December 1! Calendar time. :D

i jumped on the old Advent Box bandwagon a couple of days ago, and decided to go with round boxes (just got them from Michael’s). Elliott helped me put candies in each one:

 

I bought raw chipboard boxes, and ended up needing more coats of the cream colored paint than I had thought, but it wasn’t too bad - the painting went really fast, actually. 

I put my Silhouette to work making the numbers. This was the first time I’d ever imported custom artwork to have it cut out, but it was pretty easy. :) I just drew a circle in Photoshop and added the numbers over the top of that in the Georgia font, my favorite numeral font. Flattened and saved them and brought them in to the Silhouette software, where I made outlines and the cutter cut them out of dark brown cardstock. It was quite a workout for all involved, but turned out really nicely. I ran them through the Xyron 900 to give them their sticky, and they attached really nicely. I love the custom look these give.  

 

At this point, I was missing the number 14, which had rolled under the couch. Found it a few hours later and all is well. :) 

 

If you are still looking for last-minute activity ideas, I searched around online and came up with a good list, from which I chose 24 activities.

Advent Activity Ideas 

Here’s the big list I gathered up:

Paint everyone’s toenails
Have hot chocolate with all the fixings
Star gazing
Give everyone crazy hairstyles
Backyard cricket
Go out for sushi
Have an indoor picnic
Write letters to grandparents or great-grandparents
Use puppets to tell bedtime story
Have breakfast for dinner
Make decorations for the tree
Have a camp out around the christmas tree
Pack a picnic dinner and have it at a park (or Botanical Gardens)
Fancy dress for dinner time
Wrap a toy and take it to a charity christmas tree
Make handmade gift tags for relatives
Fold origami for the christmas tree
Dance like crazy to music
Watch a christmas movie with popcorn
Take Grandparents out to see the Christmas lights
Make snow men, one for each family member.
Make molassas candy on the snow.
“paint your lawn” by using food coloring on the snow.
go christmas caroling
Set up the Christmas tree.
Make gift tags.
Bake Christmas cookies and decorate them.
Go out to look at Christmas lights after dark.
Write a letter to Santa.
Make gifts for teachers.
Go out somewhere special for dinner.
bake cookies together to give to the neighbors
going food shopping and bringing that food to a soup kitchen
have a tea party
watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” together
planning your next family vacation
having a slide show of photos on a projector or DVD
playing board games
making paper snowflakes
walking a dog all together
going Christmas shopping together
working on a craft project
making handmade cards for relatives
taking photos of each other
watching the sunset
tape recording a radio show complete with interviews [this will be so great when the kids are all grown up]
having a fondue night! chocolate and cheese dipped goodies.
getting one [or two] of those unfinished wood trays from a craft store and painting them together— will come in handy when someone is sick and is in need of soup, or for a breakfast in bed!
read a christmas story together
have an indoor picnic
let the kiddos pick out whatever they want for dinner and let them help fix it
Make thumb-print animals and people with paint, add the details with a marker.
Make a gingerbread house (use graham crackers, dried fruit and peanut butter instead of candy)
Go to the thrift store/dollar store and give each child a dollar to spend on a gift for daddy/mommy/each other/his-herself (i love to see what they pick out)
Make microwave s’mores
Decorate ornaments for grandparents or neighbors
Videotape a favorite ritual or activity (dancing to songs)
Make a short questionnaire and interview everyone on video
Visit a place you’ve been meaning to go together: a museum, a walking trail, a sledding hill
Make crazy hats out of construction paper and craft supplies, and dance to songs
Go for a walk
Make a “holiday flavor” of ice cream: peppermint, pumpkin pie, egg nog, gingerbread
Decorate cutouts of trees or snowmen (I got mine here)

My Activity List 

Here is my list:

• Make microwave s’mores.
• Set up the Christmas tree.
• Make clay snowmen.
• Decorate ornaments for grandparents
• Go for a bike ride
• Take photos of a favorite ritual or activity
• Make a short questinnaire and interview everyone on video
• Make homemade apple pie
  
• Make crazy hats out of construction paper and craft supplies, and dance to songs
• Go for a walk
• Make a “holiday flavor” of milkshake: peppermint, pumpkin pie, egg nog, gingerbread
• Make gift tags
• Decorate cutouts of trees or snowmen (I got mine here)
• Watch a christmas movie with popcorn
• Go out somewhere special for dinner
• Buy a new Christmas storybook and read it before bed
• Make cards for teachers (church and preschool)
• Make cards for grandparents and great-grandparents (Sprague)
• Make cards for grandparents and great-grandparents (Bills)
  
• Buy three new books or items for the trip to see Grandma and Grandpa
  
• Have a tea party with crazy-colored milk or water
• Decorate holiday cookies
• Have breakfast for dinner
• Sing songs by the Christmas tree, and have cookies, and get into new Christmas pajamas

