50 Advent Calendar Ideas

Yesterday I published a blog about using email as a quick and paper-free way to celebrate the advent calendar.  Advent comes from the Latin word adventus meaning "coming", and it's a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Christmas holiday.  Upon December 1st, our family begins counting down the days until Christmas by using an advent calendar.  I decided to do advent calendars because waiting for Christmas to arrive can feel like ions of time for a child, so having something to look forward to each day doesn't seem to make the time go as slowly.

Here is a list of 50 ideas that I compiled that can work for an advent calendar.  I have used some of them in past years and plan to use many of them this year.  I try to refrain from buying too many "goodies", even if they are made with natural ingredients, and concentrate more on activities to strengthen our family, faith, and community.


50 ideas for your Advent calendar

1. Let's sit back after a long day and watch a Christmas movie--popcorn included
2. Put on your pajamas!  It's breakfast for dinner!
3. Look under your pillow.  You earned an extra surprise without having to lose a tooth.
4. Today, think of one thing for each family member that you are grateful for. Let's share them at dinner.
5. Gather up some of your unused toys and let's donate them so others can share in the joy of them.
6. Let's go shopping--for food that is, and donate it to the local food pantry.
7. Fair trade chocolate coins
8. All-natural gum, like Glee gum
9. Music is in the air. You are allowed to download 1 song for your library.
10. Bring your pillows and sleeping bags....we will be sleeping by the Christmas tree tonight.
11. Shop for a child in need
12. Make a seed ornament for our feathered friends.
13. Get your game on.....it's family game night!
14. Tonight for dinner, everything will be dipped.......it's fondue night.
15. Dashing through the snow-----tonight we will go look at Christmas lights!
16. Send a card to a military soldier
17. Naturally colored candy cane
18. Enjoy an evening with a cocoa bar
19. Borrow Christmas books from the local library and read it together
20. Make cookies for local community members, such as police or fire department
21. Grandmas, Grandpas, Uncles, and Aunts.  Family is important, so this evening we will be  celebrating the holidays with our extended family.
22. Bookmark
23. We had two extra place settings tonight. Invite a friend for dinner.
24. Let's go to the movies. Be sure to bring a can to donate  http://www.wehrenberg.com/presenting.aspx?pid=335
25. What is winter without ice?  Let's go ice skating today.
26. Our furry friends need help during the holidays too.  Let's make some dog treats to donate to the local shelter.
27. Go find a special treat in your stocking.
28. St. Nick made a visit.  Go check your shoes!
29. Pick your favorite cookie to bake with Mom today.
30. Let's go hear some beautiful music and support (insert name)  at his/her Christmas concert.
31. Special pencil or pen
32. Stickers
33. You get to buy 1 extra treat at lunch today.
34. Invite one friend for a sleepover tonight
35. A special puzzle is here. Let's see if we can be put together by Christmas
36. Try to find as many words using letters in "Merry Christmas". Bring your list to dinner.
37. Did you find the hidden pickle on the Christmas tree? If not, whoever finds it will receive a special treat.
38. After school, we will go shopping for Christmas gifts for others (siblings, parents, grandparents).  Be sure to bring your money.
39. Lego Night. What kind of holiday inspired items can you make?
40. Today we will be decorating gingerbread houses
41. Write a letter to Santa and tell him 2 gifts you would like to receive.
42. Make popcorn garland and string outside for the birds
43. Make an ornament to put on the tree
44. One extra hour of computer/tv time this week
45. Make your own pizza night
46. Go see a local Christmas play
47. Baby, it's cold outside.  Let's enjoy an indoor picnic instead.
48. Some people will not have items to keep them warm this year. Let's donate some hats, gloves, scarves, and coats to a local charity.
49. Make a snowman ---weather permitting :-)
50. Will you earn "coal" in your stocking this year? Let's hope not.  (Coal gum from Trader's Joes.)

I hope I have given you some ideas that you can share with your family during this Christmas holiday. Enjoy!

