I love advent and each year I also take part in a Pause for Advent with Floss I use it as a time to explain to the boys the fundementals about Christmas and also to make sure that we do not get lost in the excitement of the buildup to Christmas Day itself. For the last two years we have hung up the 24 small stockings that I made, each with a task for the day attached to them. I am hoping that by focusing on advent this year it will help me get through each day as it comes, rather than worrying about how I am feeling. I am trying very hard to live in the present and take each day as it comes.
This is our list from last year
Write and post your letter to Father Christmas
Help ice the Christmas cake
Make Christmas cards
Make shapes with the cookie cutters and playdough
Make Christmas shrinky dinks
Make paper snowflakes
Go to Carol Service
Colour in some Christmas pictures
Make some Christmas fairy cakes
Make paper chains
Collect Pinecones
Start reading about the nativity
Write your Christmas cards and deliver local ones
Make salt dough ornaments
String popcorn to go on the tree
Make a bird feeder
Sing and dance to Christmas songs
Make some Christmas cookies
Watch a Christmas movie
Make reindeer food
Read a Christmas Story
Make up a Christmas story
Take a walk in the dark to look at the Christmas lights
Help trim the tree
Make mince pies
make spiced cider
Find Mistletoe, hang it in our house and kiss under it.
Make Thick Hot Chocolate and marshmallows
Put up a wreath
Decorate our gingerbread house
Make a family traditional dessert
In addition to this, we also have my old advent calender, which is 30 years old and I won from church, each day tells the Christmas story in a poem form.
We also have two more calenders to add to that this year, both in the same format of 24 little books, one is the nutcracker and the other the Christmas Story, which I hope the boys will become attatched to in the same way as I am to my calender.
Finally, as I am not really a scrooge the boys do both have a chocolate calender this year, which were given to them by Hotel Chocolat, who also do the most divine Christmas hampers too
Hotel Chocolat do the most gorgeous chocolate! Love reading about other people’s traditions. We have advent calenders with pockets that my mum made for the children when they were small, we also have a box ful of Chrismas books we get out in advent and add one or two to each year. It is wonderful to go through now as we have picture books from when they were little, cartoon books from the middle years and now older books as well, chosen by them or me for one or all of us and each year they are reread and valued anew.
Hello from a strawberry delving through the Pauses! Please may I snaffle this idea for next year?!
You have a lot of great ideas for the season!
Every childlike event can become a memory. I wish you and your family a great sense of peace as you celebrate!
Your Comments
Such good ideas for presenting Advent to children. You’re making memories for them to cherish.
Some lovely ideas there.
What a great way to introduce Advent and a great list of things to do. I may be doing quite a few of them. Thank you x
Thanks so much for this – even though our boys will both be teenagers half-way through Advent, your list is good! Thanks also for your comment. Like you, I’ve found it strange to face a second Christmas without my mum. Your circumstances and memories are really different to my own, but I still felt that the end to my own Advent poem was very bleak, and showed a way of thinking I won’t usually face up to. It’s probably good to admit to that bleakness, sometimes. Have a wonderful Advent with your little men (and your big man!)
Some fantastic ideas, thanks for sharing 🙂 Xxx
Your Comments
I love the little Christmas stockings – they look so festive!
Pomona x
Mhmmm, Hotel Chocolat – how lucky are your boys?
I am trying to concentrate on doing nice things with little L, too, trying not to let sadness or anger about injustice get the better of me. I am sure this is the time of year when you miss your mum the most.
Lots of love,
Deborah
I am also Pausing in Advent and stopping by from Floss’ blog to say Bonjour. I love the idea of a list of activities – we do a reusable advent calendar too, but mostly so far I have filled the calendar with modest gifts. A sticker, a little ornament for the tree (gets reused every year), a piece of ribbon, one little candy. Next year my kids will be a bit bigger so perhaps the activities would be the way to go. Happy Advent!
I think your idea of an advent calendar with activities is a great idea – the fact that “all” advent calendars have chocklit saddens me a little. As do those with completely secular pictures on the front. I still remember the pleasure I used to get from revealing the picture: no chocklit for me!!! (Goodness, I sound like a Grumpy Old Woman!)
Not having children of my own, I like hearing about family life. I look forward to reading more about your advent. Do the children join in the activities happily, or do they need to be coerced at all?
Dormouse » Hi there, the boys love advent as much as me and are already looking forward to what we will be doing tonight. It really helps make the time speical
Please would you send me the ISBN for the advent book 1 jan sound the trumpets, beat the drums, Advent is when jesus comes. Used to have it as a child – would love to track a copy down.Thanks, Merry Christmas!