It is  fun to countdown to Christmas with an Advent Calendar. The calendar not only builds some excitement, it is a particularly festive decoration. Every year we try to create a new idea for our family Advent Calendar. This year we saved cans and spray painted them! I love how it turned out and my kids do too!

We painted the cans, drilled holes in the sides and added  wire handles.  The numbers were cut on the Silhouette out of white vinyl.

We will fill the cans with a tiny sweet or trinket for each child and then a slip of paper with an idea for a family activity.

50 Family Activities

  1. Go Ice Skating
  2. Make Christmas cards
  3. Go Christmas caroling or sing Christmas songs at home
  4. Give everyone manicure & pedicures
  5. Let each child choose a favorite dinner
  6. Push the furniture back and dance
  7. Watch It’s a Wonderful Life or the How the Grinch Stole Christmas
  8. Play a game
  9. Decorate Christmas cookies and share with neighbors
  10. Have a special friend for dinner
  11. Make Christmas ornaments
  12. Make hot chocolate and read Christmas stories
  13. Make a Gingerbread house
  14. Make a simple pine cone bird feeder
  15. Have a special breakfast
  16. String popcorn and cranberries
  17. Play cards
  18. Make a paper ring garland
  19. Have a fireside meal (we use this and make grilled cheese and apple pies in the fireplace)
  20. Cut snowflakes for the windows
  21. Make and hang beautiful wrapping paper stars
  22. Drive around to see neighborhood Christmas lights (put hot cocoa in to go cups and put on pjs)
  23. Go to a holiday movie
  24. Roast marshmallows in the fireplace
  25. Offer to help an elderly neighbor with their Christmas decorations
  26. Work together as a family to make some handmade gifts
  27. Make decorative sugar cookies
  28. Purchase gifts for a needy child or family
  29. Invite friends over in their pajamas to read Christmas  stories
  30. Play in the snow, build a snowman
  31. Go for a walk at night and look at the stars
  32. Try out these printable crafts
  33. Make paper candy canes
  34. Make some yummy peppermint candy covered popcorn
  35. Make gift tags and wrapping paper
  36. Make super simple sugar cookies
  37. Make snow paint
  38. Make homemade stickers
  39. Make homemade playdough
  40. Make a pie and take it to a friend
  41. Have ice cream sundaes with this special ice cream topping
  42. Make a candy wreath to give to a friend or decorate your own home
  43. Make shrinky dinks
  44. Have breakfast for dinner (serve smiley pancakes)
  45. Make glittery snowflakes
  46. Make Candy Cane Mice
  47. Make Candy Cane Reindeer
  48. Invite Santa for breakfast and serve snowman doughnuts
  49. Hand write letters to  friends that live away.
  50. Write something nice about each family member on a slip of paper and place it under their pillow


About Cindy Hopper

Learn More

you may also like

Comments

  1. I LOVE this project!! I need to get organized like this! I’m asking bloggers to share their tin can projects at the Create With Me party today! I’d love for you to stop by too 🙂 Lindi @ Love Create Celebrate

  2. Very cool idea! I especially love your list of things to do in the advent calendar. Helps you to remember to do all of the most special Christmas traditions and also helps you to make new ones.

  3. I love this! I am so behind on reading the blogs I love to follow and this post was just delightful to open today!

  4. This is so inspirational! I can’t wait to do this for next year. So cool a way to promote reusing/repurposing while getting family into the spirit of the season. Thank you so much for sharing.

  5. So adorable! I love it. And a great list of things to do! I am stealing some of your ideas for my family!! Thanks Cindy!

  6. OMG! i like this one “many times”…let see if i have time before Xmas…OOOOps, today i Nov. 29… if not, for next year!

  7. For all a’ those cans I done did recycled…Bah Humbug! That’s so cute I wanna go back through the recyclin’ bins… cept there gone and I’m left with 2 plastic bottles and a Reese’s Puffs box…sniff, sniff…

  8. This is so cute! I started collecting cans a few weeks ago, but I only had about 8…not enough for an advent calendar:)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *