Planning and putting together an Activity Advent Calendar for kids doesn’t have to be stressful or leave you wondering what you got yourself in for. It can be a cosy evening spent listening to old Christmas songs with a glass of something bubbly, writing out a few simple joys. It just takes a couple of simple things you probably have tucked away in your home, and these simple Activity Advent Calendar ideas.
I’ll take you through what I do, and it’s always one of my favourite evenings of the year. (If it still feels like too much, I’ll suggest a couple of alternatives that don’t involve doing the leg work at the end… because, y’know, life sometimes.)
I feel like Christmas has lost it’s magic for a lot of mums – and it absolutely doesn’t have to be that way! An Activity Advent Calendar can bring the magic back.
I get it, we want to make it wonderful for our children, which leaves us with a thousand things to dash around doing while everyone else enjoys themselves. It’s our job to make the magic now, after all! No pressure *gulp* That was me for a few years after having kids, but having firmly decided that I want to enjoy the season too:
I’ve realised that preparation is the key to me not only surviving but enjoying motherhood.
An Activity Advent Calendar doesn’t have to leave you burnt out and covered in glitter in the wee hours of November 30th (though I don’t actually mind a little sparkle myself, tis the season, after all) It can just be a way to ensure the holiday doesn’t go flying by leaving you in the dust wondering where December went, with the ideas of what you wanted to do as a family as just that… ideas. It’s a lovely way to make memories together without getting overwhelmed.
Here’s a how-to guide with everything you need to plan a simple, fun and memorable Activity Advent Calendar.
Beautiful Christmas journal is from Emily Rollings
What You’ll Need for your Activity Advent Calendar
An Advent Calendar with pockets – we have this beautiful handmade one. It was an investment, but I can picture it being used for generations! If you don’t have one/ are on a budget, you could always look for a cheaper alternative or even use brown paper envelopes!)
Something to write with (something sparkly works beautifully… using sparkly gel pens sends me back to being a child myself. Remember when you were the cool kid if you had scented gel pens?!)
Any festive extras you want to include – I’ll give you examples of what I include throughout the activity advent calendar ideas, but don’t worry if you don’t want to add anything.
Before You Begin
Take a few minutes to think of your favourite festive memories – both from your childhood and your years as a mother. I bet none of them involve big presents or flashy outings… the moments that last tend to be smaller. Make a note of any of them to inspire you in your list.
Look at local websites/newspapers/magazines and make a note of any festive activities happening near you throughout December that you would like to include. These are often the switching on of the town’s lights, special church services, plays and so on.
Take a look at your own family calendar and make note of any events you have on – you don’t want to plan a significant activity for when you’re due to be at Grandma’s birthday or your child’s football match!
How To Make An Activity Advent Calendar
First of all, I really recommend writing everything out on paper/the notes of your phone. There’s nothing more annoying that realising you’ve got half way through any numbered activity and have to redo it all, or get to day 24 and realise you’ve got three other things you really wanted to squeeze in! I don’t write numbers on them for that very reason (it allows me to keep a couple of back-ups that say ‘Watch a Christmas Movie’ for swapping in on the tiring days) but if you’re going all out with swirly numbered calligraphy numbers – please do a draft first!
Here’s our Activity Advent Calendar for this December – you could use all of it and make it work for your family, or just use it for inspiration:
1. Snuggle up in your new festive pyjamas to watch The Santa Clause together This works perfectly for the first day every year as we do our Christmas Eve boxes on December 1st to get the use out of everything in them… we call them December Boxes. There’s more on putting these together here
2. Write your letters to Santa – don’t forget to make them sparkle! I’ll include a little packet of golden star sprinkles and glitter pens in with this note. Again, these aren’t necessary at all, they’re just a lovely little extra! I always order some special stationary from a small shop called Polar Post for the children to do this. It’s got so many wonderful things, definitely worth a nose through!
3. Listen to The Snowman on your Yoto Player Now of course, this only applies if you have a Yoto Player (it’s a screen-free audio device that puts children in control of being able to listen to their favourite audiobooks!) I’ll include a new Christmassy Yoto Card in with this note, but you could always read a book together or listen through your phone. A lot of libraries have apps where you can rent audiobooks for free!
4. Let’s go and pick our Christmas Tree! My personal favourite and definitely my fondest moments from my childhood – I can smell fresh pine needles just thinking about it.
5. Decorate the Christmas Tree! You could include a bauble/tree decoration in this pocket if you wanted to add a little gift to each day.
6. Do your Christmas Sticker Books! I tend to pop these in their December boxes when they’re older children, but it might be worth holding them back until you want to use them for younger children. Last year my two year old covered herself from head to toe in stickers within minutes!
