I can’t believe it’s nearly Christmas already! This year has gone so fast and our smallest family member is almost 1! The kids are very excited to put up the tree and can’t wait for the 1st of December because they get to start the advent calendar. We love Christmas here, so we do Christmassy things for the whole month of December. When my eldest daughter was 2, I made this advent calendar…

It has been well loved ever since. Each year I write down some new things to put in the pockets. Activities, art, cooking, singing, reading, anything goes really. Some years we have done a lot of involved activities and it gets a bit tiring. This year I am keeping it simple! We will probably do more things than are on this list throughout December, but at least I’m not committing to anything huge every day! This is what I have planned…

Advent 2014

1. Make an advent wreath.
2. Why do we put a star on top of the Christmas tree? Paint some star pictures today. Go star gazing tonight.
3. Make some Christmassy play dough today.
4. Go outside and collect some natural materials. Use them to create some Christmas decorations.
5. Do something kind for someone today.
6. Today is St Nicholas Day. Learn about the real story of St Nicholas.
7. Have a Christmas story night and read all of your Christmas books together.
8. Christmas is about giving. Today, pick some toys to donate to a charity.
9. Read about the 3 kings (wise men). Make and decorate a crown.
10. Make a Christmas card to send to someone in your family.
11. Bake a Christmas treat!
12. Pick a country from your map and learn about how people there celebrate Christmas.
13. Make a gift for a friend.
14. Make your own wrapping paper.
15. Invite some friends over for some Christmas art.
16. Read a Christmas story and then dress up as a nativity character and act it out.
17. Who was the first Angel in the Christmas story? Do some angel inspired art/craft today.
18. Watch a Christmas movie.
19. Spread the Christmas spirit! Leave a little gift for the postman today.
20. Learn the words to a Christmas carol.
21. Write a list of things you are thankful for.
22. Call someone in your family you haven’t seen for a while, just to let them know you’re thinking about them.
23. Sit down with your family and talk about how your year has been, and what you want to do next year.
24. Go and look at Christmas lights tonight. Read ‘The Night Before Christmas’ before bed.
25. Merry Christmas! Have fun celebrating with your family.

What we’re reading

We LOVE Christmas books and seem to be getting quite a collection now. I recently got them all out of the box so we’ve read a couple already but will be reading lots more in December. We will also be following this advent reading plan that uses the Jesus Storybook Bible (my favourite ever kids bible). Here are a few of our most loved Christmas books (click the images to read about them on amazon)…

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We also have these nativity figurines that the girls love and use to act out what we have been reading.

Do you celebrate advent with your kids? I’d love to hear about it!