Last year, for the first time, I made the kids a daily advent calendar full of easy activities and books. It ended up working out really well, especially since I often feel trapped and uninspired by the dark days of December. And the daily "presents" kept the kids focused on the every day, rather than constantly obsessing over December 25th. So this year I decided to recreate the magic, while learning from a few of last year's "fails." For example, wrapping and regifting Christmas books we already owned really bored the kids, so this year I checked out all new winter and holiday books from the library. Oh, and if the timing of everything seems odd (for example - why so many reading days in a row?) it's because of other activities we have scheduled throughout the holidays. For example, reading days = busy days.
As always, I tried to keep everything pretty thrifty because we still have Xmas to contend with.
So the countdown begins:
December 1 (Sat) - Make Santa's Beard Advent Calendar with cotton balls (more on this, hopefully, next Tuesday)
December 2 (Sun) - Make Christmas paper dolls, using free printables from this site; Xmas stampers for T
December 3 (Mon) - Read Great Joy
December 4 (Tues) - Paint and Read Oh Christmas Tree
December 5 (Wed) - Decorate Your Own Christmas Stocking
December 6 (Thurs) - Family Movie Night I (Mickey's Christmas Carol)
December 7 (Friday) - Christmas Coloring Books (Christmas Doodles for F, Barbie a Perfect Christmas for P, and Trucks for T)
December 8 (Saturday) - Special Christmas Coupon for a Small Gift
December 9 (Sunday) - Read Fancy Nancy's Splendiferous Christmas
December 10 (Monday) - Read Harold at the North Pole
December 11 (Tuesday) - Read Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight?
December 12 (Wednesday) - Dover $1.50 Sticker Books
December 13 (Thursday) - Family Movie Night II (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the old, wonderful cartoon version)
December 14 (Friday) - Make Stained Glass Ornaments
December 15 (Saturday) - Make Baking Soda Ornaments (recipe here)
December 16 (Sunday) - Make Felted Acorns (using this kit)
December 17 (Monday) - Family Stargazing (With Glowsticks) and Read Snow
December 18 (Tuesday) - Make Snowflakes and Read The Story of Snow
December 19 (Wednesday) - Hot Cocoa with Marshmallows
December 20 (Thursday) - Family Movie Night III (Despicable Me, recorded for free from ABC Family)
December 21 (Friday) - Celebrate the Solstice With Friends and Read Winter Solstice
December 22 (Saturday) - Felt Frenzy Craft Kit
December 23 (Sunday) - Read Mary Engelbreit's The Nutcracker
December 24 (Monday) - Read A Pirate's Night Before Christmas
I Love Mickey Xmas Carol!! It was our favorite as kids. Also, I have to check out Dover for that Truck Coloring Book.
ReplyDelete