7. Make/write your Christmas Cards! Again, the approach to this depends on the age of your children. If you have a crafty three year old who will only be sending a card to their grandparents, this could make for hours of fun! If you have a school-aged child who is sending a card to 40 other children and all their teachers, it might be better to have them write some shop-bought ones and make a special one for their best friend… otherwise you might still be crafting well into January.
8. Bake some festive biscuits! You could even make this into a Christmassy Family Bake-Off/ decorating competition.
9. Have a special bath with a festive bath bomb! This one always goes down a treat in our activity advent calendar, with the added bonus of having sweet-smelling children for the rest of the day!
10. Make hot chocolate with all the trimmings & snuggle up to enjoy with your book advent! We’re talking whipped cream, marshmallows, chocolate sprinkles – the works! I’ll link the perfect hot chocolate recipe here.
11. Let’s do some Christmas Colouring! The perfect quiet time around a table with some seasonal colouring books while listening to It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas. Some crayons or colouring pencils would make a lovely little addition with this note!
12. Listen to The Nutcracker on your Yoto Player – can you dance along to the music? Now, with my eldest two, we would make a night of it by going to see the Nutcracker ballet, but as that really doesn’t sound feasible with my younger children, we will make our own version a home!
13. Make reindeer food ready to sprinkle outside on Christmas Eve! Mix a few spoonfuls of oats with some biodegradable glitter and Rudolf will be a happy reindeer when the 24th rolls around! Divide between small brown paper bags and it’s a lovely little activity to do before bed on the big night.
14. Make paper snowflakes and decorate your bedroom windows. They’ll be so pretty to look through when real snow falls!
15. Build a gingerbread house! Do not panic. Honestly, stop panicking – I know you feel like I’ve betrayed you with my stress-free promise! Fear not, I will link a simple kit here that takes away the work but none of the fun. Deep breaths.
16. Use dry clay to make some new Christmas tree ornaments! This stuff is magic. Don’t forget to poke a hole through the top of your creations for string to hang them up and carve the date into the back so you’ll remember every time you decorate the tree. Such a glorious pang of nostalgia.
17. Let’s do a festive jigsaw together!
18. We’re going to meet Santa today – dress up warm, we’re going on a train to his workshop! Trial and error has taught me to book this months in advance. If you’re reading this and haven’t, here’s your reminder to do it now!
19. Have a family game night with a festive twist! You don’t have to go and invest in a whole new cupboard of board games to pull this off. Try Pictionary with a Christmassy theme, Christmas Bingo and Scrabble where you can only use Christmas words! Even Twister wearing reindeer headbands is hilarious, or a mince pie eating contest!
20. Go for a nighttime drive to look at the Christmas lights. This is my four year old’s absolute favourite in our Activity Advent Calendar. The children have their dinner and baths, get into their pyjamas and slippers, then we get into the car with flasks of hot chocolate. *Make sure it’s drink-through-straw ones!* We have Somewhere In My Memory on the car stereo as we drive through the local town, and it’s just wonderful. They’re all asleep by the time we get home, and it’s just one of my fondest memories of motherhood. Of course, you could go for a walk and do the same – the car just feels so cosy with toddlers.
21. Go ice-skating! I’m terrible, which adds to the hilarity of the situation. I have ended up in hospital twice as a result though… once because I was attempting to follow my five year old. Utterly mortifying but certainly memorable! A lot of towns put up temporary ice-skating rinks during the holidays, which are much more affordable and lovely to watch from the hot chocolate stand.
22. Make paper chains to hang over the dinner table – ready for Christmas Dinner!
23. Let’s light the log burner and make s’mores! If you don’t have a log burner or fire pit, and don’t want to start a campfire, there are some wonderful little kits enabling you to s’more until your heart’s content. I’ll link one here!
24. Hang your stocking and get ready for Santa! He’ll love a glass of milk and mince pie waiting for him, and don’t forget carrots & your reindeer food – pulling a sleigh is hungry work!
And finally:
Take loads of pictures. Don’t worry if things don’t always go to plan. Enjoy it! The point of an Activity Advent Calendar is to create memories, not stress.
A couple of alternatives…
If you’re looking to do something even simpler, you could make a list of 24 Christmas Movies and make each night of December a home cinema night (we have this projector and it’s one of my favourite things… cushions on the floor and everyone watching the wall)
Or
You could follow the book How Winston Delivered Christmas. It’s a beautifully illustrated book with a lovely story of a mouse who needs to save Christmas. It’s designed to be read a chapter a day throughout advent, with a festive activity for each day.
*Tip: Whichever you opt for when planning an Activity Advent Calendar, make sure you get any supplies in in advance. It will avoid a great deal of stress!
Let me know in the comments if you’re going to give it a go, or if you already do and have some ideas I haven’t included – I’m always looking for inspiration!
Disclaimer: This post may contain some affiliate links, though all photos and opinions are completely my own.
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