Jesse Tree Printable Ornaments for Advent (Free!)

Use our printable Jesse tree ornaments to trace the lineage and events that lead to the birth of Christ.

If you’re looking for a fun and intentional way to celebrate Jesus the month of December, the Jesse tree activity is one you must try.

It’s a great way for your family to trace the Gospel narrative across the arc of Scripture: Creation, fall, redemption and restoration.

With the Jesse Tree, you can see God’s plan for humanity unfold as the whole story ultimately leads to Jesus.

Vertical graphic with image of ornament hanging from a branch and text "Printable Jesse Tree Ornaments"

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What is a Jesse Tree?

Since we learned about the Jesse tree concept a few years ago, it’s been a Christmas tradition we’ve really enjoyed.

The idea is one that is adjacent to Advent: to anticipate the coming of Christ in the days leading up to Christmas.

You can do this lots of different ways (and we have a whole post on Advent Ideas here.)

The Jesse tree tradition centers around the prophecy about Jesus found in Isaiah 11, starting in verse 1:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The chapter goes on to describe the qualities and purpose of a Savior to come, one that will descend from the house of David (the son of Jesse).

Hence- the family tree of Jesus becomes visualized by an actual tree that you will decorate as your “Jesse Tree”.

Jesse Tree symbols on printed ornaments on white wood background.

How it works

There are lots of different ways people have used the Jesse Tree concept in their Christmas celebration and family devotions.

In general, the idea surrounds symbols that represent the people, prophecy and events that point toward the Savior.

So each day – in our case, for 30 days – we read a passage of Scripture and place our Jesse Tree ornament on a tree that corresponds with the passage read that day.

You can make your own ornaments out of felt (a popular choice), buy a set online, or simply print our free Jesse tree ornaments! Keep reading for details.

Jesse Tree Ideas

In this tradition, you don’t necessarily need a Christmas tree to hang your Jesse Tree symbols.

Some people use a simple branch (or more than one), lining up the symbols as they go across the branch.

You could also clip them up with clothespins or paperclips across a piece of string or twine on the wall, or across a window.

Two Jesse tree symbols clipped to a twine strung across a wall.

We have a funny little Charlie Brown Christmas tree that just has a few branches, and we often use this as our Jesse Tree.

Three paper ornaments with Jesse tree symbols hanging from a sparse branch.

Other times, we just put them on our big Christmas tree. If we get it up by December 1st, that is!

I leave it up to the kids as to what they want to do each year. It’s really fun thinking of new ways to display our Jesse Tree.

How to incorporate the Jesse Tree Tradition

This is a really easy advent activity you could do any time:

In your homeschool “morning time”
During meal times (when you have their undivided attention!)
After dinner / during family devotions
With kids in your Christian school or Sunday School

If you’re wanting to do this in a kids’ ministry or Sunday School setting, it would be a little different, as you probably wouldn’t be able to do all 30 days. (Unless you started in June!)

I would suggest choosing a handful of the key events or people that you want to emphasize in Scripture, ending with the birth of Jesus.

Printed Jesse Tree symbols on cardstock ornaments on a white background with natural winter decor.

Free Printable Jesse Tree Ornaments

This is a project I’ve had on my list for a while now!

We’ve made our own Jesse Tree printable ornaments, and here’s what I love about them: the Scripture passages are printed right on the ornaments!

This means you don’t need a special Devotional to follow with these readings, or a separate handout to keep track of.

We’ve even numbered our ornaments to make it really simple to follow the Scripture reading for each day.

There are 30 ornaments, so you will go through nearly the whole month of December with this activity.

OR, you can start a few days prior to December 1st, if you want to end your readings exactly on Christmas day.

Simply print on cardstock, cut out, and (if desired), use a hole punch and some twine or string to hang them.

I’ve also included a page of decorated ornaments that you can paste to the back of your symbols, if you’d like for them to be double-sided.

Our Jesse Tree printable ornaments are free for our blog readers (for now!). Simply click the link in the Instruction card below to print.

Yield: 30

Printable Jesse Tree Ornaments

Use our Jesse Tree printable ornaments for a new Advent tradition with your family!

Materials

Cardstock
Twine, string or ribbon
Small (or large) Christmas tree, OR branch or twine strung across a wall or window with clothespins

Tools

Scissors
Hole Punch
Glue Stick

Instructions

Print out the Jesse Tree Ornaments here.
Cut out each ornament.
Attach a decorated ornament template to the back of each Jesse Tree ornament, if you want them 2-sided. (Will need to print multiple of these)
Use a hole punch near the top of each ornament and attach twine, string or ribbon to each one.
Starting with ornament #1, read the Bible passage listed on the ornament; then place the ornament on your tree, branch or twine. Repeat for days 2-30.
You can start on November 26 if you want to end this activity exactly on December 25th, or start on December 1st and go through the 30th.