Today I have a bit of a holiday mash-up with my DIY Christmas Lights Advent Calendar made from plastic Easter eggs! With only a few extra craft supplies, you’ll be able to create this fun countdown for the holiday season.
Tag: Christmas Countdown
How We Are Putting the Happy in our Holidays
The Holiday season is upon us and I want to try and make the most of it with the kids. There are many things we did last year that the kids enjoyed and I want to attempt again, plus a few new things (weather permitting!).
We started things off yesterday with a little “Gingerbread” House decorating. My two year old was drawn to these little wooden piggy bank houses at Dollarama and as I was fighting her to put it back on the shelf, I realized they would make adorable little gingerbread houses for the kids to paint and decorate. After a coat of brown paint, the kids went to town with the glitter glue, foam shapes and pom poms.
They look great and my 4 year old loves the little lock and keys the house came with so he can lock any small treasures inside! Perhaps Santa needs to sneak something inside on Christmas Eve…
Today was bitterly cold so we decided to stay in and decorate the Christmas tree. It is our first time putting up an artificial tree instead of a real one so having it up this early still feels a little strange to me. It is also our first Christmas in this house so there was a bit of debate over where the tree should go. In the end I am happy with it up in our second floor bonus room.
Our Christmas Countdown activity list:
- Countdown the Nights Before Christmas by unwrapping a new bedtime story each night in December
- Write a Letter to Santa (See my great printable template)
Decorate the Christmas Tree- Visit and take photos with Santa
- Take our annual Holiday Photo of the kids
- Decorate the kids bedroom doors like snowmen
- Go to the Zoo’s Festival of Lights
Decorate a Gingerbread House- Do some Christmas baking
- Host a Rudolph themed holiday party
- Spend a night watching Christmas movies and have a sleepover in the Bonus Room
- Spend an evening looking at Christmas lights
- Go for a Sleigh Ride
Hopefully this is enough to help keep us busy for the next little while. I will try to post a full photo tour of all our decorations once they are all up. I have some popsicle stick snowflakes up on my living room walls I can’t wait to share!
What is on your Christmas countdown activity list?
Kids Cottonball Christmas Countdown
I am planning to do this craft with our playgroup at the beginning of December, but my 3 year old son saw me working on the digital file today and couldn’t wait to color his Santa. He did such a good job coloring I decided we might as well finish off the project this afternoon and have it hung and ready to start adding the cotton balls December 1st. I am sharing today so you can hopefully do the same with your kids.
I always had a chocolate advent calendar growing up, but have resisted the urge to buy the kids one this year. The chocolate is always pretty crappy in them and the last thing my kids really need is more treats. I loved the simplicity of this one when I found it on pinterest. It is cheap, easy, and interactive for the little guys. Plus, I am hoping it will help with counting as we work our way up to December 24th.
Supplies
- Printer
- White Cardstock
- Crayons
- Scotch Tape or Stapler
- 24 Cotton Balls (I used 12 and cut them in half)
- Double sided tape or glue
1. Open the CottonballChristmasCountdown_DolledUpDesign file and print both pages on white cardstock or heavy paper. The original Santa image was found on kidsdomain.com.
2. Have your child color the Santa image using crayons or felt markers.
3. Fold the “Christmas Countdown” page along the fold line and staple or tape the sides shut to create a pocket.
4. Staple or tape the pocket portion to the bottom of the Santa picture.
5. Count out 24 cotton balls and put them in the pocket.
6. Beginning December 1st, put one cotton ball each day on the circle’s on Santa’s beard using glue or double sided tape.
dolledupdesign.net 