Jesse Tree Printable Advent Ornaments with a 25-Day Scripture Reading Plan

A Jesse Tree walks through the story that leads to Christmas, one Bible passage and one symbol a day from December 1 to Christmas Day. This printable set has all 25 round ornaments, each with a Roman day numeral, a black line symbol, a title in small capitals and its reading reference, and a reading plan with a King James key verse for every day. The discs are aged cream with a scanned paper texture and a double gold ring, ready to cut, punch and hang.

What a Jesse Tree is

The name comes from Isaiah 11:1, which promises a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a Branch growing out of his roots. Jesse was the father of King David, and Christians read the verse as pointing to Jesus, born of David's line. Medieval churches showed this family tree in stone and stained glass. The Advent custom turns it into a daily reading: each day the family reads one passage, talks about it and hangs the matching symbol on a branch or a small tree. By Christmas Day the tree holds the whole story, from Creation through Abraham, Moses and David to the prophets, and finally to the manger in Bethlehem.

Twenty-five readings from Creation to Bethlehem

The plan starts in Genesis with Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob's ladder and Joseph's coat. Exodus follows with the burning bush and the Ten Commandments, then Joshua, Ruth, David, Solomon and Elijah. The prophets come next: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah and Micah's promise about Bethlehem. From day 19 the readings move into the Gospels with John the Baptist, Mary, Joseph of Nazareth, the angels, the shepherds and the wise men, and on December 25 the reading is Luke 2:1-7, the birth of Jesus. The ornaments carry only the reference. The reading plan page gives each day's passage with a King James key verse, and the full passage is read from your own Bible.

Cream paper, gold rings and line symbols

Each ornament is a 3.25 inch disc in aged cream, made from a real scanned paper texture, with a fine double ring in gold just inside the edge. At the top sits the day as a Roman numeral in oxblood red, from I to XXV. The symbol in the middle is drawn in a single black monoline, such as a globe for Creation, an ark, a ladder, a lyre for David or a star for the wise men. Below it the title is set in true small capitals with the reading reference underneath, for example Genesis 28:10-22. A small gold mark shows where to punch the hanging hole. The same paper look runs through the shop's Names of Jesus Advent cards and vintage Christmas scripture prints.

Printing, cutting and hanging the ornaments

Choose the US Letter or A4 ornament PDF to match your paper and print the five pages on 200 to 300 gsm cardstock at 100 percent scale with fit to page turned off. Each page holds up to six ornaments. Cut along the fine gray line with scissors, or use a 3.25 inch circle cutter, using the four small registration marks around each disc as a guide. Punch a 1/8 inch hole at the gold mark and thread a loop of jute twine through it. Hang the ornaments on a branch in a vase, a small tabletop tree or a ribbon garland. The ZIP holds every ornament as a separate 1050 x 1050 pixel JPG at 300 DPI, useful for reprinting one that got lost.

What is included

The 25 days

Frequently asked questions

What does each day's reading include?

The ornament shows the reference, for example Exodus 3:1-15 for the burning bush. The reading plan page lists the same passage for each day with one King James key verse to read aloud or memorize. The full passages are not printed, so the family reads them from its own Bible, which takes a few minutes a day.

Do I need a circle cutter?

No. Scissors along the fine gray line are enough, and the four small registration marks around each disc show where the line runs. A 3.25 inch circle cutter gives perfectly round edges faster if you have one. Cardstock between 200 and 300 gsm keeps the ornaments stiff enough to hang without curling.

What are the separate JPG files for?

The ZIP contains all 25 ornaments as single images, 1050 x 1050 pixels at 300 DPI. Use them to reprint one ornament that went missing, to arrange your own print sheet, or to send a few to a photo lab. The PDFs remain the easiest way to print the full set at the correct size.

Can our Sunday school class use the set?

Yes, the license covers personal and family use or a single classroom, so one teacher can print the ornaments for the class. Please do not resell the designs or share the digital files with other classes or churches. Each additional classroom that wants its own files needs its own purchase.

Does this set include coloring pages?

No. These are finished ornament designs with the cream paper look and gold rings. For children who want to color their own, the shop offers a separate Jesse Tree coloring set with 25 outline ornaments in the same order, which works with the same reading plan.