26 Nov, 2008
Activities for your family advent calendar
Posted by andrea tomkins in: Easy ways to make kids happy
Subtitle: Because memories last longer than a sugar high.
I’ve had a couple people email me, wondering what kind of activities would be best for the Family Advent Calendar.
I like mixing it up with things we need to do anyway – like pick out our tree and decorate the house – and others that just make for some easy (and cheap!) holiday fun.
Off the top of my head:
- write and mail our letters to Santa
- cookie baking and decorating
- share some of our baking with our neighbors
- buy/set up the Christmas tree (this counts for two days for us (1) picking the tree (we get a live one) and (2) decorating it the next day (it always needs to defrost first!)
- a neighborhood night walk with our DIY lanterns
- buy a gift for charity (we like Toy Mountain)
- choose a gift from the World Vision catalogue
- write/decorate our Christmas cards
- Christmas crafting! Marble magnets, beaded bobby pins, paper chains, paper snowflakes etc.
- toboganning
- ice skating at the local arena
- rent snowshoes and feed the birds
- “fancy dress” at dinnertime
- paint toenails
- host a tea party
- visit Santa
- find some puppets and make up a bedtime story
- write a story and “publish” it
- Is the sky clear? Do some star gazing.
- make edible gifts for the squirrels and birds
- make a list of ten things you are thankful for. Hang it where you can see it every day.
- dessert before dinner
- go for a drive to see the Christmas lights downtown
Looking for other kinds of events? If you’re in Ottawa-Gatineau you may already be familiar with Kids Ottawa? This website is an excellent resource for events/activities in our region. If you can’t find something to do in their extensive holiday pages, well, I don’t know what to tell you.
As for the big days, the 24th and 25th, I think I’ll keep the same activities as last year:
24. Unwrap one present after dinner (mum and dad get to pick which one).
25. It’s Christmas Day. Remember you have a family who loves you. And that’s the most important gift of all.
What say you? Anything else to add? Help me brainstorm and come up with some really good ideas!
