DIY Christmas Advent Calendar

December 1st is just around the corner and every year we like to count down to Christmas Eve in a special way.

This year we made our own Advent calendar (along with their Kinder chocolate calendars – we can’t not have those ones!). We put together a list of all the activities we wanted to do together as a family before Christmas and began our new craft.

You will need:

• Christmas bowl, basket or bucket
• 24 candy canes
• white paper (or a colour of your own choosing)
• ribbon
• hole puncher
• scissors

Directions

Print out your choice of daily activities for the month. Some of them we repeated (like the crafts, cookie baking and colouring).

Cut out each item into a rectangular shape. Fold the paper in half. Using a hole punch put a hole in the top left corner.

Cut out twenty four equal lengths of ribbon.

Thread the ribbon through each rectangular note and tie each one onto one candy cane for a total of twenty four times.

Number each note making sure you are being realistic with what you will be able to accomplish for each day of the month – we knew we wouldn’t be able to build a gingerbread house during the week so these activities were saved for the weekend.

After they are numbered place them decoratively in your bin or basket and display in a prominent place in your home.

Ideas for your family activities (we repeated a couple of these because they are so much fun!):

• write a Santa letter and mail
• make homemade tree ornaments
• bake cupcakes 
• colour in a Christmas colouring book
• watch a Christmas movie with popcorn
• read Christmas books together
• bake Christmas cookies
• put together a Christmas gift for our teacher
• build a gingerbread house together
• visit Santa Claus
• have a Christmas-sing-a-long
• bake cookies for Santa
• hot chocolate and movie night
• wrap family gifts
• put on a Christmas play at home
• crafts together

Most importantly – have fun with your ideas! How do you like to count down to Christmas?