I did this project two years ago, and I recently had an e-mail asking where the post went. Yeah. Good question. Since changing over my domain, I seem to have lost dozens of posts. They’re out there somewhere, but I figured it might be a good idea to refresh it.
This advent idea was made out of mini matchboxes. I bought a pack of them at the grocery store, painted the insert part white, and wrapped the outside with scrapbook paper. The outside is labeled with the countdown day, and it’s complete.
I try to remain really conscious of not letting the “I want that!” mentality overwhelm the spirit of Christmas at JaG’s house, so I tried to come up with advent ideas that were mostly about spending time together. Plus, they’re pretty much free. Santa’s on a budget this time of year.
There is such an extensive list of things you could add to this list, but these are the ones we’ll be using this year. I added a couple of notes to some since we’ve been doing this a couple of years.
- Play a board game together
- Build a fort and have dinner in it (the kids’ favorite)
- Cut out paper snowflakes
- Pick out a toy for Toys for Tots
- Make popcorn and watch a Christmas movie
- Find a special treat
- Special treat: Hot cocoa and marshmallows
- Make a Christmas craft (check the internet—tons of ideas out there)
- Breakfast for dinner
- Find a special present and open it (always dollar store items)
- Make a card for someone and mail it
- Go to dollar store and shop for family (again—kids LOVE)
- Go out to a movie
- Decorate a gingerbread house
- Kids make dinner for Mom and Dad
- Go see Santa Claus
- Make a pinecone bird feeder
- Make a Christmas craft
- Find a special present and open it
- Go bowling
- Bake Christmas cookies
- Go downtown and look at lights
- Popcorn and movie night
So what about you? Do you have any ideas that you use with your family? I’m always curious for new ideas. Anything I’m missing?
{ 77 comments… read them below or add one }
What a fabulous idea! Our kids are out of the house now but I love this idea and will share it with friends whose kids are still at home.
We used to make smores around the fireplace, turn out all of the lights but the Christmas tree with soft Christmas music in the background and just chat. It's amazing where the conversation goes. Lots of fun! Baking cookies is another tradition the kids still love.
That is a great idea. Cute and I love that you thought of all the great ways to spend time together.
I love it! I'm filing it away for future Christmases.
I love this idea…. It's just perfect and focuses on time spent with your loved ones….not on newest and greatest whatever!
One year my daughter did something similar to this for my birthday. She filled a jar with little notes reminding me of special times we've spent together…. She remembered many that I had long since forgotten. It's still one of my all-time favorite gifts.
Warm blessings,
Spencer
OMG!!!! Love, love, love this idea. So pretty (and so many ways to personalize)!! I am just sad it wasn't posted sooner as I woulda SO done this for our advent "calendar" this year! hmmm… I may have to find another use for this before next Christmas!
I just found your blog a few weeks ago and am thoroughly enjoying it!! Thanks for your creative ideas for some of us not-so-creative-on-our-own types!;)
I love this! I have been wanting to do something like this, so your post was very timely! Thanks for sharing such a fun idea with such a great focus on giving and family.
What a clever idea! I love it!
Wow, I love this — and I did not see it the first time around, so I'm glad you re-posted. I will definitely implement this for next year. I even have that exact apothocary jar to put my little matchbooks in!
SO adorable!! (: I love the surprise element!
I'm loving all the advent calendars I'm seeing lately and this one is for sure a keeper! I'm bookmarking this page for all the great ideas inside too! What a fun mom you are:)
Loved it and wanted to leave my shout out link for you, Chris! Merry Christmas!!
http://johnhoodfamily.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-make-over.html
So great! I just posted our advent calendar idea today . . .but it takes up way too much space. Same idea with the family activities, though. Can't wait to do the jar next year.
Those tiny boxes are adorable!!
The fort idea is super cute, too.
Cute cute idea.
Now, I've been looking for that post where Olivia is a pizza. Do you still have that one? (and WHY am I cracking up when I type this?)
We are taking baby formula to the food bank and pet supplies to the animal shelter. As well as leaving little gifts around town (a Christmas cd, a filled stocking, leaving a gift card someone's car).And one day the girls' magic elf will arrive ~ we'll see what trouble they get into.
