As the holiday season approaches, you may be looking for meaningful ways to celebrate and connect during this special time of year. One wonderful tradition we add to our December each year is a simple Christmas Advent calendar of activities that bring joy and connection. Advent offers a perfect opportunity to engage your children in festive activities that not only teach them about the season’s significance but also create lasting memories together. 

In this blog post, I am sharing our simple Advent calendar set up. I’ve included a variety of activity ideas that are fun, creative, and perfect for children of all ages. From crafting homemade decorations to enjoying festive family outings, these activities will help your little ones embrace the spirit of giving, the joy of family, and the excitement of waiting for Christmas.

In this blog post:

• How to set up a Christmas advent calendar
• Advent calendar activity ideas for families
• Advent activity printable [Free PDF]
• Holiday unit studies from Treehouse Schoolhouse

How to set up a Christmas advent calendar

To make our holiday advent calendar, I used a space in our home to display it. When we first did this, we used our the chalkboard in our dining room school area to display it where all of my kids could easily see the days leading up to Christmas. This could go right on the wall in any common area in your home.

Related: How to Make a DIY Wall-Size Chalkboard

I used mini paper sacks and tiny clothes pins to put this together with a garland I already had. All you need to do is hang up twine string in the space you are using and clip the bags to the twine in numbered order, one bag for each day leading up to Christmas. If you don’t have a chalkboard to write the numbers on, you could write the numbers on the paper bags. My kids loved pulling off the bags and counting down the days until Christmas.

Next, I made a list of activities I wanted to do with the kids throughout the month of December. I scouted out all the free or inexpensive events happening in our town and included some of those. I also included some activities centered around giving and serving. I wanted to have the ability to pick one each morning and pop it in the bag before the kids wake up depending on which one made sense for our schedule, the weather, and let’s be honest, the one I wanted to do that day. I typed them into a table so I could print them on cardstock and cut them into cards to put into the bags. 

When the kids aren’t looking, I sort through my cards and put in a bag each morning. Each morning during “Christmas school” the kids will open a bag and read the activity for the day. Sometimes the activities coordinate with the lesson we are doing in our Christmas curriculum for the day. Other days it’s an outing we will do in the afternoon or a family activity we will do in the evening.

Advent calendar activity ideas for families

Here are some of my favorite things to do on the days leading up to Christmas. I use these ideas to fill the mini paper bags and use them as a holiday advent calendar.

1. Make cinnamon applesauce ornaments for the Christmas tree
2. Drive around with hot cocoa looking at Christmas lights
3. Help wrap presents
4. Make gingerbread houses
5. Get bundled up and go for a wintery hike
6. Bake cookies to share with neighbors
7. Make caramel popcorn and watch a Christmas movie
8. String popcorn and dried oranges for the Christmas tree
9. Throw a birthday party for Jesus
10. Buy gifts for friends at the dollar store
11. Go to holiday storytime at the library
12. Go to a live Nativity play
13. Buy coats and donate them to a charity
14. Attend a holiday play
15. Read Christmas stories by the Christmas tree
16. Walk through the neighborhood to see the Christmas lights 
17. Pass out candy canes to people on a hiking trail
18. Make homemade hot cocoa
19. Go ice skating
20. Build a snowman
21. Play games by the Christmas tree
22. Attend a holiday concert
23. Make DIY ornaments 
24. Make handmade Christmas cards
25. Go caroling
26. Make paper snowflakes
27. Buy gifts for a family in need
28. Decorate Christmas cookies

Related: Holiday Homeschooling: Adding Holiday Curriculum to the Mix and Nature-Inspired Crafts and Recipes for Kids

Advent activity printable [Free PDF]

Save and print these advent calendar activities to do with your children this holiday season.

View and download the full Christmas Advent Activity PDF here.

Holiday unit studies from Treehouse Schoolhouse

Holiday unit studies are a special way to incorporate the meaning Christmas into your homeschool. Use these studies as a comprehensive curriculum or as a menu of ideas for connecting with your family during this special time of year. These studies include living book lists, passages of scripture, art study, poetry, hands-on activities, and more.

A Connected Christmas

A Connected Christmas is a curriculum designed to connect hearts to the heart of Christmas – to the truth of Jesus coming to earth to seek and save the lost. Explore the nativity story through Scripture readings to delight in festive carols, stories, poetry, art, baking, and handcrafts.

Related: How to Use A Connected Christmas with All Ages

A Connected Christmas: Around the World

Celebrate Christ’s birth and connect hearts to the truth of Jesus while experiencing how Christmas is celebrated across the globe with A Connected Christmas: Around the World. Give your children a way to travel the world as you explore the Christmas season in different languages, climates, and cultures. Experience the unique traditions of different countries through festive carols, stories, poetry, fine art, baking, and handcrafts.

Related: Introducing A Connected Christmas: Around the World

View the complete holiday collection from Treehouse Schoolhouse here.

Happy Holidays from Treehouse Schoolhouse!

Related:

• Creative and Practical Stocking Stuffers for Children 
• Screen-Free Holiday Gift Guide for Children
• Christmas Gift Guide for Homeschool Moms