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.