Advent Calendar Ideas

One of our Christmas family traditions is to select an activity for every day of December leading up to the big holiday. On December 1st, Jackson writes his letter to Santa. We always pick one night to drive to see Christmas lights. And decorating gingerbread houses is an absolute must! All of our activities get tucked into this adorable mitten garland, and Jackson pulls out a new activity every morning.

You may have seen other advent calendar lists online before, so I wanted to share some of our favorite unique ideas that might be new to you! Maybe they'll become some of your favorite advent traditions too!

1. Make Gifts for the Birds

We love watching the birds gather at our feeders all winter long! This is a simple project to do as a family to make sure your feathered friends get a little extra treat at Christmas.

Materials

• Cardboard tubes

• Peanut Butter

• Knife

• Birdseed

• Yarn or twine

• Scissors

How to make it

Spread Peanut Butter all over a cardboard tube.

Roll the tube in bird seed until fully covered.

Thread the tube with yarn and hang in a prominent spot for your bird friends!

2. Make a Grinchy Snack and Watch the Grinch Together

How cute are these easy (and healthy) fruit kabobs?! This is a great, simple recipe for your kids to make because it doesn't require a sharp knife to slice the fruit! Jackson (5) made these almost completely by himself.

Ingredients

• Green grapes

• Banana, sliced

• Strawberries, tops removed

• Mini marshmallows

• Toothpicks

How to make it

Thread fruit onto a toothpick in this order - grape, banana slice, strawberry, marshmallow.

Plate your snack, curl up under a blanket and watch your favorite version of the Grinch!

3. Make Your Own Ornaments

We make ornaments every year, but this is our first time making these absolutely adorable yarn letters! They are so simple and inexpensive to make, and the entire family (even my husband!) enjoyed making them! These make beautiful ornaments but would also look great at stocking tags or even gift toppers!

Materials

• Thin cardboard - such as a recycled cereal box

• Scissors

• Pencil

• Hot glue gun

• yarn and twine in whatever colors you like!

How to make it

Draw or trace large letters onto cardboard and cut out. We made the initials of everyone in our family, including the pets!

Using a hot glue gun, attach the end of your yarn or twine to the cardboard letter.

Begin wrapping the yarn around the letter, keeping the yarn as tight as possible without bending the cardboard. In order to cover the entire letter, you'll want to wrap the yarn in both directions, horizontally and vertically. If needed, use a tiny dot of hot glue to keep the edges from unraveling

Once the cardboard is completely covered, secure the end of your yarn with a dot of hot glue. Using a short piece of the same yarn or a contrasting color, make a loop and glue to the back of your letter.

Seriously, how cute are these?? My husband said, "You know I don't like to craft, but these are fun!" I take that as a major Christmas win!

And how adorable do they look as Christmas stocking tags?

I think I will be making these for everyone I know this year! Along with twine and yarn, you could also use thin ribbon to make these.

I hope you find some inspiration here! Do you have an advent calendar you use every year? What are your favorite advent or Christmas activities to do as a family? Share in the comments!

From my family to yours, we wish you a season filled with love, health, and lots of joy!

xoxo, L, T, J, F, J, & E