Have you got any family traditions that you whip out for Christmas?
It’s already feeling a lot like Christmas and the feeling will only grow.
Our eldest baby is going to be 2,5 this Christmas, so we can still get away with being lazy, but I’ve decided to do a little test run, as next year we’ll dive into the Christmas spirit all in.
As he’s starting to grasp the concept of numbers, I thought an advent calendar would be a pretty appropriate activity.
I don’t know if he’ll quite understand what this whole process of revealing the surprise every day means and that it does come to an end (!), but I’m excited to share the little moments of opening the ‘windows’ each day with him.
I’ve been looking at various advent calendars (for kids and grown ups) available and want to share my findings of some of the best in my opinion and, of course, read on to find out what calendar we’ll be using to count down to Christmas!!
Theres one that’s quirky, one cute, one kind and one labour-intensive project.
If you know of a great advent calendar out there, do share your knowledge, so that I can improve my efforts for next December!
This keeps popping up on my social feeds and, I swear, if my husband wasn’t a monochrome kinda guy, when it comes to his socks, he’d be opening these windows in December! (Lucky he's a monochrome kinda guy, as this one is £200!).
Who doesn’t love a Suki tea? Apple Loves Mint is forever my favorite and getting an advent calendar full of teas from these guys would be such a treat - especially on these dark, cold, windy (!) nights!
MeriMeri is such a cute company - they do all things fun and I’ve seen a few lovely advent calendars from them, but isn’t there something extra magical about a train at Christmas time? With this set your child will build a wooden train station scene by finding various sections in beautiful numbered drawers.
Food Bank
Christmas is the time to let generosity shine.
Not everyone is fortunate enough to be taking their pick of advent calendars.
You can, of course, do a reverse calendar - and this is something that can be done in conjunction with any of the others really, as it’s such a great idea.
The Food Bank calendar is an initiative where you put an item of food into a box each day of the advent and on day 25, you donate the box to a local food bank, thus helping someone have a better Christmas.
Find your nearest food bank here or donate at most Supermarkets.
Of course, there are also a tonne of ideas on how to make your own - from pre-made calendars you can fill a it yourself, to those you can literally make from scratch - I remember seeing one, where driftwood branches were tied together with a rope to form a shape of a tree and small envelopes with advent items hung down for the recipient to open! Your imagination could literally run wild!
And now, let me share with you what I settled on for our boy.
Just because I seem to have sooooo much spare time these days (can you see the sarcasm sleeping through between the lines?), I decided to make my own!
I’ll be filling clear baubles with small gifts, treats, experiences and gestures. I also found a wooden cutout in a shape of a Christmas tree stashed in the loft from last year's Cox and Cox Boxing Day sale, which will be perfect for 'hosting' my calendar!
If you’re looking for inspiration, here’s what we will find inside:
yoyo bear treat
A matchbox car
Confetti (going to make myself by hole punching various leaves from the garden!)
Cat treat - to give to our cat
Balloon - McQueen foil balloon to be filled with gas we’ve got leftover from a party
A little hand crank music box playing Jingle Bells
Stamp for drawing (maybe a fire engine one, so I don’t have to draw them anymore!)
Stickers book (this obviously won’t fit into the bauble, so I’ll place under the tree and the note inside will say ‘look under the tree! Bought from Mabel's Treasures: Read, Play, Learn)
Temporary tattoos - Toy Story
Pine cone to paint and hang on the tree
Jingle bell to hang on the tree
Finger tattoos
Train ride with Santa (That train magic - book here)
Murton Farm visit to meet Santa (LOVE this place in any season, so it was a no-brainer! Book here)
Snow - I’ve got a small stash of biodegradable snow in the attic, will fill a bauble with this and ‘let it snow’
Babybel
Satsuma
Grow your own elf
PJ Masks - hero figurine
PJ Masks - villain figurine
£2 coin (he has a coin bank, where he can deposit this)
Socks
Magic paint book (bought from Mabel's Treasures: Read, Play, Learn)
Finger paint book (bought from Mabel's Treasures: Read, Play, Learn)
Merry Christmas - look under tree!
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