DIY Jesse Tree
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Looking to make a DIY Jesse Tree this year? Here’s what you need to know to create a fun and easy Bible activity to do with your kids.
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In the beginning was the Word. Jesus. He was there at the beginning of the World.
Contrary to what movies and modern media might portray, the coming of Jesus was not an afterthought. God had planned to send His Son from the very beginning.
While Christmas is the time to celebrate this coming and the welcoming of the baby Jesus, He is more than a baby. Let’s not leave Him in the manger, but let’s teach our children how Jesus is in and through the Bible from the very start.
What’s a Jesse Tree?
The Jesse Tree tradition goes back 100s of years, often times portrayed on the walls of a church, in stone, wood, or stained glass, it tells the story of Jesus’ family tree, going back to the beginning.
A modern day Jesse Tree at home is an advent calendar of sorts with a Christmas tree ornament for every day in December leading up to Christmas Day.
Several years ago a friend gave us a set of handmade Jesse Tree ornaments. There are 25 ornaments in the set that symbolize and trace God’s promises of the Messiah and/or his lineage from Creation to the New Testament. It is called a “Jesse Tree” since Isaiah 11 refers to Jesus as the “root of Jesse.”
(Jesse was the father of David, who we know was an ancestor of Jesus.)
How do you do a Jesse Tree at home?
There are several ways to celebrate this tradition at home, but the basics are the same:
- read a scripture
- discuss Jesus’ presence in the story and/or the significance of this part of scripture to the overall gospel message – if you’re not sure, there are plenty of guides out there to help you.
- hang the symbols on the tree each day through December.
Some people have a separate Jesse Tree, often a branch in a pot where they hang the ornaments each day. We chose to place our Jesse Tree symbols, or “Jesus ornaments” as they’re called around here, on our Christmas tree, in order to make them central to our celebrations.
It’s always a great way to start conversations when visitors ask why you have a fiery furnace ornament on your tree!
For many years, I wrapped the ornaments individually on Thanksgiving weekend and marked them with the corresponding day of the month that we should open it. Then each day of December we opened one little package and had a devotional time learning about that symbol.
Some years, the kids just fished around in the storage box until they found the right symbol for the day.
What are the Jesse Tree Advent Symbols?
Jesus and the promise of the Messiah can be found everywhere in Scripture, so there are different lists of Jesse tree symbols and meanings to choose from. I’ve found lots of overlap between books over the years.
To make things simple for you, I created a free printable that you can use to follow Jesus’ family tree.
- Creation – a globe or model of the earth, or the moon and sun
- The Fall – an apple or other fruit with or without the snake
- The Flood and Re-creation – an ark
- God’s promise to Abram – a camel and a tent
- The Sacrifice of the Son – a lamb
- God’s promise to Jacob – a ladder
- God’s provision through Joseph – a coat of many colors
- The Giving of the Law – a tablet with ten numbers
- The Promised Land – a cluster of grapes
- The Redeemer – a sheaf of wheat
- The Shepherd King – a slingshot
- The Rediscovery of the Law – a scroll or Bible
- The Root of Jesse – a stump with a fresh shoot or green leaf
- The Prophecy of the Lion and the Lamb – a lion and a lamb
- The Prophecy of the Prince of Peace – a dove and a crown
- The Prophecy of a Gentle Shepherd – a lamb and a shepherd’s staff
- The Prophecy of the Suffering Servant – a cross
- The Prophecy of the New Covenant – a heart with writing on it
- The Prophecy of Bethlehem – a miniature Bethlehem with star
- The Exile – a fiery furnace
- The Return to the Land – a brick wall
- The Star to Guide Wise Men – a star
- The Light of the World – a candle or light
- Angels Announcing His Coming – an angel
- The Coming of Christ – a baby in a manger or the nativity scene
To get the printable, just subscribe to my email list below. Once you confirm your subscription, you’ll get the details for accessing my free printables library.
DIY Jesse Tree Ornaments
My original set of DIY Jesse Tree Ornaments was from a friend back in 1998 who had participated in an ornament exchange for the purpose of creating Jesse Tree ornament sets. She already had a set, so she gave one to me.
In the last 25 years, the ability to DIY Jesse Tree ornaments has only increased. There are loads of books and guides with patterns you can follow. Last year my daughter created several of the ornaments in this crochet Jesse Tree guide.
