The holiday season is upon us, and like most mothers I am busy looking for ways to make it a special time for my kids.  We are a young family, and now is the time when traditions are started and memories are made.

To recognize the ~25 days of Advent I typed up some simple cards with Christmas-themed activities to do with the kids.  I tucked a card into each day on the hanging advent calendar my husband’s mom gave us.  Every day Evie and Mack pull a card and we read the card together.

What I like about this idea is that it can easily be applied to more than just Christmas.  Eight activities during Chanukah. A week’s worth of family fun in honor of Kwanzaa. A month of memories for Ramadan. Its about spending time with family.

Here’s a sampling of what we have planned for the holiday season:

December 2: Find two nice toys to donate to children who do not have any toys.

December 3: Do chores around the house to earn some money for the red kettle outside the grocery store.

December 10: Christmas cookies! Cornflake wreathes

December 11: Watch a Christmas movie in the afternoon with homemade popcorn.

December 18: Do chores to earn money to buy Christmas presents for your siblings.

December 20: A special trip with Dad to the Christmas market at Daley plaza.