YAY CHRISTMAS!
Long time readers will know this is a big deal in our home and for those of you who are newer, follow my Instagram account to see what our month-long celebrations (as my husband calls them) are all about 😉
One long standing tradition is our 25 days of Christmas activity calendar. In addition to our other advent calendars (I have an addiction) we have been doing a family activity calendar since our kids were toddlers/babies.
It began in 2009 (when I read about it from a fellow blogger here in Ottawa – thanks Andrea!) and since then, it’s become a beloved tradition. Every year we update the list a little bit based on our own family’s plans, and as the kids grow. There are some that stick around every year because we love them, and others are there because to be honest, they are easy.
As with other years, here are some tips I’m sharing about creating your own activity calendar:
a) Don’t put dates on the activities. You may need to switch them up once and a while if something changes, illness hits etc.
b) Stock up on the stuff you need for each activities like hot chocolate or craft supplies.
c) Check your family calendar and add in activities to the 25 Days countdown list that you already know you’ll be doing – like Santa letters or a family visit. This list is also created in close consultation with my calendar based on days of the week– some activities can’t be done easily on a weekday so I made sure they were on the weekend. I also know the weekend we are planning to get the Christmas tree, so I can add that in accordingly, etc.
What’s most important about this calendar isn’t that you put too much effort into crafting the perfect activity, it’s that as a family you come together and take a few moments each day to celebrate and spend time doing something together that is festive, fun and family oriented.
That’s probably why I love it so much.
This calendar reflects the age and stage we are at now, but if you search ’25 days of Christmas’ on my blog search bar you’ll find all our other years so if you have toddlers and preschoolers, you can use some of the ideas we had back then. For example, this one from 2013 was when the kids were 7 and 4.
One final note: What’s up with the singing?
You’ll notice my list has a few spots where the activity for the day is to simply sing a Christmas song. My son has requested these be removed but nope – they stay. Why? Because honestly, some days are busy, or tiring, or I’m just overwhelmed so having a few ‘freebie’ days means that we still get to do an activity, but it’s extremely simple. It works!
As much as I love the holidays, I’m also a big fan of slowing things down, so when it gets to be too much, give yourself permission to skip a day (or just sing a song!)
Here are our activities for 2019. Please feel free to take any for your own list that you think you and the kids will love!
- Decorate the tree
2. Write and mail letters to Santa.
3. Watch a Muppet Christmas Carol, the Holiday Movie Kick Off
4. Set up a special hot chocolate bar
5. Make paper snowflakes
6. Check out GLOW (I’m an ambassador this year!)
7. Sing Jingle Bells
8. Go to Chateau Montebello!
9. Write a special Christmas greeting to your sibling and mail it to them (it will be a nice read when they receive it!)
10. Buy and Bring toys to Toy Mountain
11. Dessert for Supper, Supper for Dessert!
12. Go for a drive to see Christmas lights at Taffy Lane.
13. Go to Cumberland Village of Lights!
14. Make a list of ten things we are thankful for. Hang it where you can see it every day.
15. Make holiday wreaths
16. Decorate Christmas cookies!
17. Deliver Christmas cookies to friends and family
18. Deliver food to the local food bank collection.
19. Sing We Wish You a Merry Christmas! (This is Star Wars DAYYYYY)
20. Last day of school! Pick a family dinner spot!
21. Make a ginger bread house!
22. PJ DAY (with hot chocolate of course)
23. Bring in snow and make maple taffy!
24. Unwrap one present (mom and dad get to pick which one)
25. It’s Christmas Day. Remember you have a family who loves you. And that’s the most important gift of all.
Terrific idea. Fun and simple. I can’t believe Christmas is just around the corner!
thank you! We always have so much fun!
Thank you for sharing these wonderful ideas! I used some of them. My kids were so happy to do a ginger bread house! We decorated it as well!
so happy to hear that!