A favourite Christmas tradition in our family is our Advent Calendar. I bought it on a whim years ago at the grocery store of all places, and it is our most beloved Christmas decoration! Its just a simple wooden tree made of 24 little doored boxes, but for our family it is so much more. I like it because it’s a beautiful decoration, and its NOT filled with chocolate — my kids like it because there is a new surprise to discover each morning!
Instead of filling each box with a sweet treat, I fill them with a variety of Christmas themed activities cards. Over the years, I lost a good number of the original cards I had made. Last year I resorted to scratching out activities on pieces of scrap paper the night before — but this year I’ve got a whole new set of cards, ready to go!
If you’re looking for Advent activity ideas, here’s what I included on our cards:
- Watch a Christmas movie
- Decorate tree
- Make Christmas craft
- Family games night
- Wrap Christmas gifts
- Bake cookies
- Make snow angels
- Make Christmas cards
- Go tobogganing
- Go skating
- Carol sing
- Make a snowman
- Make pomander balls
- Bring cookies to a neighbour
- Donate to a local food bank
- Create nativity story play
- Bring socks & mittens to homeless shelter
- Make paper snowflakes
- Dress in red & green
- Go on a Christmas lights drive
- Watch The Nutcracker Ballet
- Snuggle up with a stack of Christmas books
- Make Christmas ornaments
- Make pinecone bird feeders
- Make a Christmas carol recording and post/share by email
I also made a few blank cards, in case I come up with any additional ideas 🙂
Does this sound like something your family would enjoy? If so, then download your own set of 24+ Advent Activity Cards. I hope you have fun using them, and they become a treasured family tradition for your family too — its so important to build your family culture!
Don’t have a advent calendar? Not a problem! You can use your cards to make a paper chain, or check Pinterest for a plethora of homemade Advent calendar ideas!
Do you have any advent activity ideas that I missed? Share them in the comments below!
These are wonderful! I love them. We will be printing these and sharing your post! Thanks so much!
I’m so glad you like them — enjoy!
What a great idea! I have been wanting to do something similar this year, so I’m happy to have found a great list of ideas!
Oh I love custom-made cards. They’re beautifully done.