Wednesday, November 16, 2011

# Christmas # crafts

DIY: Scratch-Off Christmas Activities Advent Calendar

I LOVE Christmas and I LOVE advent calendars! This year I decided to do something different for my 3-year old daughter. I made a scratch-off activities advent calendar with scratch-off stickers. I made it super simple, since it's going to be used by my 3-year old, and made it for only 12 days. Since I have circular scratch-off stickers, I am going with a Christmas tree theme to blend in like ornaments. You can order scratch-off stickers from multiple sites on the internet.

Create your calendar: I folded a large piece of construction paper in half and drew half a Christmas tree. (You could do whatever kind of picture you'd like. You could cut the stickers into any shape you'd like too.)


I opened my paper and then I actually ironed it out a bit because I don't like the fold down the middle. If I were a better artist I wouldn't have a fold at all. ;)


I used a stencil to plot out my activities that will be covered by the scratch-off stickers and wrote out the actual activities with a pen.



Cover the activities with scratch-off stickers. You could number the stickers if you have specific activities that you'd like to be revealed on certain days.


Decorate! I wanted to make this calendar super cute with decorative scrapbook paper and all sorts of cute embellishments but it's going to be used by my 3-year old.


We ended up with this simple tree using ornament stickers instead.


I can't wait to see what will be revealed!


Here are some activity ideas for kids:
  • Build a snowman
  • Watch a Christmas movie
  • Decorate gingerbread houses
  • Bake and decorate sugar cookies
  • Visit a neighbor or friend
  • Write a letter to Santa
  • Go sledding
  • Visit Santa at the mall or other location
  • Make an ornament or pick out a special ornament that represents a special occasion from this year
  • Sit by the fire and play a game
  • Have an indoor snowball fight
  • Do something nice for someone else
  • Reenact the nativity
  • Go to a Christmas tree lot and find the "perfect" tree
  • Read the Christmas story from Luke 2
  • Donate an old toy or book
  • Check out some Christmas books at the library
  • Make paper snowflakes
  • Send a special Christmas card to someone that might need some extra holiday cheer
  • Take a Christmas Train ride
  • Read your favorite Christmas book
  • Go see Christmas lights

You could also make a special advent calendar for your spouse to spice things up for the holidays. Along with other activities that you've already thought about, here are some extras:
  • Take a picture of yourselves together to remember this year
  • Make a Christmas wish list together (pretend that money doesn't matter)
  • Back massage
  • Watch an old Christmas classic
  • Bake your favorite holiday treat
  • Browse books at the bookstore (check out vacation spots in magazines)
  • Have an indoor snowball fight or outdoor snowball fight
  • Build a unique gingerbread house/building/landmark together
  • Relax in the tub with your favorite drink
  • Foot massage
  • Sit by the fireplace and sip hot chocolate or play a game
  • Send a Christmas card to each other
  • Sculpt something with snow
  • Send a letter to Santa about the other person
  • Go ice skating
  • Go sledding by sitting in large black trash bags instead of using a sled.
  • Go see a local performance of "The Nutcracker"
Have an activity idea? Please share!

1 comment:

  1. This a great idea and so unique. I'm going to share it with others.

    ReplyDelete

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