How to Make an Activity Advent Calendar

In 5 simple, easy to follow steps.

Photo by Bianca Ackermann on Unsplash

In the build up to Christmas, my Instagram feed seems to be over run by ads. It is worse than usual. And you know what? They sometimes work…

I never knew I needed that sparkly candle stick but I do now. That kind of thing.

And the one thing that seems to be enticing me the most, is advent calendars. I’m not talking your traditional cute little picture behind a paper door. No. These advent calendars are in another league. Off the scale. Even, in some cases, costing a lot more than what I have budgeted to spend on Christmas presents for loved ones. So, I become a bit overwhelmed.

Do I really need a calendar with all my favourite (or not so favourite) beauty products?

No. Of course I don’t but it would be a nice treat if I had the money to spend on it.

I will tell you what works well for us.

An activity advent calendar.

Not for everyone of course and some may even be rolling their eyes as I type, at the prospect of me adding yet another “to do” to your list.

So how about, I provide some ideas on what to do IF you are interested? But if you would rather not add to your burden of Christmas overwhelm then skip through. You really don’t need the added pressure it’s fine. I get it.

You could maybe share this post though with someone who may enjoy it?

In 5 simple steps I will share with you how I create an activity advent calendar as well as provide some activity ideas to get you started!

Step 1 - Cut up pieces of paper.

See, nice and easy…

Cut up pieces of paper to fit inside whatever it is you are going to use for your calendar. It is up to you how you decorate these but just as an idea, you could use Christmas stamps, pens or everyone’s favourite…glitter!

Step 2 - Write a different activity on each piece of paper.

A few ideas for you:

• Decorate the Christmas tree after school.

• Choose pick'n'mix sweets for pudding.

• Watch the Snowman / Snowman and the snow dog in the dark.

• Eat party food under the tree.

• Drive to see Christmas lights.

• Help others have a better Christmas and take food to the food bank.

• Play a big family game of hide and seek.

• Go for a wintery walk with snacks.

• Read bedtime stories in mummy and daddy's bed.

• Have a games night.

• Write Christmas cards.

• Bake gingerbread.

• Shadow puppets before bed.

• Christmas bath with bath bomb and glow sticks (Home Bargains is great for these).

• Make your own Christmas story with drawings.

Step 3 - Find a suitable calendar to hide the activities in.

Again it is completely up to you how you present this but what I will say is, if you are going to buy a calendar with boxes etc look at it as being an investment piece. This calendar will be reused every year and can be filled with different ideas each time.

There is a lovely wooden one from JoJo Maman Bebe for £20.

Or a range of fabric ones on Etsy from £10.

Or, better still, if you have someone in your family with a certain set of skills, could they possibly make a one for you? Perhaps as an early Christmas present? (This is the one we use.)

Step 4 - Plan ahead.

Now you have your calendar and all your activities added to it, you may think you can now relax. Well, you nearly can. But first I advise you do a little bit of prep work. I am speaking from experience when I say that your future self will thank you for it.

If, for example, you have planned the disco bath with glow sticks, make sure you have the glow sticks ready to save rushing out that day to purchase them. Just as an example.

Remember the great thing about the activity calendar is that you can fill it with lots of FREE ideas if you wanted.

Step 5 - Welcome in the 1st of December with excitement and anticipation.

Hopefully, with a wee bit of forward planning, you can embrace the build up of the festive season with some joy and excitement along with your children.

I really believe that we can create our own traditions and shouldn’t feel compelled to “do everything”. Enjoy the season as much as your children.