Daily Scriptures 

I’ve also included a set of scriptures I’ve put into the boxes as well, which we’ll read every day. I got this list right here. This includes references to LDS scriptures as well, so if you are not LDS, you can replace these with Bible scriptures (Probably from Luke 2)

December 1: 1 Corinthians 1:3
December 2-1 John 4-7
December 3:  Romans 15:4
Dec. 4-Psalms 119:105-106
December 5-Isaiah 40:3-5
December 6 Isaiah 41:10
December 7-Psalm 98:4-9
December 8-Isaiah 2:2-3
December 9-Psalm 95:6-8
December10-D&C45:71
December11-Romans 13:11-12
December12-Mark 13:33-37
December 13-Micah 5:2
December14-Isaiah 9;6
December 15-Mosiah 3:5-8
December 16-Alma5:50
December17-Alma 7:9-10
December 18-Alma9:26-27
December 19-Helaman 14:3-8
December 20-Luke 1:26-29
December 21-Luke 1:30-38
December 22-Matt1:18-21
December 23-John 3:16-17
Dec.24- 3 Nephi 1:13-14 or: 3 Nephi 1:10-21, Luke chapter 2

I’d love to hear ideas you have for celebrating the Christmas month. Are you doing special activities every day? Reading together? Scriptures? It’s not too late to start if you haven’t. It’s only December 1 after all. :)

Comments

[Suzanne]

Thanks so much for wonderful activities list. It has gotten me inspired to make my own advent calendar. Yours turned out so cute as well- how do you have them attached to the wall?

Thanks for always sharing such wonderful ideas!

[Kari Holt]

Speechless ... your list of ideas may just save my sanity this month!! You are a gift and yet you continue to give. My life is forever changed ... and now my December :) More thanks than I can muster!!

[Deirdre]

I'm in the midst of gathering holiday socks to make an advent calendar ala Kelli Crowe's from last year...and while I had seen several lists of activities online, I had read or thought of adding a line of scripture. Such a simple idea but such a great addition.

When we were little, we had to memorize Luke 2, and perhaps by doing this every year, our children will too.

Thanks so much! (and thanks for the calendar ---I'd love to see more examples!)

[Lori]

Wow. I mean, wow! That is so cool. We do an activity advent, too - but this will give me some fresh ideas! Thanks for sharing all your lovely craftiness and ideas!!

[Tori]

WOW! You have done all the work for us. Don't forget...they have chocolate marshmallows now which makes the microwave smores making that much easier. ;)

[janmary N Ireland]

wonderful list of activities - thanks for compiling them all.

[Candy]

great list! one thing that my kids and I are doing again this year is decorating our Advent Jesse tree. There is also a book that goes along with each day and explains why the certain ornament goes along with that day! :)

[Julie L.]

I love this list of Advent activities! Thanks so much Jessica for making our lives easier! what great ideas...

The advent calendar is beautiful!

[Laura T.]

Love your calendar - colors are great and I love the look of the numbers.

Thanks for sharing the Advent ideas ---

[Holly O.]

I love these ideas. The scripture daily list is so wonderful. How did you hang these boxes?

[Steph]

Sooo cool! I'm doing your Daily December template and Ali's acrylic album - satisfies the digi and paper lover in me. :)

[CrazyCurl]

WOW! The advent boxes are so cool! Digi-scrapping was my first crafting obession, but I bought a Cricut this year and now I do more cardmaking (I really need to get back to scrapping though, I'm starting to feel guilty about that). I love what you did with your Silhouette. Sometimes I wish that I had a cutter that I could create my own designs for, but I chose that Cricut because it didn't require a computer :) My 3 yo dd doesn't deal with me trying to do things on my computer when she's around, but she loves it when I use the Cricut! I'd love to see more stuff that you've done with the Silhouette...

[Marie]

Hi Jessica. I was linked here via Ali's blog. Thanks for your insight into all things Christmas too. I am really determined to get into the Christmas spirit this year, so I am doing one thing everyday that will assist me in that. They will range from giving, creating, serving, buying, mailing, visiting, etc. I am excited for them all. So if you get a chance, check out my blog.

[Marie]

sorry, my blog is www.jmmoser.blogspot.com

[Vanessa]

Hi Jessica,

Thanks for the great list of ideas. I love the painted, numbered boxes - they look fantastic!

Another idea for those with older tweens & teens, I put a clue in each of the numbered doors (in my purchased from Target advent cabinet!) and my kids do a mini-scavenger hunt for the days treats. Sometimes I hide candy. Sometimes it's a small ornament. Even funky holiday socks for my girls and boxers for my son. Sometimes they simply find a "coupon" for extra computer time (they have a limit in our house!!) or an iTunes download.

