21 Nov, 2008
Twenty five days of Christmas: a challenge
Posted by andrea tomkins in: Easy ways to make kids happy|File under crafty|Yaktivism
Ha. Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? It isn’t meant to, really. This should not be overwhelming. It’s really just twenty five days of organized, customized fun. Are you up for it? I hope so. My kids loved this so much. I can’t wait to do it again.
Here’s how it works:
1) Make a Family Activity Advent Calendar using some scrapbook paper, old Christmas cards or some jolly old wrapping paper. Scroll down this post for a free template and instructions.
Non-crafty types, don’t fear! Making these is much easier than you think.
2) Sit down with your agenda or family calendar (preferably in a quiet spot!) and flip forward to December. This is where the organizing part comes in. Figure out what holiday fun needs to get done and the best times to do it. For example, you probably need to get your Christmas tree, visit family, go to a party, decorate the house, bake cookies, wrap and deliver gifts for charity etc.
Keep these few tips in mind:
- These activities are supposed to be fun and family-oriented.
- Consider leaving “shopping” off the list.
- Do the bigger tasks early in the month (I learned this the hard way).
- Mix it up with some cheap and kid-friendly fun activities: building a snowman, go stargazing, go sledding or skating, paint everyone’s toenails, go swimming, make paper snowflakes, make hot chocolate etc. (The post I mentioned lists everything we did.)
- And here’s the challenge part … take a photo of your advent activity every day (no matter what!) and post it to the Family Activity Advent Calendar (2008) Flickr group. That way we can all see what we’re doing. And if I’m the only one doing it, well, you’ll get to see what I’m doing. :)
I guess I’d better get started, huh? I can’t believe December is almost here already.
