Advent Calender Round Up

It's almost time to start the Christmas countdown. If you celebrate Christmas, and have kids in the house, these are a must-have! They can range from a paper chain hung on the hall, to a hand stitched wall hanging. As I'm finding out, in the craft world, the possibilities are nearly endless, and limited only in what you are willing to do to make one! This weekend would be a great time to create your own calendar- remember, the 1st of December is next Tuesday already!


Not enough time? You can make a 12 Days of Christmas calendar by counting down from the 13th to the 24th instead, and numbering the days 1-12, with 12 being the 13th, and 1 being the 24th.


Here are some cool advent calendar's I have seen around the web recently. They are cropping up daily!

Easy Pocket Advent Calendar- this one is easy enough for anyone to make. All you need is a marker, some tape, and Christmas paper- you could use scrapbooking paper, or even wrapping paper! Cut up some old Christmas cards to decorate the front with.

Felt Placemat Pocket Advent Calendar- This one is really cute, and would be fun for young kids to use. You use a placemat for the back of the calendar, then add small pockets, and fun gift tags. Add a felt tree to it, and some velcro or safety pins, and kids can decorate the tree each day!

Cookie Sheet Magnetic Advent Calendar- This is one I've been seeing made all over my blogs lately. It's easy to make, and turns out ever so cute!


Paper Cone Advent Calendar- This one is cute, and can be customized to any color scheme you want! Scrapbooking paper is your only limit, and as we all know, THAT comes in oodles of patterns!

25 Day Countdown Pocket Cards- This is a cute idea, and very portable, too, for any traveling done in December.

Muffin Tin Magnetic Advent Calendar- similar to the Cookie Sheet calendar, this one uses a 24 cup mini-muffin pan as the base, which allows you to tuck something small into the cups for the kids.


Mini Stocking Advent Calendar- yes, tooting my own horn. My calendar this year is 24 little stockings hung from ribbon in my living room. Easy to do for even the craft-challenged, as all you need to do really is add a number to each of 24 stockings. This can be done with glitter glue, or even just pining paper to the front of each one.

Free Online Advent Calendar- this one features 27 days worth of printable games for kids- mazes, bingo, and such. This might be a fun one to download a few days worth for filling your own advent calendar.

Paper Bag Advent Calendar- This is one of those "strapped for time" type one's, using simple paper bags clothes pinned to a string to form a garland. This would be simple & easy for just about anyone to make.

Mini Envelope Advent Calendar- Simple & easy, again, this one uses little mini brown envelopes simply taped to the wall in the shape of a tree. Each envelope contains an action or thought for the day.

Need some ideas on what to put in your calendar?


I found these ideas at this site.

Go Ice Skating
Watch It's a Wonderful Life, make spiced cider.
Exchange gifts
Make Christmas Cookies for friends.
Find Mistletoe, hang it in our house and kiss under it.
Address and Mail Christmas Cards
Go to Borders and Pick out one new Christmas CD.
Go to The Nutcracker
Handel's Messiah Sing Along
Leave out wooden shoes on December 5
Go to the Oakland Temple to see the Nativity
Make Thick Hot Chocolate and Homemade Marshmallows
Host a Christmas Sweater Party
Put up a ribbon sash for Christmas cards
Donate canned goods
Give neighbors a present
Put up a wreath
Make a Gingerbread house
Make a popcorn garland
Make hot chocolate and read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Sing (or listen) to favorite Christmas songs
Drive around to see neighborhood lights
Go out and see public light display
Read Christmas story from the Bible and the Book of Mormon
Open a gift (new stocking or pajamas or pillowcase)
Make a family traditional dessert
Eat out at a festive restaurant
Go to a seasonal movie
Tell stories of childhood Christmas around the fire
Have a romantic candlelit dinner by the Christmas tree
Make decorative sugar cookies
Sign up to purchase gifts for a needy child
Host a Christmas dessert party
Write out a Christ-centered goal to start early for the New Year
Have a movie party (classic Christmas clips)
Go to a Christmas Concert
Attend City tree lighting event
Have a full traditional breakfast while listening to Christmas music

I hope you all have a happy & wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow, and a wonderful weekend! I will be gone to my mother's house on Saturday to bake & wrap presents!

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Our Advent Calendar

Last year, I found a couple of really cute stockings at Goodwill, and I started to realize just how much I adore stockings. I decided then and there that I would collect stockings. They are inexpensive, and not breakable. While I started collecting stockings, I was also looking for an easy way to make an advent calendar that was both big enough to stash treats for 3 kids, but small enough to pack away easily.

At some point, I realized that mini stockings would work out great. I waited until the holidays passed by, and stopped in to Dollar Tree. I found 2-packs of mini stockings for $.50 each, and bought up 12 matching packs. First I considered getting 4 packs each of 3 designs, but they were sold out of most of the designs, so I was unable to find an equal amount of any 3 designs. Instead, I wound up with 24 mini stockings in my favorite design last year.


