THE Sprinkles and Wrinkles Family Activity Advent Calendar

We have a surprise for you!!!

[Images created by http://www.trudyholtzphotography.com]

It is here.

Finally.

Brace yourself.

THE Sprinkles & Wrinkles Family Activity Advent Calendar is below.  I bummed some of the ideas off my friend L and pulled the rest out of the far corners of my mind. =)

It is long.  It is fun. It is all of my Christmas crazy bundled up into a fun little package to share with you and yours.  Pass it along.  Cut it up, chop it up, mix it up, and make it work for you. 

A few notes first:

*This Family Activity Advent Calendar is my way of organizing all the traditions and things we want to do in December into fun daily snippets so I can cram it all in before Christmas day.  A lot of the activities are things we plan to do each year anyway, and it’s just an easy way to get it done.  I am making a 25-pocket Advent calendar, and each pocket will hold a strip of paper with an activity on it.  The bolded portion of the activities below is what will be on the strip, and I’ll print the bolded portion to include in the calendar, then I’ll print off the entire list to refer to when I need directions for what each activity actually is.  I have easy-to-print copies of all this jazz in Word documents on my computer, so email me at sprinklesandwrinkles@gmail.com or get a hold of me on Facebook with your email address for easy print-outs if you’re interested in using the calendar. =)  

*Some of these activities may not be ideal for bitsy babies, but I’m a big fan of traditions, and I like to break ‘em in early.  Newbie is going to join us on all of these, and I’m planning on adjusting them as necessary.  For example, he’s not a big fan of movies.  So we’ll snuggle with him while we start the movie, press pause when he burns out, put him to bed, and continue the movie sans-baby.  Or we may sit Newbie in his highchair while we make our gingerbread house because there’s no way my boy is getting hooked on sugar this early!  You get the idea.  All of that to say, these are all family-friendly, but you may have to tweak them to fit your crowd.  You can always sub-in some of your own traditions for any of the activities too! I’m going to warn you now…there are FOUR Christmas movie nights in the list because we have so many we like to watch each year…so if you’re not a big movie fan, you might need to trade out those for another tradition.

*To make things easy, I didn’t number these- you can look through them and place them strategically in your advent calendar according to what you want to do when.  Some of the activities are outings, others are baking activities, others are quick and easy…so break out the family schedule and decide what works when. =)

*I’ve organized the activities into Offering activities, Craft activities, Group/family activities, and Sharing the Story activities for each week.  How do you like them apples?!? When placing your activities in your calendar, make sure you shake up the order below a bit so you have a nice variety of activities. 

Enjoy!  (Or, you know, skip all of this and scroll down to the next cute picture of Newbie at the bottom.  Whatever floats your boat. =])

Offering:

*Give a gift to someone in need! At Christmas God gave us the best gift ever- He gave us Jesus!  Today go shopping and pick out a gift for someone else.

Today, go shopping together for a family in need.  Donate your purchase to a church accepting gifts or a Christmas tree angel or Toys for Tots.  Money a little tight this Christmas?  Never underestimate the power of the dollar store!

*Pick out a toy to share! At Christmas time, we get a lot of gifts, so let’s pick out one thing we have that we can share with someone who may not have as much as we do.

As a family, go through your house and pick out one thing per person to donate to someone who doesn’t have toys or warm clothes this Christmas.  (Mom and Dad too!) And if you’re looking to purge the closet, make it more than one thing per person and save yourself some time next spring cleaning. Donate to Goodwill or your local service center.

*Make a Christmas card!  There are lots of grandmas and grandpas that may be lonely this Christmas and they may not get any Christmas cards.  Make a card for a grandma or grandpa that might be lonely this year.

Make Christmas cards for residents in a local nursing home.  If you have friends interested in making cards, make this a play-date activity and/or plan a day to go deliver your cards together. 

*Make some Christmas cookies! Some people may not have Christmas cookies to eat.  Make up a batch of cookies to share with someone who doesn’t have any.

 Whip up a batch of cookies together to deliver to your local Ronald McDonald House or homeless shelter ministry the following day.  Wash those hands before you get to work in the kitchen! Love, The Germ Police.

*Make a Christmas card! Our mailman works really hard to get all of our letters and packages to us- even when it is snowy and cold outside!  Make a special thank you note for your mailman and wish him/her a Merry Christmas!

Make a Christmas card for your postman/woman.  Have your kids decorate a card and write a note thanking your postman for delivering the mail rain or shine and wishing them a merry Christmas. Write “To Our Post Officer” on the envelope with your return address on the envelope as well, and then stick it in your mailbox.

The Story of Christmas:

*Give three gifts! The Wisemen brought Jesus three gifts to celebrate his birthday on Christmas.  Talk with your family about three gifts  you can’t buy in a store that  you can each give to each other this Christmas that would show them how much you love them. What are three gifts your family can give to others this Christmas?  

The Three Wisemen brought Jesus three gifts.  As a family, sit down together and have each family member write a list of three gifts you can give to one another this Christmas season that cannot be bought in a store. Think listening to parents and following directions, sharing toys, being a helper-trash, cleaning bedroom, etc.  If your littles are too young to write, ask them to draw three different pictures that show how they can love their family this month. Discuss your lists and pin them up somewhere in your home.  Come up with a list of three things as a family you can give to others this Christmas season that can’t be bought in store.  Pin this list up somewhere too.

* Share the Christmas story together! Use a nativity to act out the Christmas story as you read it together.