Great idea – love it! And love the simplicity of your list – it really is what Christmas is all about!
Such a great idea honey!!!! Kori xoxo
OOOO Best advent idea that I have seen!
Oooh, this is a GREAT one! I have been racking my brain to come up with an Advent tradition for our family. Our oldest is three and our traditions are really starting to roll this year!
I love this! It is such a great idea and it looks so good as decoration! Love love love it!
This is great! I do not have kids, but I may just have to make one for the bf and I. We could make a fort and eat dinner in it! Haha. I'm sure I could come up with things that us grown ups could do. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the great idea! we are short on space around here and this doesn't take up much space at all
So, so cute! I've been searching all over blog land for an advent idea to use with toddlers. I'm thinking I can tweak this a little so it can grow with them! Thanks for the inspiration!
Great idea, thanks for sharing it…I have a bunch of match boxes, this will an awesome way to use them. Oh! my kids are going to love this.
I looove this craft! So beautiful and simple.
A German Christmas tradition my family enjoys: You can still buy these little green pickle Xmas ornaments some places, and one person hides that on the tree somewhere, the rest look for it, and whoever wins gets a special gift! And they get to buy the gift new year. Awesome? Yes.
I'm new here, but I love visitors!! http://fadingmarginsofdani.blogspot.com
I just love that idea. I am putting that in my Christmas idea book for future years. Thanks. Very clever!!
I am totally doing this next year! We've been looking for an advent calendar but just haven't found the perfect one. I've already exceeded my Christmas craft budget for the year (oops), but next November, I'll be all over this.
What a great idea!!! I think I'll make one of these for my friend that has kids! They would love it!
I love this idea so much!!! Thanks for posting.
Such a great idea! I love it!
I just wish I had the time to put it together!
OMG This is amazing! I love the colors! What a great idea!
Chris~ I do the same thing each year with my kids! But I have never presented it quite this cute before! Thanks for sharing
We do an advent calendar every year just like this. In addition to many of the things on your list we also ring the salvation army bell. Do a giving tree. Make neighborhood gifts and distribute them (usually hot chocolate and homemade marshmallows). Do a puzzle night (we put together a puzzle every december and the girls love it!) Go to a festival of nativities (or you could go to a festival of trees) And we are sure to read the christmas story one night. We call ours the 25 days of Christmas and my girls look forward to it all year.
I do LOVE your jar full of boxes, though. We have ours in a little wooden church with 25 doors/windows to open.
Jenni
So cute. I love using matchboxes for things. I use them for gift tags all the time or invites to parties. No one ever forgets their invite when I do that!
um I loved your wreath, cable sweater sleeves and advent jar so much that I decided to do an holiday inspiration post and blogged about you!
http://perfectlyimperfectjenn.blogspot.com/2010/12/holiday-inspiration.html
This is such a great idea! Thank you for posting this. I don't even have children, but I think this would be fun for my husband and I!
Another great idea! My husband and I do something similar for Hanukkah…each night we do something special. We go out for Chinese Food, we go see holiday lights, he reads me a bedtime story, we have a dinner with his family, we have one with mine. I celebrate Hanukkah and he celebrates Christmas, but for future little ones, I think this is a great way to celebrate the season. I, too, feel the holidays have gotten blown out of proportion and it needs to be more about spending quality time together and less about spending money!
Ok, this is just the cutest! What a great idea!!
That is so cute and unique. The Bavarian Christmas linky party is now open-won’t you come and join us at http://dobermans-by-the-sea.blogspot.com/2010/11/1st-christmas-linky-party-at-dobermans.html and while you are there join the give-a-ways going on.
I love the match box idea. I have a similar advent with something for us to do. I really like the make dinner for mom and dad. One I added this year was a fondue night.
Fantastic! Thanks.
Any other ideas for using something other than matchbox ideas. I've allready spent a fortune on random christmas decorations and craft projects and don't really want to make one more trip to the store…
I loved your idea and I like your sayings too – I linked it to my "advent calendars" post too!
I love advent calendars too…and actually made one for my kids this year. (I posted it Monday) My kids are having a hay-day with it!!!
I love your version!!
What an adorable idea!!!
