I tend to be a little late to the game for certain things. My kids have no idea that a certain elf causes mischief in some houses this time of year, and until very recently I thought “advent” simply meant eating a piece of chocolate once a day until Christmas. Wow have things changed since I was a kid! There are so many great advent activities around now that a newbie like me doesn’t know where to start. Okay.. That’s not entirely true.. Even us newbies know that we start on pinterest! So I went ahead and found my top ten favorite posts of advent activities. Some are more Christ-centered, and others are just about December family fun, so there is truly something for everyone here!
Top Ten Advent Activities
1. 24 Random Acts of Kindness from Coffee Cups and Crayons
This advent calendar includes 24 acts of kindness for you and your children to do throughout the month of December. I thought this one was so thoughtful! My church participates in “Outrageous Christmas” every year which promotes living outrageously with kindness during December. It is so important to help our kids to focus on what is truly important during this season that is so often plagued with greed!
2. The Ultimate Advent Activity List from The Mad House
This is a huge list of different fun holiday activities to get your family excited and ready for Christmas! She’s put together 50 different activities that are fairly simple to do. You could even do two each day if you’re up for it. [If you are really doing two each day, I applaud you. I have Christmas Spirit, but you’re basically Buddy the Elf in my eyes!]
3. Christmas Tree Countdown from This Reading Mama
This advent activity is not only fun, but educational, so it’s perfect for us homeschooling mamas! Your kids can practice their math and handwriting, while including seasonal fun and craft time. They won’t even realize that it’s “school”. Don’t we always love when we get to do school without our kids knowing? It’s like the homeschool mom’s ultimate goal.
4. 25 Christmas Activities for Kids from Little Family Fun
This is a great list of 25 different Christmas activities for kids that have been featured on the Little Family Fun blog. Some of the activities included are educational, and some are just plain fun! My favorite is the Christmas light pattern activity. My little guy who is obsessed with Christmas lights would have a blast with that! As an added bonus, she linked to a list of Christmas crafts at the bottom!
5. Advent Calendar Tutorial from Sweeter than Sweets
This advent activity is great because it has a very Christ-centered basis. In the tutorial, she walks you through creating tangible objects that go along with a Bible verse telling part of the Christmas story. It’s an awesome hands-on way to help our kids really connect with the true meaning of Christmas amid all of the chaos surrounding the holidays these days.
6. Children’s Advent Calendar Printable from Add a Pinch
I love these printable advent cards! There are 30 different activities ranging from acts of kindness, to silly winter activities that your kids are sure to love! The cards are just adorable, and once you print them out you can either put them into your favorite advent calendar or just put them in envelopes to open one each day. Such a simple way to add some intentional fun into the holidays!
7. Christmas Traditions from The Things I Love
In this post she shares a few of her family’s Christmas traditions, but my very favorite is the 25 Christmas books! I would love to eventually have enough Christmas books to read one each day leading up to Christmas. For now I have my one huge Christmas book that includes 19 Christmas stories. This works out for our family because my older boys go to their dad’s a few days a week, so I don’t need all 25!
8. Celebrating Advent Using the Jesus Storybook Bible from Adriel Booker
This advent activity uses the Jesus Storybook Bible which is definitely on our Christmas list this year. It goes through one story each day, from both the Old and New Testament that lead directly to the birth of Jesus. This is great for Bible newbies like me who don’t know exactly what to teach leading up to Christmas! It’s all spelled out for us, and easy to understand!
9. Printable Advent Reading Plan from Not Consumed
Again, these types of advent activities are a huge help for us Bible newbies! Free printable lists that have specific verses to read each day leading up to Christmas. I love that this Christmas countdown keeps Christ at the center of the season. Plus, I’m all about being exposed to parts of the Bible I haven’t read yet!
10. 10 Advent Activities for Kids from In Lieu of Preschool
This post has ten different advent activities for kids included, but I particularly loved the first two, adding a sticker to Jesus’s birthday cake and gluing a cotton ball onto Santa’s beard daily. I love these so much because I am a firm believer that Jesus and Santa can peacefully co-exist, and I love that this includes the religious side of the holiday as well as the silly side.
So there you have it! My round-up of the top ten advent activities! Do you celebrate advent? Are you creative with it, or are you more a 24 days of chocolate kinda gal?
Very nice list. I like the random acts of kindness. We need to do that in my house!
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I’m glad that you like it! We are working on the random acts of kindness here, too. If you need ideas, you can check out http://www.outrageouschristmas.com/ideas/ and find some there. I hope you have a Merry Christmas!