Christmas activity advent calendar

[DitaVonCheese]

I read about this last year somewhere, probably on MN somewhere! The idea is that rather than having a normal advent calendar where you open a door, you get given a Christmassy activity to do each day. I love the idea but am struggling to think of 24 different Christmassy things to do - can anyone suggest a few? So far I have:

1. Decorate the tree (could drag this out by buying tree on a different day I guess!)
2. Watch a Christmassy film (again could make this work for a few different days)
3. Go carol singing
4. Erm do some Christmas baking - actually have just found a recipe for old-fashioned candy canes online so that could be fun
5. Um ...

Oooh what a lovely idea I must have missed this over Christmas past on MN. What about...

Bake gingerbread men
Write the Christmas cards and then another day take cards to school or hand post/stick in post box
Send Santa a letter
Write Christmas list (probably better to do this before you send Santa his letter)
Have a couple of different films to watch - The Grinch, Santa Clause, The Polar Express etc that would kill a few days
Read a Christmas story
Make a Christmas decoration (depending on the age of your children) I was thinking cotton wool snowman or cut a bell or candel shape out and glue/stick lots of different shiney squares to it
Go for a Christmas walk and look at the various decorations
Go to a Christmas event (School Christmas fair, late night shopping event with activities going on etc)
Church for a carol service
Visit Santas grotto (again age dependant)

I shall keep thinking as I think I going to do this as well

We have not necessarily Xmas themed things, particularly to do things with Daddy because he makes a special effort to make time at Xmas. So 'go swimming with Daddy', 'go to the cinema with Daddy' etc. And some things are like vouchers to be saved, not necessarily to be used on that day.

I do forfeits:
What did the three wise men bring?

What do you think the Wise men would bring today?

Name three things you need to make Christmas pudding?

Sing jingle bells backwards?

Name three things that glitter?

Imitate a turkey?

Do 5 star jumps

Think of 3 words that rhyme with "Yule"?

Think up the next line of this poem:
At Christmas time the thing I like the best

Name 3 plants or trees associated with Christmas?

Name 3 animals or birds associated with Christmas?

Name 4 reindeer?

Sing a Christmas Song

Name 5 carols?

4 3-letter words from Christmas?

4 3-letter words from stocking?

Name a carol with someone's name in the title?

Name a song with Santa in the title?

What was given on the 9th day of Christmas?

In the 12 days of Christmas - how many birds altogether were given?

Name two animals in the traditional nativity scene?

Make a snowflake out of paper?

Tell the story of the first Christmas in less than a minute?

Name 5 Christmas foods?

Make something to hang on the Christmas tree?

Think of 3 names for father Christmas?

And these are some on MN previous years:
Decorate a tree outside with nuts and fat and toast for the birds, plus a star on top

"We're thinking of all the people in the world who won't have somewhere nice to sleep on Christmas day like Mary and Joseph"

read the Christmas Story

Go ice skating

put out some bird food / hedgehog food

Make salt dough decorations

Make a christingle

bake stained glass biscuits to decorate the tree with

Track Santa (for Christmas Eve)

Read a Christmas book (How the Grinch stole Christmas)

Make gingerbread house.

Collect pinecones, leaves and twigs to paint and turn into a centrepiece.

learn to sing a new carol and sing it to your parents

make paper snowflakes

learn the words to a Christmas song or poem and recite to Dad when he gets home

write a Christmas haiku

Make mum a cup of tea

Make a bookmark

Choose a charity to donate old toys to

Decorate Xmas cake.

Tidy bedroom

Make Xmas cards or maybe crackers if you are feeling inventive.

Go to Carol service

Go to christingle service

Go to nativity

write letter to Santa

make mince pies

make christmas cards

collect christmas tree

wrap presents

decorate christmas tree

buy present for local children's xmas appeal

watch christmassy film

make fudge

go shopping for christmas food

make christmas decorations

write christmas cards

Go for a walk with a torch

Visit Santa's Grotto
"Look under X and find the present" (another MNer suggested this on antoher thread)

make card for Nanna

make card for Daddy

Make some crackers?

Learn a new christmas song

Learn a christmas joke

paperchains are fab

Do a Christmas kindness each - just aim to do something for someone else that is just kind. Like buy the person behind you in the queue their coffee or help someone to carry their shopping or something else similar.

Make non-alcoholic mulled wine, lots of recipes online.

Email Santa

Go and look at the christmas lights on all the houses nearby.

go for a walk and pick holly

drink hot chocolate and watch a film (polar express)

walking around you local estate at night to view christmas lights..(if it applies, we have some very dedicated christmas enthusiasts around us)

christmas play/panto

make mince pies

fly kites

ditto the reindeer food, dc's love it

make wreath or spray

make wrapping paper or xmas decorations

bake mince pies

fill a shoebox for a xmas shoebox appeal

learn about how another country celebrate xmas (depends how old your dc are)

visit santa

Or take some biccies to the local retirement home/salvation army?

Make some reindeer food (porridge oats and glitter in a little jar).

go to church for a carol service?

put on Christmas Carols/Music and have a dance

make a Christmas present for dad

go out and collect holly and fir

Make a christmas card

stick cloves in oranges

make xmas decorations

cook some fudge/coconut ice for rellys

decorate xmas biscuits

Wow, thanks Katy!

It's not my own work; so I can't take the credit

But thanks

You took the time to find and post it for me though :)

Thanks, no problem

Bumping this as most useful, thanks KatyMac

Such a lovely idea! I (as posted on my thread) am planning on doing an advent calendar with wooden/fabric drawers, but I would love to incorporate some activities in there rather than just stuff - this is a very inspirational thread :)

Maybe I could put a note in the drawer with "IOU one make-a-snowflake session" or something :)

Excellent timing - just what I needed to read!
When my son's first xmas loomed I was big on the idea of spreading it out over the month and making sure the focus wasn't just on getting xmas presents. So had grand plans of thoughtful advent activities each day. However my initial planning stalled, and I seem to get caught out each year as I forget that after the end of November comes the 1st of December aka Advent Calendar Commencement Day. It's been a silly scramble and I'd like to make this years work. Some great ideas there, and really no excuse for me to not have 24 ready to go!

Other ones I had noted down (not done of course) were:
Paint everybody's toenails in Christmas colours.
Make gift tags.
Hold a family disco (I think this would be fun, perhaps with another family joining, some pizza, some christmas songs, some disco and dancing about)
Purchase a present, wrap and give to charity (the ones where you choose a child of certain age, so DC can help choose would work well).
Have a picnic for dinner (perhaps a green and red theme...)
Make gifts for teachers or family (bookmarks, photo frame type thing)
Make Christmas crackers
Make Christmas presents for the pets (baked bone biscuits, decorate cat bowl, or maybe a nice hat for the cat. Cats love dressing up)

I had some Christmas colouring things last year, that were obviously too big for the calendar, so I did a little treasure hunt with the first clue inside the calendar door, and then a couple of more clues which led to it stashed under the couch.

Some great ideas on this thread. I was going to do the Advent calendar this evening so glad I found it. Most of my ideas are already on here I think.