a homemade advent calendar…

Every year I love to make the kids an advent calendar that they wont forget. It isn’t just about the treats, but also about the things we will get up to over the month of December. Every day I put a different task in the pocket that we have to do together. They love it. They can’t wait to open the next envelope to see what that day brings. Mark and I always make a real effort to make sure that we complete each one with them (believe me when I say they don’t let us forget). I think my highlights over the years have been the walks in the dark with our torches, the games nights and the making of mince pies together. I know they will be memories to treasure forever. December gets so busy with Christmas do’s, pantomimes, school plays, that I love that these little slips of paper make us slow down and enjoy some time together.

Here are some of the activities I include within my envelopes:-

-Let’s read and sing The 12 Days of Christmas together

-Let’s take a walk and look for wintry items to decorate the house (branches/holly for a vase, ivy/berries for greenery)

-Let’s read The Night Before Christmas together

-Let’s talk about what makes us happy and what we are thankful for

-Let’s have a family games night

-Today let’s all sing our favourite Christmas carols together

-Today let’s have dinner in a restaurant

-Let’s play Christmas music and all dance together after dinner

-Let’s make home made pizza for dinner and all watch a Christmas movie together

-Tonight at dinner let’s say 3 things about each family member that we love about him or her

-Today let’s go for a drive/walk around the neighbourhood and look at all the Christmas lights

-Let’s go for a long walk together and take bread for the ducks/food for the animals

• Let’s write letters to the people we are grateful for telling them why we are grateful for them

-Let’s decorate the tree today

-Let’s have a picnic around the Christmas tree

-Let’s collect some books and toys and donate them to those in need

-Let’s drink hot chocolate and read Christmas books in bed together

-Tonight let’s get our torches and go for a walk in the dark

-Let’s make a Christmas card for someone very special

-Let’s bake some Christmas cookies and give them out to our neighbours in pretty packaging

-Let’s cut out paper snowflakes and decorate your bedrooms with them

-Let’s talk about charities, pick one and make a donation

-Write down our names on paper, fold them up and put them in a bowl. Everyone pick a name and make something special for him/her for under the Christmas tree

-Let’s draw Christmas pictures for people we love

If you have some more ideas I would love to hear them and maybe include them in this years calendar. Here are some of my favourite make your own advent calendars.

Shelley x