I’ve also found loads of commercial ornaments that suit the themes for each day and have added those to our collection over the years. It’s pretty easy to find sets and kits on Etsy, too.
Jesse Tree Books
There are many books now that provide readings and explanations for the symbols on the Jesse Tree.
The two I prefer are these:
The Advent Jesse Tree by Dean Lambert Smith – this provides devotional readings for kids and adults and seems the most straightforward. It’s an old book, originally published in 1988!
The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean – my kids preferred the storytelling in this book, particularly when I used different voices for the boy and the carpenter.
A DIY Jesse Tree is a great thing to add to your Advent celebrations with kids, so mark it on your Christmas bucket list – even if you start after December 1st. Imperfect Adventing is the only way to go.
This post was originally published on July 22, 2008. It has been updated for content and clarity.
What do you think?
I’d be honored if you chimed in the comments section. What do you think?
We also do christmas in july! i used to think my mom was nuts for doing it but we always had a good time with it!
One tradition we have is to find baby jesus (my mom hides him from the manger scene) and sing him happy birthday before we do any presents to remind ourselves of the real meaning of christmas plus its always fun to see who finds him first!
we also did an advent calendar with tootsie rolls and someones name on it to pray for that person that day and it gave the kids a treat!!
Keeping the focus on the coming of the Savior is my tool for keeping Christmas simple and delightful.
Last year, a dear friend gave us the Proclamation Ornaments from Adrian Rogers’ ministry. We put up a 3 foot artificial tree on top of our piano, and called it our Messiah tree. We did a new ornament and corresponding devotion every night .
Just the other day, my 6 yr old was talking about something he learned from one of those devotions. I can’t wait to do it again!
Dawn
I try to ‘adopt’ someone else to buy gifts for through a non-profit – last year was some tween girls, once a single mom and baby, once a senior…
I’ve been searching to create our own holiday traditions. I like this one: we make a paper chain of twenty-five links. On each link we write the name of a friend, family or cause. Each night in December, we break a link and pray for that person/issue. It’s a good countdown to Christmas that keeps us focused on others, rather than the chocolates/candies in the advent calendar (not that I’m opposed to chocolate…).
I’m glad you’re doing this now..very smart of you. It’s forcing me to plan ahead when I typically cannot see past today. 🙂
Hmm…I’m not the queen of organization. I keep things rather simple here, meaning don’t have a whole lot of clutter and don’t go all out with gifts.
What’s helpful: green and red bins for my christmas decorations and I limit myself to 2 bins. If I buy more things or receive them, I have to get rid of other things in order to make room in the bins I have. I won’t buy more bins for more stuff…this keeps clutter at a minimum.
Also, I love using fresh greens every year if I can come upon them. I don’t have to store these and I just love bringing the outside indoors esp. in the winter when getting outside happens less often.
The Jesse Tree idea is awesome! This has inspired me to start a Jesse Tree tradition with my family and for my kids (Gabriel’s 2 Christmas and it will be baby Helana’s 1st).
Soo far since my children are soo young we don’t really have a tradition as of yet but my plans are to make their hands/feet onto contruction paper and clay and to string them as garlands around the tree each year so we can see how much they’ve grown. I’m sharing this idea here but I’m blogging later on this afternoon about this and will return with the post!
But a tradition I have kept going from my childhood and now to my family is the sugar cookies every Christmas!
phillipsonlygirl at gmail dot com
I dont have a blog. I have wanted to do a Jesse Tree for a while but just dont have the ornaments yet. My “tools” for the holiday are my advent activities. We put them in a box and draw out a new activity for each day. (I spend a couple hours on the saturday before advent starts organizing them.) We do things like, bake all day, make a craft for grandparents, serve our pastors family, do a puzzle. It makes the holiday season more special.
I’ve never heard of the Jesse Tree–great post! My favorite Christmas tool is cookie related–
http://www.koalamama.blogspot.com
Where have I been? I’ve never heard of a Jesse Tree until your post. It sounds and looks great!!!! Any idea where I could find patterns/ideas on making the ornaments?
Christmas in July I love it. This year my bible study is doing a Jesse Tree ornament exchange which I am very excited about. I also love making easy homemade goodies with my sister and or friends that then will be given out in pretty tins or bags(bought after Christmas the year before for pennies).These gifts are great for neighbors, co-workers and friends, plus everyone loves a good treat.