Ever since he saw the first decorations for Christmas, back in October, my 5 year old has been asking, ‘How many days until Christmas?’ Now, with Thanksgiving over, and the Christmas push in full gear he is asking even more often. Time is such a hard concept to explain to a child that is wrapped up in the excitement of a coming holiday. Usually, we do a traditional advent calendar to countdown the days, but this year I opted for something different.
For the month of November we had ‘The Thankful Tree’. With hopes of recycling those branches into our Christmas decor I came up with a new idea for our Advent calendar, an Advent Tree.
If you’d like to make one of your own, here’s what you’ll need…
Small-medium branches, spray painted white (painting optional)
Base for the branches–I used a large Mason jar, but a vase would work as well
24 cardstock tags
24 festive stickers
string or ribbon to tie tags to branches
Lightly spray the branches with white to give them a more seasonal feel.
On one side of the tag write the date, on the other side write an activity, scripture verse or conversation starter related to Christmas.
Tie the string/ribbon onto the tags and hang them on your branches.
Each day, take a tag off, read it and follow whatever the directions may be.
This came together easily in an afternoon and I even enlisted my 5 year old to put on stickers and write a few dates on the tags. At first, it was a little overwhelming to come up with 24 activities, but after getting started, ideas just kept coming.
Here are a few ideas for your tags…
Christmas scripture
Walking the neighborhood to look at holiday lights
Making hot cocoa and reading your favorite Christmas story
Making salt or cinnamon dough ornaments
Writing/making a Christmas card to send to someone special
Taking a bag of food to the local food bank
Doing a craft together
Making a Christmas playlist
Playing ‘I Spy’ for signs of the holidays when on a road trip
Lighting the candles for each new week of Advent
Choosing a favorite Holiday cookie/treat to make
How do you countdown to the holidays? I’d love to hear your ideas!
.jpg)
Hannah - I really love this idea! I want to do something like this once my kids are old enough to understand it a bit.
Christi Harrison - love it! i am making one this year for the first time and love your ideas! thanks for sharing!
Stacey Woods - Absolutely love it, Alison!
Allison Waken - I love this and great ideas too!
Tortellini Soup | thishomemadelife - [...] Advent calendar countdowns… [...]
A Homemade Christmas | thishomemadelife - [...] Advent Tree [...]