Advent

For several years now I’ve wanted to do an Advent Calendar with my kids. The problem was, I

never remembered until maybe the last day of November or a couple of days into December.

Sure, I could have started it a little later but I tended to just shrug my shoulders and plan to do it

the next year.

Last year, I saw a neat Advent Calendar/Wreath at

Target that I really liked. Unfortunately the only

one that was left at myTarget was missing a piece.

And frankly, I wasn’t interested in driving all over

Nashville to various Targets to see if they had one

that was whole. So once again, I shelved the idea.

Then much to my delight, while we were with my

parents for Christmas, I came across one at a

Target in their city AND it had all it’s parts AND it

was on clearance! So I snatched it up, brought it

home and put it away with the Christmas

decorations.

Fast forward to yesterday.

I spent a good part of the day taking down and putting away my Autumn and Thanksgiving items

and pulling out and setting up my Christmas items. And there was the Calendar/Wreath, taunting

me. I was so unprepared. It was the day before December. We had just returned on Sunday from

being out of town for 10 days. I had so much to do. But I just couldn’t put off for another year,

not when I had the calendar right there in front of me.

Which is why I was up until midnight last night coming up with our advent activities and setting

up the calendar/wreath. And because I couldn’t come up with 24 specific things to do and

because I know how, um, well, lazy, I can be, I fudged it a bit and there are three candy days.

That means when they open that day, there will be two pieces of candy waiting for them instead

of an activity. There are also two present days. They will be told to go look in a certain place to

see what’s there.

{And as I wrote this, GMan was beside himself with anticipation about the first box. I told them

this morning we would open it when JBelle got home from school.}

Here’s what we are doing for the next 24 days:

1. Go outside and look at the moon & stars before bedtime. Remember the star that the wise

men followed. (I thought it was going to be clear tonight! It wasn’t. We stepped outside

and looked at the blurry moon though and we read the book The Greatest Gift about an

angel that becomes the star that points the way to Jesus and I tried to put “glow in the dark

stars” up in GMan’s room, but they kept falling off the ceiling. Tomorrow should be easier…

I hope!)

2. Shop for Y.E.S. gift

3. Decorate bedroom doors

4. {candy}

5. Watch a Christmas movie

6. Bake cookies with Mommy

7. What’s in the red basket above the TV? (it’ll be Christmas socks)

8. Make paper snowflakes

9. {candy}

10.Take Christmas goodies to a shut-in member from our church

11.Make a Christmas card for friend

12.Build a fort from blankets & pillows. Read a Christmas book in the fort.

13.Have hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows or whipped cream.

14.Donate food to Second Harvest Food Bank

15.{candy}

16.Make shrinky-dink ornaments or magnets

17.Go see TN State Christmas Tree & Nashville Christmas Tree

18.Eat dessert first (brownies with peppermint ice cream)

19.What’s in the cookie jar? (it won’t be cookies! it will be an, as of yet undetermined, treat)

20.Drive around and look at Christmas lights in our pajamas

21.Count all the Santas in the house

22.Make paper toys (http://www.thetoymaker.com)

23.Go on a Christmas scavenger hunt (I may regret this! Remember, I already admitted to

being lazy!)

24.Read Christmas story from the Bible and open Christmas Eve present from Mommy &

Daddy (it’s always pjs)

Some of these I came up with on my own, several of them I “borrowed” fromKristen of We are

THAT Family. A few others I found on the web (this is a neat list).

{JBelle arrived home as I was working on this post and we opened the first box. Unfortunately,

GMan was quite disappointed. Of course, he’s five and doesn’t quite get the whole concept.

JBelle, on the other hand, was impressed and is looking forward to our first activity. I think once

we get to Day 4, GMan will be on board!}