An activity advent calendar for all the family

This must be about our sixth year of making an activity advent calendar, and we still love it as much as ever! Even the girls who are now all teens/tweens were eager to make sure I was making one again this year!

I love it – it’s a great way to spread the festive fun throughout the month, and gives us a fun activity to focus on each day. Ours is a mixture of the simple – decorate the tree, make reindeer food, watch a movie, go the Christmas Market – to crafty activities – baking Christmas tree brownies, painting ornaments, making popcorn garlands… some are date specific [such as the market, and our trip to see the lights in Liverpool this year} others can be any time.

The hardest part for me is fitting the activities to days – our weeks are so hectic in the run-up, trying to organise it takes military precision – especially for ones when all six of us need to be present at one time! I think I’ve cracked it for this year – I can’t wait for them to start opening it on Sunday.

Here are a few examples of things that you could put inside it;

1. Take an evening walk  look at the Christmas lights
2. Read a Christmas Story
3. Make Christmas Paper Dolls
4. Make a Gingerbread House
5. Celebrate the Solstice
6. Make a button ornament for the tree
7. Make paperchains
8. Go to a Christmas Market
9. Make Cinnamon Ornaments
10. Go out for Hot Chocolate
11. Make Bottle Top Snowmen
12. Decorate the Tree
13. Make Reindeer Food
14. Bake Christmas Cookies
15. Make a window garland
16. Make paper snowflakes
17. Watch Christmas cartoons
18. Make Christmas cards
19. Make Paper Lanterns
20. Swap me for the Christmas Eve Box
21. Organise a Secret Santa with your family
22. Go to the winter funfair
23. Go Christmas Caroling
24. Go to a Christmas Concert
25. Watch the Nutcracker Ballet
26. Make Christmas Playdough
27. Make Snow Globes
28. Decorate Pine Cones to make a table centerpiece
29. Make a Pine Cone Birdfeeder
30. Have a living room dance party to a Christmas album
31. Unwrap and read a new Christmas book
32. Check your shoes on Saint Nicolas Day – {December 6th [Leave the kids a few sweets hidden in their shoes.}
33. Watch ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’
34. Watch Elf
35. Watch The Polar Express
36. Watch The Grinch
37. Watch A Christmas Carol
38. Watch Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
39. Watch It’s a Wonderful Life
40. Make a Poinsettia Bouquet
41. Make thumbprint snowmen
42. Colour some Christmas pictures
43. Make thank-you cards for after Christmas
44. Hang some mistletoe and give everyone a kiss
45. Make a popcorn garland
46. Decorate a wreath
47. Visit Santa’s Grotto
48. Deck the halls with boughs of holly
49. Make footprint reindeer
50. Make salt dough ornaments
51. Go to a Panto