novena for Peace (to end on January 1.)

December 25
Celebrate the birth of Christ by attending Eucharist. Spend time with family and friends.

December 26
Write a card or letter to each member of your family. Thank them for all that they have shared with you. Send them a copy of the A Prayer for Families.

December 27
Start writing thank you notes for the gifts that you received on Christmas.

December 28
Pray for the children who have died and inscribe their names in the Book of the Innocents.

December 29
Read what you wrote on the slips of paper in your clay pot. Reflect on the experience of “epiphany” in the Gospel for Sunday.

December 30
Memorize the Canticle of Simeon and begin the practice of Night Prayer individually, as a couple, or as a family.

December 31
Review fundraising requests from charitable groups and decide which ones you will support. Send out the checks to make the December 31 deadline for charitable deductions.

January 1
Pray the Prayer for Peace with your family, friends, or colleagues before watching the parades or football games on this holy day dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Queen of Peace.

January 2
Today begins National Migration Week. Write a letter to your senator or representative on one of the current issues related to migrants.