24 Simple Advent Activities

Fear not friends!

 While today is December 1st, if you have yet to fill 

your advent calendar, you are not alone.  

I am putting the finishing touches on ours this evening.  

I found that most of our activities fell within 6 categories:

craft

movie

event

silly

treat 

giving

{Craft}

tree trimming, ornament decorating,  snowglobe making 

{Movies}

check out ABC Family's 25 days of Christmas programming guide

{Event}

zoo lights, polar express train ride, holiday town celebration

{Silly}

one of our favorites...

and another.

{Treat}

baking Christmas cookies, making Jesus a birthday cake,

celebrating any half birthdays during advent

{Giving}

simple acts of kindness 

The organization of this list two dozen things just made it easier on me to add in our favorites and traditions, but also include some new things for the year.  

For us the events usually fall on the weekend and the rest during the week, movies often on Friday nights.  I also use the silly day on our busiest schedule day of the week, i.e. every Wednesday is silly day.    

1.   zoo holiday lights celebration

2.  mail letters to Santa 

3.   read about the candy cane and enjoy one as a special treat

4.  {movie night} jack frost and ice cream sundaes for dessert

5.   do something special for someone in our family to say "I love you"

6.  make and decorate ornaments

7.   town christmas celebration and tree lighting

8.  polar express to the north pole

9.  make snowglobes

10. spreed some cheer to our neighbors

11. find mom for a silly break 

12.  gaze at the same stars and moon as they did on the night of Jesus' birth

13.  make candy cane playdough

14.  holiday lights drive and slumber party by the christmas tree

15.  family bowling

16.  half birthday treat and church christmas pageant

17.  {movie night} gather all the Whos in Whoville to watch how the grinch stole christmas

18.  a silly surprise will appear before your very eyes, say frosty 3 times!

19.  {movie night} polar express and hot! hot! hot! chocolate bar

20. write down your gift to Jesus this year and place in our special box

21.  dinner by candlelight to mark the longest night of the year

22.  make your favorite cookie for santa

23.  bake Jesus' birthday cake

24.  Christmas Eve! open your WEAR present

In addition to this family focused advent calendar, 

we will have our Jesse Tree and devotionals to follow along with daily.  

We also do a Christmas book advent every night like this one.

While my boys are not quite ready for a full on 

charitable advent calendar I love these 25 ways to pay it forward.  

What are some of your family's favorite advent traditions?

peace,

:: michelle ::