Regardless of the "treat" it has kept them involved in the holiday, kept some excitement alive in those otherwise "leave-me-alone" teenage angst years!! LOL!

[Angi Smith]

Jessica,
I love, love, LOVE what you (and Ali, too) have done with the advent boxes this year! I did have to clear my cookies and temp files and restart the computer again to see the pictures. I do every time,but the pictures are worth it!

[Natasha]

Thanks for the scripture cheat sheet! Saves me a lot of work. : )

[Artistic Archiver Joanne]

You are the EVER READY CHRISTMAS BUNNY for sure. you amaze me with all your talent and great ideas. This advent calendar is unique, easy to access and I want to know how you put the boxes up on the wall???? Your kids are so very lucky to have you for a mother. You are such an inspiration.

[Megan]

Love your calendar...the round boxes are awesome!mine is also up on my blog...thought you might like to see MY take!

[danielle]

Thanks for the advent idea- i have yet to get myself togethre this year and get started on christmas decor and activities (finished the shopping though woo hoo)
thanks too for the scripture list i may have to print that out for the girls at church thanks

[MN Carol]

What great lists! You are amazing! I loved seeing your Advent boxes - Rowen and Elliott will have so much fun with them. We will use your scripture list at our house. Thanks for starting our Christmas off! Hugs to all!

[KatieJ]

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful ideas! I'm a little slow and woke up this morning thinking I needed to put some scriptures in my advent calendar. Yours turned out great! I love all the fun activities too!

[Joscelyne (Joscie) Cutchens]

I love love love it! I may have to copy... what a great idea!

[Allison]

What a cool idea!
How did you get them to stick on the wall?

[Kathi Townzen]

Hi, Jessica, first I have to tell you that I've admired your work for so many years....well, since I got interested in scrapbooking, but only just yesterday discovered your Friday tutorials. Are you still doing them? They're invaluable! I created my all-time favorite layout using one of your OLD tutorials about blending a photo into paper.
Anywhooo.... I have a couple of questions and don't know where to go for them. Was hoping against hope that maybe YOU would know the answers. I've just been assigned on a Creative Digi team (soooooo excited!) and it was mainly for my doodling. I've done it for several years, but just free-hand on regular scrapbook pages.My problema!.... I color the doodles and they're pretty detailed. The ONLY way I know to make ping files out of them is to scan them, unlock them, and then start painstakingly erasing them. I'm sure there HAS to be an easier way. Again, they're already hand-colored and some of the detail is so small that I just really don't know if I can do them justice....and I NEED to know how to do it!
2. I love the look of cropping a person out of a photo and placing just their body on a layout. I used to be able to do it in publishing programs using "edit wrap points," and though it was time consuming, I could do it. Do you know how to do this?

If you can answer one or both of these questions, I would send a kazillion blessings your way!

Now, for Christmas traditions...regardless of the season, I try to read from the Bible every day! Think I need God's help!!! Thank goodness he loves us sooooo much! So, other than that... I try and always make a hand-made ornament for our tree and both my grown daughters. We've done this since the girls were little. We always have a Christmas Eve party with the whole family after church and it's just hors de' hourves and drinks. Then, naturally Christmas din din, and we have a NEXT DAY, nuke it up with the leftovers. At Thanksgiving and Christmas, we nearly always play games...several going at a time because of the size of the family! So, washshoes, ping pong, card games, board games, etc. We all bring dishes to the hostess's house... like 1 or 2 items and that way the hostess (we switch every year mostly), mainly has to worry about her house, the table, the turkey & ham and usually the mashed potatoes....then my second sister and I always love to make the gravy!

So, there it is! praise, questions and tradition! :)
God bless
kathi

[Kathi Townzen]

Oh! I almost forgot! I've been trying since yesterday to sign up for your newsletter and nothing happens. Either I'm not signed up or I've signed up 3,892 times!!! LOL
Hugs
kathi

[tabatha]

THIS is what I have been trying to come up with on my own! I have been trying to figure my own special twist on the numbers since I saw the calendar on Ali's blog a couple of weeks ago...and this is exactly what I want. Can't wait to find the time to do it. Thank you so much for the inspiration!

[Christine]

In our advent calendar along with the daily goody, I placed strip of paper with a Christmas song on it, so after opening the daily door we stand around the piano and sing a song! The kids think it is fun. I included some unfamiliar songs so we learn new ones.

[Missy]

I LOVE your ideas. You have really boosted our Advent ideas this year. We'll be hanging clothes line in our basement family room with hats, mittens, scarves and such. I'll clip an activity (from your AWESOME list). We'll take down a winter article of clothing each day and then donate to our church. Thanks again!

[Jan-Serfaklar]

Damn, that sound's so easy if you think about it.