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.
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Super fun, Maureen! I love all these ideas!
That is such a great idea! Probably better than chocolate:)
Hi Maureen,
I LOVE the advent calendar from your husband’s mother. Did she make it? If she purchased it somewhere, I would love to know where. I would love to get one for our family. Your ideas are great and I hope to follow your lead next year.
Brooke
She gave it to us probably 4 years ago. I believe it came from TJ Maxx. Unfortunately, I don’t see a manufacturer’s tag on it, but I recently saw some at Pottery Barn Kids that were pretty cute.
Great ideas, Maureen! Thanks for sharing!