When we unpacked the Christmas boxes yesterday, I found them all stashed away, just waiting for me. I dug them out, and spent about 15 minutes last night putting numbers on each of the stockings in glitter glue. It took all night for the glitter to dry, but now they are ready to go.

To hang them, I strung a wide 2" red grosgrain ribbon across my kitchen archway, which is pretty wide. I added a tack to the middle, so the ribbon won't get too weighed down, then used clothing pins to clip the stockings to the ribbon.


Now I'm just trying to decide- do I want to clip them up one day at a time, or remove them one day at a time? Hmm.... I also have to write up some activities to insert into the stockings, and get treats out for them. I picked up some candy on clearance after Halloween to use in the stockings.


Here are some of the different things I'll use to fill the stockings.

Holiday Pencils- I tried to glue a bell to the end of them, but the glue doesn't stick to erasers. Instead, I wrapped a tiny bow around the ends of the pencils.

Family Puzzle Night- I'll put a few puzzle pieces into the stocking, with a note to save them for the puzzle night. I can use this 2-3 times, before having a puzzle night scheduled for a weekend.

Mini Ornaments- The kids have a small tree we'll set up in their family room upstairs. On the day when we get it out, they will have 1 ornament each in the stocking to hang on the tree.

Hot Cocoa- the kids love hot cocoa, so I'll put together some baggies of cocoa & mini marshmallows for 1-2 of the stockings.

A Christmas Light- I'll have a lightbulb in one of the later stockings, for the night we're going to drive around looking at lights.

Movie Night- I will put a small baggie of popcorn in the stocking, for a night when we'll have a family movie night with a holiday movie. I will try to do this one twice as well.

A Cookie Cutter- for a day when we make holiday cookies, I'll include a cookie cutter in the stocking.

A photo of Santa- for the day when we go to visit Santa

And remember- I'd love to see any projects you make from my ideas!

Heather

Counting Down

My Grandma collected snowmen at Christmas for as long as I could remember. She had a massive collection that encompassed decorating a huge house. She had a Christmas tree that was decorated only in snowmen. There were walls of just shelves filled with snowmen. Snowmen could be found in bathrooms, on the sofa, in the windows, outdoors, and more. She loved her snowmen.

Over the years, I've picked some up, and inherited several of Grandma's snowmen as well. However, last year, I finally settled on something I want to collect at Christmas time that takes up less space, and won't break- stockings. I love stockings! They're so cute, and fun, and the designs are endless.

One thing I've been trying to do for years is find an advent calendar that was reusable, and big enough to fit a small treat in it for 3 kids. It's harder than it sounds!

Last year, I finally figured it out- stockings! After Christmas, when Dollar Tree had their items 50% off, I picked up 12 2-packs of mini stockings for only $.50 each. This year, I plan to string them up along our large archway, and number each stocking.

At night, after the kids are in bed, I'll fill the next day's stocking with some small treat. They can count down to Christmas, get a small treat, and I get to indulge my love of stockings.

I was reading Family Fun tonight, and came across the same idea, only using colorful children's socks in place of stockings, and hanging the sock up each day one at a time. It included a list of ideas for what to fill the stockings with that I really liked.

Here are the ideas it listed:

• Special Coupons: Get Out of Chores Free, or Pick A Movie Rental, for instance.
• Puzzle pieces to a Holiday puzzle- the pieces are collected, and put together through out the month.
• Trading Cards
• Special coins- foreign coins, for instance, or even chocolate foil covered coins.
• A small gift card for a special treat, such as a sundae at a local restaurant.
• Jokes & riddles- stick the answer in the next day's stocking for more fun!
• A mini game, Mad Lib, Sudoku, or even a Christmas coloring page.
• Art supplies.
• A special ornament to hang on the tree.
• A new pair of socks!

Our kids love hot cocoa, so I think that might be a nice one to add as well. You can melt chocolate and cover a plastic spoon with it. Once it dries, wrap it up with plastic wrap on the chocolate end, and add it to the hot cocoa for the kids to stir with. An extra chocolaty treat!

You could put in the pieces to a game for a family game night, too. A coupon for taking the kids sledding, or out to look at the holiday lights would be a fun family way to spend some time, as well.

I hope to make this our newest family tradition, in a long list of traditions I have started over the years. Some are passed down from my family, some from Nick's family, and some are things we've come up with on our own over the years. For instance, we never put candy canes on the tree- Santa does that when he stops by on Christmas Eve.

I know more and more families are shying away from "Santa", but I was raised with Santa, and my kids are raised with Santa. I don't see any harm in it, and the kids eyes just light up when they see the stockings filled by Santa on Christmas morning.