My son is almost begging me to start our Advent Calendar even before Halloween has ended. A family advent calendar doesn’t have to be a monumental task that leaves you feeling so overwhelmed you end up doing nothing. It also doesn’t have to be a store-bought one either! If you have always wanted to make your own Christmas countdown calendar, here are some simple and fun homemade advent calendar ideas you will love.
ADVENT CALENDAR IDEAS FOR KIDS
FAMILY ADVENT CALENDAR
The last thing you need for the holiday season is another activity that makes everything feel more rushed and busy!
I had always wanted to put together an advent calendar for my son but was neither crafty nor well-prepared. I don’t think you need to be either with some of these fun and easy advent calendar ideas I am going to show you right here.
An advent calendar is a fun and simple way to countdown to Christmas Day. Great for impatient kiddos who keep asking is it Christmas Day yet!
You can make your advent calendar as long as a short as you like. Traditionally, advent lasts for 24 days, from the 1st of December to the 24th.
There is a small bit of prep for these advent calendar activities but not a whole lot! Some require printing a few pages and setting up the Christmas activities!
I like simple, using what I have, and I like to pick up a few things at stores I am already going to, namely the grocery store. So these advent calendar ideas below are just that! Budget friendly, simple and super easy to set up.
Plus, YOU REALLY DON’T HAVE TO DO SOMETHING HUGE EVERY DAY!
There are plenty of times when I simply left out a packet of hot cocoa and a baggie of mini marshmallows and that was good enough! Or I decided to declare a pizza day and have a picnic by the Christmas tree. That one is always remembered.
My son loves the planned advent calendar activities as much as he loves the crazy unplanned ones I throw in as well. Each morning he can’t wait to check the spot to see what will be happening that day.
Below you will find a list of simple ideas you can throw in to make your homemade family advent calendar fun and easy to pull off.
CHRISTMAS ADVENT CALENDAR IDEAS
1. PRINTABLE ADVENT CALENDAR ACTIVITIES
Get these cute and colorful printable advent calendar envelopes and activity cards. Fold along the dotted lines to create the envelopes (see the images below) and add in an advent calendar activity for each day.
Grab this FREE printable Advent Calendar idea today!
2. PRINTABLE CHRISTMAS GAMES
How about a fun Christmas game each day instead of a treat? You can grab our inexpensive 25 Days of Christmas Countdown pack here and have more than enough advent calendar activities for the whole month of December.
Perfect for kiddos ages kindergarten to 3rd grade or as needed. (Future updates will be sent to you as well!)
Includes coloring pages, bingo, simple crafts, games, and more!
3. PLANNED ACTIVITY OR OUTING
Getting your tree? Make it your countdown activity for the day. Write it on the card!
4. ADD AN ELF {BUT NOT A CREEPY ELF}
Do you have an elf to enjoy with your Christmas countdown activities? I don’t mean that creepy elf either! Just a friendly one that hangs out to enjoy the season.
I purchased a small {inexpensive $3} one after we started our advent calendar, but this year he will be arriving on the 1st. Our elf is wrapped below. In the past we have also purchased these awesome kindness elves. I am so excited about these little elves!
5. USE WHAT’S AVAILABLE
You can base your family advent calendar activities off the items in your house, the places you will go, and the activities you already do. Plus you can add a few new fun things based on your available time.
6. NO JUNK PLEASE
What I did not want to do was end up buying a bunch of junky little novelty items that would just get strewn around the house. I want our countdown activities to be meaningful, family-centered, and hands-on!
For example; science activities, LEGO building, family adventures, and experiences that will be remembered and asked for again and again. Hopefully passed on to future generations too!
7. KEEP IT SIMPLE
You do not need a Pinterest-worthy setup for your Advent calendar DIY. This thinking can derail your chances of setting up your own pretty quickly.
Some items that make it fun include a mini fake Christmas tree, small paper bags, gift tags, and cards. You can pick up these items or get creative with what you have. I have pictures of everything below too.
8. MAKE IT HOMEMADE!
Some of the fun ideas or themes for your countdown calendar could be…
- Have a Christmas book countdown! You can absolutely rewrap your own books or head to the local thrift store to grab a few new ones for surprises. This is a great way to build your Christmas library each year and then put them aside for future generations.
- Add our Christmas STEM Challenge countdown cards to a bin of themed supplies to encourage engineering and creativity all month long.
- Grab the LEGO and dig into our DIY LEGO Advent Calendar with printable projects!
9. CHALKBOARD SIGN
Use a small chalkboard easel with the day’s number on it for your family countdown calendar. Leave out a special treat, a note about what you are going to do that day or a new Christmas book or movie to watch.
This is really the simplest way to incorporate what you would do anyway into a Christmas countdown calendar!
10. ARTIFICIAL TREE
First, check out our Christmas tree idea for our Christmas Countdown Calendar with a science theme. We used an artificial tree with clothespins and numbered cards with activities written on them. You can also combine it with the activity below! Alternatively, clip a card to your large Christmas tree every day!
11. PLASTIC ORNAMENTS
This year we planned a Christmas countdown calendar as our advent calendar idea. This calendar includes a free set of printable pages with the challenges.
All the challenges use simple supplies that you can get easily or already have. I used plastic refillable ornaments! You can hang one a day on your tree or present a few at a time to pick from.
Plus, you can use the ornaments for gifts too! How about filling up one with LEGO bricks, winter essentials, or even slime!
12. PAPER CHAIN
A classic paper chain advent calendar is perfect for Christmas jokes! This simple countdown calendar features 25 days of Christmas jokes perfect for kids. Plus, it’s quick and simple to make!
You can also try out our Christmas-themed Paper Chain STEM Challenge! Click here to grab a copy.
13. CHRISTMAS BOOKS
You could do 25 days of Christmas books too! Wrap a new book each day, and enjoy reading together as a family. I have seen calendars filled with new books and ones filled with the holiday books already owned.
It’s a fun way to remember the books you have and add them to your collection as well. Add hot cocoa, marshmallows, and cookies. Or add a fun new place to sit each day and read the book together like on the floor by the Christmas tree.
14. RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS
Print out this Random Acts of Kindness Advent calendar by Coffee Cups and Crayons. Pair it with these awesome Kindness Elves with their own set of 25 kindness ideas. It’s a great way to get kids into the true spirit of Christmas that lasts year-round!
Our new kindness elves are perfect for leaving out all year long. We like to incorporate many of these kindness activities into our Advent Calendar as well. A favorite is taking cookies to the local police and fire stations.
15. ONLINE ADVENT CALENDAR
Not exactly a homemade advent calendar but definitely a Christmas countdown calendar for busy families! My friend steered me in the direction of this cool online Christmas calendar her parents send to her daughter. Check out the beautiful Jacquie Lawson Advent calendar.
There are fun things to see each day of this advent calendar. Plus I am told that it’s nighttime if you check during nighttime hours and daytime if you check during daytime hours based on your location. I will be signing up!
MORE CHRISTMAS FUN…
2 Comments
Comments are closed.