What sort of Advent Calendars did you buy your child? A chocolate one? A fancy Playmobil, Lego or Barbie one? I know we all look forward to opening our calendars and especially the ones filled with chocolate but this year I needed to find something to put in my Santa-with-tiny-boxes Advent Calendar other than sweets! I really wanted to put notes in there for my kids like: make Christmas cookies or sweets but I lack a bit of imagination because the other one I came up with was ..a really big hug! Then I felt bad because I should be already giving my kids really big hugs! But then I thought I should really also spend time baking and making with them as well! - oh oh guilt trip!
Well I don't know about you but time does seem to run out quite a lot....there's school, after school clubs, swimming, singing, musicianship, gym class, music class, violin, playgroup...and more! So perhaps filling my Advent Calendar with other doing things would be a good thing for all of us because we'd have to stick to it!
Thankfully I have some brilliant mums in my music classes and friends who suggested the following ideas:
1. Write Christmas list to Santa 2. Read Nativity or Christmas Story before bed 3. Make a nativity scene - this could be out of boxes & cartons, lego, playdough - anything! 4. Write Christmas cards 5. Decorate the tree 6. Family trip out to a Christmas Market - what about the German Markets that are around at the moment? 7. Have a Christmas dinner out together 8. Choose a toy to donate to charity or a child that won't get anything - some charity's do the shoe box idea which is lovely. http://linktohope.co.uk/shoebox-appeal; http://www.smileinternational.org/christmas-shoeboxes.aspx 9. Sing Christmas songs or have a silly dance before bed 10. Go to a school Christmas concert 11. Wrap up your Christmas presents 12. Watch a Christmas film 13. Go to Christingle 14. Have Hot Chocolate and marshmallows! (or a warm Bailey's grown-ups!) 15. Make Homemade gifts - decorate wooden boxes (I bought one from The Works for 99p) 16. Make gingerbread cookies or Christmas sweets (give these to your teacher if you are at school or your favourite music teacher - ahem ahem!) 17. Go see a Pantomime, Christmas play, or Concert - My singing group Sing It Out's Festive Musical Celebration in Horbury is now sold out!18. Take part in a Santa run 19. Make a Christmas Cracker out of a toilet roll or kitchen roll tube - don't forget a corny joke! 20. Make Christmas Cards 21. Arrange a playdate 22. Trip to a Christmassy place - Stockheld park (Wetherby) or Winter Wonderland (Harrogate) 23. Visit a light switch on event or just simply walking through your local town/city's lights. 24. Go on a Christmas nature walk 25. Visit a garden centre 26. Go see Santa 27. Play a game - a board game or charades? 28. Tell some Christmas jokes 29. Do a Christmas jigsaw puzzle. 30. Go to a Christmas party - Cossins Music School's party on the 20th Dec don't forget! 31. Choose something from a Christmas Eve box - a new one for me as we're not allowed to open until Christmas day - however I may be tempted!
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