You Have Mail--An Electronic Version of the Advent Calendar

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is just around the corner.  For the past couple of weeks, I have been busy planning Thanksgiving, so now that it has come and gone, I can now concentrate on the Christmas holiday. Recently, my daughter, Anna, asked me if I was going to make the advent calendars again.  As much as I enjoy seeing their excitement each morning to see what the surprise will be, I was dreading coming up with an idea on how to make yet another calendar.  One year, I strung goodies bags on the wall above their beds. Last year, I made an envelope for each day and used a clothespin to pin it to ribbon attached to their bedroom doors. It takes alot of time and materials to create these calendars!!

Let's not forget that traditions run deep in our family, so I wanted to continue this tradition for my children.  But as all moms know, we are the ones who end doing the work to keep most of the traditions around the holidays going.  And it's a lot of work..........the planning, the buying, the strategizing.....all with a smile on our face. 

This year, I wasn't ready for the planning of each day. As in years past, I wanted the advent calendar to be something more than the children receiving a gift, so I included activities we could share as a family.  But last year, I found myself having to "exchange" days when our schedule didn't allow for the activity to be performed.....like mom not wanting to drive around and look at Christmas lights when it is sleeting outside!!!  Sometimes the best laid plans have to be changed.

So I took the pressure off of myself and this year decided to rely a bit on technology! Both of my children are in middle school and have email accounts under our main account, so I thought it would be cool to get a morning email from Mom. I spent a few minutes writing a list of ideas of activities we can do during the holiday and I purchased a couple of treats for them to find, such as chocolate coins from Trader Joes.  The suggestions are stashed in my planner, so each morning I can decide what "gift" I would like to share with them based on our schedules and "weather permitting".

Also, I decided to add a "Random Act of Kindness" that I would like for them to do each day. In this day of materialism...............did you see the footage of shoppers on Black Friday?...............and the "all about me" attitude in our youth, I want them to make a conscious effort in doing something that would benefit someone else. This will be a wonderful conversation starter at dinnertime!

Here is an example of our first day of the countdown.  In the email, I made the background in a bright red color, and changed the text to white.  Unfortunately, you won't get that same effect on this example, but I wanted something that would grab their attention when the email was opened: 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is the first day of the Official Countdown to Christmas

Day 25:

 Some coins cannot be used to buy things.  Look for some of these "coins" hidden in your room.

We also will be doing something a bit different too. With each email, I will be sending a RAK (Random Act of Kindness) suggestion. A random act of kindness is a "selfless act performed by a person or people wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual person or people". I challenge you to accept this invitation to spread some Christmas cheer and be kind to one another!

R.A.K Day 25:

Make eye contact with someone and smile :-)

Enjoy your day!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

My hope is my children will take a moment to rejoice is the reason for celebrating this holiday and give a bit of themselves, without asking for anything in return.

 

Tomorrow: I will share a list of Random Acts of Kindness and Advent Calendar ideas.

 

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Photo by Life as a Healthy Mom

Halloween is over, and the carved jack o' lanterns have now found a final resting place in our compost bin.  One of the wonderful aftermath of carving pumpkins is the pumpkin seeds.  I am a traditionalist when it comes to roasted pumpkin seeds...............plain with a sprinkling of sea salt.

But this year, I decided to branch out and make three varieties:  sea salt, savory, and a sweet/salty blend. The flavors of the sweet/salty and savory were not overpowering, but gave a subtle change to the traditional ones.

All of them turned out so delicious and making them is a breeze.  I didn't even get out a separate bowl to mix the seasonings....I just tossed it on top of the seeds in the baking sheet and mixed it to distribute the seasonings. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Toss again. Reduce the oven to 300 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.

Traditional Pumpkin Seeds
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp light olive oil or coconut oil

Sweet and Salty
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed
1 tsp. sea salt
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp light olive oil or coconut oil

Savory
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp light olive oil or coconut oil



Enjoy!