Simple Christmas Advent & Activities

We are really starting to get into the Christmas spirit around here! Although the temperatures outside aren't reflecting the season (86 degrees in December? No thanks.) we're creating our own Christmas magic indoors.

Each morning while the girls are having breakfast, I load up Christmas music on Pandora (the Indie Holidays Radio station is awesome!) and turn on the Scentsy warmers full of yummy seasonal scents. After we're done with our morning schoolwork, the girls take turns pulling different activities out of our "Advent Box", which is my take on the Advent calendar.

I've been modifying my "I'm Bored" jar for the different seasons. For Halloween I placed seasonally- appropriate activities in a jack-o-lantern bucket for the girls to choose from each day. I meant to do something for Thanksgiving, but time ran away from me :/

I was going to do a more traditional Advent calendar for Christmas, but I decided to stick with this method, which is fairly easy to put together and the girls love it. I just took a cute Christmas treat container and filled it with different activities written on strips of paper. The girls take turns choosing activities. Super easy!

Here's a list of our activities:

• Read Christmas books in bed
• Make a Christmas craft
• Cut out paper snowflakes and decorate the windows
• Make treats to take to friends
• Have hot chocolate with candy canes
• Drive around and look at Christmas lights
• Make Christmas ornaments
• Write a letter to Santa
• Make a gingerbread house
• Have a family game night
• Watch Christmas movies and have popcorn
• Make homemade gifts
• Breakfast for dinner
• Do something nice for someone 
• Send a Christmas card to a relative
• Color a Christmas picture
• Make Christmas cookies
• Make candy cane playdoh
• Make gifts for grandparents
• Make a Christmas decoration
• Make reindeer food
• Make a holiday thank you card for the mailman
• Have a special Christmas breakfast
• Make presents for your American Girls
• Wrap some presents!

Most of the activity ideas are taken from Pinterest. Have I mentioned how obsessed with Pinterest I am? No? Well, I am. So many amazing ideas!