Our daughter has wanted me to create an Advent Calendar
for a few years now. However, because we celebrate both
Christmas and Hanukkah, and she is abundantly blessed to receive
so many gifts between the two holidays, I was always
hesitant to create yet another avenue where she would
receive even more gifts.
I got to thinking, why not create an Advent Calendar
that incorporates giving to others, as well as partaking in
activities that we can share as a family, while also helping those in need.
With decorating for the holidays, I didn't want to make
this project any bigger than it needs to be. So, I went into
the garage, and found a remnant piece of plywood from
a previous project, and thought, why not? I grabbed a brush,
painted it white, and strung red & white baker's twine across it
in five sections. I used card stock cut to size & folded over. I wrote
numbers 1-24 (although, I left 1-4 blank inside), because our princess was away
on a school trip), and wrote a special activity on the inside of each card.
Once all the cards had an activity written on it, I hung them on the baker's
twine. And just like that our Family Advent Calendar was born! Now it's time to
partake in each of the activities as our girl opens each card.
So if you've contemplated creating an Advent Calendar, but were
apprehensive about it becoming at huge project, do what I did, and make it simple,
yet extremely rewarding.
Here is a list of the activities on each of the cards on our Advent Calendar.
(You can tailor yours to your liking of course)
Day 5 Pray for someone who is ill or in need
Day 6 Take a family walk and reflect on the beauty of where we live
Day 7 Have a family lunch on the lake
Day 8 Prepare dinner as a family, and pray for those who are hungry
Day 9 Make a blanket for someone in need
Day 10 Deliver blanket at local charity
Day 11 Pack a bag of holiday food items, and deliver to the local food bank
Day 12 Participate in our annual holiday family charity event for those in need during the holidays
Day 13 Deliver food items and toys to those in need during the holidays
Day 14 Family board game night by the fire
Day 15 Eat breakfast together before work & school
Day 16 Leave a little sweet care package on a friend's front door
Day 17 Celebrate First night of Hanukkah
Day 18 Bring some cheer to a friend on her birthday & Celebrate Hanukkah
Day 19 Visit Santa at the Mall...doesn't matter how old we are & Celebrate Hanukkah
Day 20 Host daddy's family over for a Hanuka-MAS Dinner- Everyone gathers around the
Menorah to say the blessings
Day 21 Bake goodies for daddy's office
Day 22 Wrap presents as a family & Sing Christmas and Hanukkah songs
Day 23 Bake goodies for our Cuban Noche Buena (Christmas Eve celebration)
Day 24 Enjoy a wonderful Noche Buena with the Cuban side of the family
Day 25 Read the Nativity Story & enjoy all of our Christmas blessings.
Sharing at:
No comments:
Post a Comment