our 2010 advent activity calendar!

It was such a hit with Maddy, Owen, and Cora that I had to do it again this year.

So here it is–our 2010 Advent Activity Calendar–the one that provides us with an opportunity to celebrate our favorite little pieces of the holiday every single day of December, leading up to Christmas Day.

Last year, it was something that got my kids jumping out of bed, brushing their teeth, and running downstairs in a hurry (seriously!) because they were anxious to see what holiday surprises were in store for them that day.

This year we made some slight changes but made sure to include some of our favorites from previous years.

• Advent Activity Calendar: The purpose of our Advent Activity Calendar is to help us remember to do all of the things we love to do during the holiday season.

It’s filled with special holiday-related events, special little reminders to be especially giving or kind on certain days, and little silly surprise gifts now and again.

The Advent Activity Calendar is here to download as a pdf or it can be downloaded as a Word document here (Advent Activity Calendar–Word doc) so others can make it their own.

our brainstorming cards

One day at breakfast last week, I asked Maddy, Owen, and Cora to tell me all of their favorite things to do during the Christmas holiday. We wrote their ideas on small index cards, and I was sure to include all–or most–of what they mentioned on the final draft of the calendar.

Our Advent Activity Calendar is one of our favorite parts of the season!

We included some new events, including Zoo Lights at the National Zoo (which is free this year!) and a Breakfast with Santa at our church.

I added a day to talk about Hanukkah, a day for baking cookies, and a day for preparing gifts for a family in need.  We will set aside one day for writing Holiday Notes for our family and time to make ornaments for gifts.   We’ll make sure to drink hot cocoa and look at photo albums of past Christmases, we’ll drive around our ‘hood to see the lights, and we’ll wear silly holiday socks one day.

Maddy, Owen, and Cora loved the Kissing Reindeer Hunt last year, so I added that along with my famous snowman pancakes–but for dinner one night the week before Santa arrives.

It’s a pretty good mix of events that promote the spirit of the holiday and activities that are silly enough to still get a good laugh from my three tinies.

I will print out two copies of the calendar: one for me to keep as a reference and the other to cut apart and hide in the felt Christmas Tree I picked up at the store last year. I don’t think it needs to be in a tree like mine, though; some friends have cut apart the calendar and put the squares in separate envelopes or boxes to be opened each day.  Some have told me that they hid a square each morning for their kids to find!  Any way works, and I’m curious as to how your family makes it your own.

Woo-hoo! The holiday season is upon us, and we’re going to enjoy it!  Hope you do, too!