Make An Adorable Advent Calender – An Activity In A Stocking Each Day In December

As December nears I wanted to share with you how we count down the days until Christmas in our house. This adorable Do It Yourself advent calender has a special family activity tucked in a little stocking for the first 25 days of December. You can use it year after year to create wonderful holiday memories and traditions.

Last year after Thanksgiving I was looking for one of those little cardboard advent calendars with the chocolate inside. They were sold out everywhere, and I was without a fun way to count down the days until Christmas with the kiddos. I stopped by our local Dollar General Store to see if they had any, and came up with a much better idea.

I found these charming little stocking 2 for $1. I picked up 25 of them and a string of sparkly red poms to hang them from. The whole project cost me less than $15.00. Not too bad, considering this is something we will be using for years to come. I used craft glue to write the numbers 1 through 25 onto the stockings and then covered the glue in gold glitter. I shook them off and let them dry and the were ready to hang.

I hung the string of poms from a window valence in our kitchen so the stockings could all be hung in a row. Using a paper clip, I hung the stocking across my string. This time of the year the kids definitely don’t need any more sweets, or little toys – so I opt for a more personal touch to add into the stockings each day. Christmas is about spending time with the ones we love and remembering why we rejoice in Jesus not about getting treats and gifts each day. I put a fun family activity in each stocking, and we do 25 activities, one each day in December until Christmas arrives. These 25 activities are not elaborate, or expensive. It is a fabulous way to celebrate the magical days while we anticipate Christmas day. Most of the things in the stockings are things that we would be doing anyway, but I coordinate the activities with the days that we are doing those things, and add in some simple crafts, and projects that we can do to stay busy on those cold December days. The kids just get so excited to see what each day’s stocking has in store for them. I do add in a couple little treats as a surprise throughout the calendar.

1. Drive around and look at Christmas Lights
2. Make a Christmas Card
3. Make Christmas Cookies
4. Go see Rudolph with Grandma and Grandpa
5. Rudolph night at Grandma and Papas
6. Make Green and Red Play dough
7. Pick a Toy to Give Away
8. Make Daddy a Christmas gift
9. Read the Night Before Christmas
10. Santa Bubble Beards In the tubby
11. Decorate the Christmas Tree
12. Eat a Candy Cane
13. Go to a Christmas Party
14. Make a Snowman
15. Write a List for Santa
16. Make Reindeer Food
17. Draw a Christmas Tree
18. Wrap a Present
19. Go Sledding and Drink Hot Chocolate
20. Learn a Christmas Song
21. Go to Church
22. Put up the Nativity Scene
23. Mail Christmas Cards
24. Celebrate Christmas Eve with Family
25. Merry Christmas