Activity Advent Calendar

I decided that I wanted to start the tradition of doing an Activity Advent Calendar this year. And my oh my do I wish I had found something with directions. I'm actually quite happy with the way it turned out, but not until after a whole lot of trial and error (my envelopes were FAR too big when I first made them.) But after two nights of working on it, I got it finished and Logan is really enjoying doing all of the activities. He gets so excited when he finds out what the activity for the day is and isn't always happy with doing only one a day.

 Here's the finished product. A 16x20 canvas painted red. Christmas paper cut and taped together. Paper cut out into circles with numbers stenciled on. And I Velcro-ed the "envelopes" so they could come off if need be. I also think it will help keep them in tact longer during the 11 month storage if I can take them off and protect them.

And here is our list of activities this year.

1^st: Go to Temple Square

2^nd: Have family and friends over for dinner (wasn't the actual plan, but we had no time for an activity.       B      But I don't know if there's anything Logan would want to do anything else anyway.)

3^rd: Make a paper chain to countdown to Christmas

4^th: Make paper snowflakes

5^th: Find Christmas books at the library

6^th: Color a Christmas picture

7^th: Get Christmas cards ready to mail

8^th: Make a gingerbread house

9^th: Go to the dancing Christmas lights house

10^th: Go to the dollar store and pick out presents for friends

11^th: Go to the Holiday Lights at Thanksgiving Point

12^th: Have reindeer pancakes for dinner

13^th: Frost sugar cookies

14^th: Go to the ward Christmas party

15^th: Go sledding in the snow

16^th: Build a snowman

17^th: Watch a Christmas movie and eat popcorn!

18^th: Go to an FM100 Christmas concert

19^th: Visit Great Grandpa

20^th: Do a Christmas craft

21^st: Visit Santa

22^nd: Leave for California!

23^rd: Drive around and look at house lights

24^th: Leave cookies and milk out for Santa

 

And some pictures of our activities thus far.

Paper snowflakes. Laura showed me these awesome ones last year. Coffee filters colored with washable markers, cut, then sprayed with a water bottle. The colors bleed together, and.....Voila! Beautiful, colorful snowflakes.

 

Making a paper chain.

Color a Christmas page.

 Help get Christmas cards ready to mail.

More to come!!! He's loving it. So I'm loving it. Anything to make this kid happy. :D