When I was growing up we used to spend a couple nights reading all the classic Christmas stories together and I still love going through them each year =)
One of the best advent designs I have ever seen! Love it!!
I love your advent jar and all of the activities!
This would also be very cool for those without children. Just think of all the options.
I do the same thing! Yours is a million and three times prettier, though.
Love this!
Hi
I'm a new follower here and am alos new at blogging and this week I put together an advent chocolate bowl. each day my miss c takes a chocolate out. easy and yummy so she tells me..
http://nametocome.blogspot.com/
OK, this is one of the coolest crafts I have seen in a very long time! Love it. I would love to link to this next week for one of my posts! Let me know if you are up for that, and I will gladly do it. Just so you know, I have never linked to a post for one of my post. I just think this is that cute! Mandi.
Too funny, I literally sat down to my computer to find that post from a while ago…Look at the lasting impression you have on me ! Thanks
Love this. Totally L.O.V.E.
Thanks for sharing,
Holly
http://hallelujahsbyholly.blogspot.com
My mother did the matchboxes with us when we were little and my sister gave my siblings and I a set a few years ago to do with our children. I love it! I love the idea of having something fun to do every day in December. We usually include some things like, "get out the nativity," "read Christmas stories," and "decorate the Christmas tree." Love the idea of putting them in a cute glass jar.
How about—
A pizza, pj picnic.
Reading Christmas stories out loud.
Reading The Christmas story.
Melinda
I love love love this!! And it's so cute to top of the meaningfulness behind it!
Thanks for sharing!
Such a sweet idea and a beautiful implementation!
Love this. Once my daughter is older I will definitely be stealing this idea!
What a great & fun idea!
And its beautiful too!
As many previous commenters said, I LOVE that you made each card list an activity to do together. Nothing says "holiday" more than spending time with the ones you love. Very cool idea, and extremely cute.
How fantastic! I love the idea!
I love the idea of using matchboxes! And the quality time together is priceless. Thanks for sharing!
That's a super cute idea/project!
Love this idea! You listed such great activity ideas!
I love this. Suggesting as a project for next year. Super idea.
Along with everyone else I L-O-V-E this idea. You can even expand on it, by gluing a small magnet to the back of each box and hanging a dollar store cookie sheet spray painted in a cordinating color on the wall and place each box on as you pull it out of the jar.
Ooooh!!
This is awesum!! If I manage to do it this year would you mind me mentioning you in my blog?
It isn’t a craft one itself just a rambling one
No children ourselves I’m just a big kid but it could be easily replaced with little things for us to do together to take a bit of the stress away from the holidays!
Thanks so much for posting this!
Of course, Jade. thanks so much! Good luck!
Adorei sua dica, vou fazer aqui em casa!!! Lindo!!! Bjs, Vilma Neris
This is really cute! And I love your list of activities, too : ) I’m including this in a Friday Favorites – Advent Countdowns post on my blog. Thanks for the inspiration!
Jaimee @ craft-interrupted.blogspot.com
Found you on Pinterest! Love this so much that I just had to include it into an Advent inspiration blog post! http://handmakemyday.com/2011/11/16/holiday-calendar-advent-inspiration/
oh wow, thankyou so much for this awesome idea! I have just found your blog and this looks amazing! I am definately doing this, I think it will be an awesome tradion for every year, the best thing is it can be reused! I have been looking for ideas that we can do as a family that doesn’t cost the earth and this is just perfect, it makes me wonder why we don’t alwats stop and think of the simple things
) my kids will thank you too! Have a great holidat season this year xoxo
I hope you will link this up to The cSI Project on Wednesday or Thursday. I know that it is from last year but inspiration never gets old, so link up.
http://www.thecsiproject.com
If you have never visited my blog, come on by and every week there is a new challenge, new winners and a new giveaway.
Thanks
Dee
My kids love wrapping each other in wrapping paper. I have 3 kids and two will wrap the other. I pick up wrapping paper in the dollar store. It is a guaranteed barrel of laughs. Thank you for your ideas. I don’t make my calendar like you , but rather fill a advent calendar box that I picked up at Target. Each day has a little door that is filled with something.
I love your DIY advent calendar that i added your tutorial to my blog , thank you for your great idea
What a wonderful idea, I love this!
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