How to set up an activity advent calendar for kids (with 24 ideas)

An activity advent calendar swaps the daily chocolate for something to do together: bake cookies, read a story, go look at the lights. Kids still get the thrill of opening a new day, and the family ends December with a month of small memories instead of a pile of wrappers.

Plan the month before December 1

1. 1Look at the calendar first. Mark school concerts, parties, travel and busy work nights.
2. 2Put the big activities (baking, a gingerbread house, a trip to see lights) on weekends and days off.
3. 3Put five-minute activities (hot cocoa, a dance party, a Christmas sweater day) on the busy nights.
4. 4Save the most special one, like leaving cookies for Santa, for December 24.
5. 5Make a list of what each day needs and shop once, so you're never hunting for glue at 7 pm.

Four ways to hand out each day

• •Envelopes or bags: put each day's card in a numbered envelope and hang them on a string or a ribbon.
• •A countdown poster: kids color in one number each morning, then read that day's activity.
• •A paper chain: write or print one activity on each link and tear one off a day.
• •Your own advent box: drop the card into a drawer or pocket with a small treat if you like.

24 ideas that cost little or nothing

• •Write a letter to Santa
• •Decorate the tree, one special ornament each
• •Drink hot cocoa with extra marshmallows
• •Read a Christmas story together
• •Make paper snowflakes
• •Hang up the stockings
• •Make a pinecone bird feeder
• •Drive or walk around to see the lights
• •Have a Christmas dance party
• •Make a paper plate wreath or ornament
• •Wrap a present for someone special
• •Build a snowman (or a marshmallow one)
• •Bake and decorate cookies
• •Movie night with popcorn and blankets
• •Sing carols with pot-and-spoon drums
• •Build a gingerbread or graham cracker house
• •Do something kind for a neighbor
• •Wear Christmas sweaters and take a silly photo
• •Go sledding, or have a sock-ball fight inside
• •Make Christmas cards for family
• •Have a teddy bear picnic by the tree
• •Take a flashlight walk
• •List your favorite memories of the year
• •Leave cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer

Keep it fun, not another chore

• •Let a day swap places with another when life gets busy. Nobody is keeping score.
• •Keep a few blank cards for snow days, sick days and kids' own ideas.
• •For younger kids, read the card out loud and let them pick the order of the steps.
• •For grandparents far away, print a set and mail it, then do the activities together on a video call.

Printing it

Print the cards on white cardstock so they last the month and don't show through an envelope. Print at actual size on US Letter, or choose “fit to page” on A4. Cut on the lines with a paper trimmer and the whole set is ready in about twenty minutes.