Pull out your nativity set (Find a kid-friendly version if you have some over-zealous littles, or you can make your own using felt or by cutting out clip-art or painting rocks.  I’m just sayin’- you can do it!)  Tell the Christmas story to your children.  Have Dad or Mom read from Scripture or a kid-friendly Bible or storybook and let the kids move the pieces as the story is told. When the story is over, pray together as a family and thank God for sending his son to us.

*Go to a Christmas service!  It’s easy to get busy at Christmas time, but it’s important to remember that Jesus is the reason we celebrate!  Bundle up and head out for a trip to church to hear the story of Jesus’ birthday!

Consider placing this activity on Christmas Eve and go to a Christmas Eve service.  Or look up locations of places you can see a live nativity.  My family has always gone to a Christmas Eve service, and it is such fun and a fabulous way to focus our hearts on the true meaning of Christmas.  Several churches host services at various times throughout the evening, making it easier to make time to go to the service in addition to whatever else you have planned that night.  We really try to make this a priority, and I’m so glad we do, given that Christmas day can be filled with things to distract us from the real reason we are celebrating! Earlier services are usually geared toward little kiddos, and later services are often candlelight.  The candlelight services are my favorite and totally worth the late bedtime. =)

*Christmas movie night! Snuggle up on the couch with some hot chocolate and candy canes and watch “The Nativity”. 

This movie does a great job of telling the Christmas story, but it’s geared towards adults.  If your little ones aren’t into a full-feature film that isn’t animated, check out the Veggie Tale version of the Christmas story. =)

Crafts:

*Make a wreath! Use your handprints to make a fun wreath to hang.

Use scrapbook paper or paint to create a handprint wreath.  Trace or stamp handprints and then cut out the prints.  Cut the flat portion out of a paper plate, and glue the handprints to the remaining ring of the plate to create a wreath.  Tie a ribbon or bow around it and hang it up somewhere fun!

* Make a “Christmas Hug”! Use your handprints to make a special hug to send to family and friends that live far away.

Cut out two handprints of each child in your home.  Measure the width of their arms and cut a string or ribbon of that length.  Tape or staple the handprints to each end of the string and stick it in an envelope with a note that says “Sending lots of holiday hugs to you this Christmas!” or something equally as cheesy.

*Make a Christmas bird feeder! Use a pinecone and birdseed to make a place where birds can find food on a snowy day.

Find a pinecone and put peanut butter on each “petal” if you have birdseed, roll the pinecone in the seed after the peanut butter has been put on.  If you don’t have seed, use dry oatmeal and make a “squirrel feeder” instead.

*Make a batch of Reindeer Food! Santa’s reindeer need a snack to eat while Santa is dropping off gifts.  Be sure to use Rudolph’s favorite recipe!

 Have kids dump dry oatmeal and glitter into a bowl and mix it together.  Put in a baggie and save.  On Christmas Eve, have kids sprinkle the Reindeer Food out on the front lawn for the Reindeer to eat while Santa is busy inside.

*Make a Christmas Chain! Deck the halls with a fun Christmas chain to hang in a doorway or over a window.

Using strips of red and green paper make a chain.  Take a strip of paper and staple both ends together.  Loop another strip around the first loop and staple.  Continue until the chain is long enough or until you can’t feel your hands anymore. =)  Hang in a door way or over a window. 

*Make a Christmas shirt, apron, wrapping paper, or towel!  Decorate something special with your handprints and paint in Christmas colors…have fun getting a little messy!

This one is an undertaking.  Don’t hate me.  It will be such fun and the mess will be worth it!  Pick a painting project- you could buy t-shirts or aprons at Hobby Lobby, buy a white hand towel, or buy a roll of white paper.  Then, buy acrylic paints in red and green.  Puff paints in random colors optional.  Have your kiddos use green paint thumb prints to make holly leaves and red paint finger prints to make the berries.  You can do this on any of the items, but it is especially good on a roll of white paper if you’d like your kids to make their own wrapping paper. Grandparents are a big fan of the homemade fingerprint wrapping paper. =)  Or you can make a pyramid out of upside down handprints to make a Christmas tree.  Then use puff paint to “decorate” the handprint Christmas tree. This one is good for the shirt or apron.  The towel works with either design. If you’re really brave, one upside down footprint makes a cute “Christmas tree” too.  Hats off to you if you go with the footprint option.  It is so fun to look back on little handprints years later, and kids LOVE this project!

* Make a birthday card for Jesus!  Christmas is Jesus’ birthday…don’t forget to make him a birthday card!

This is so much fun.  Talk with your kiddos about how Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, and then encourage them to decorate a letter for Him.  Have them dictate a message to Jesus on the inside and put the card somewhere in your house where your kids can see it and remember that Christmas is one big birthday party for Jesus!

* Cut out snowflakes! Use white paper to cut or tear out snowflakes and make a winter wonderland!

 Fold up white paper and have littles cut or tear out sections to make fun snowflakes.  This is hard. Don’t freak out if they don’t look like snowflakes- that’s what gives it character. =) If bagel looking snowflakes give you the heeby jeebies, Google “paper snowflakes” and get for real.  Or be like me and just let the kiddos have at it and make some crazy creations…remember, no two snowflakes are alike! Hang “snowflakes” in the window using string, thread, or fishing line. I love these- they turn out SUPER cute!

Activities:

*Decorate Christmas cookies! Frost some Christmas cookies to eat and to share with Santa…don’t forget, Santa LOVES sprinkles!

 If you’re in a time crunch, make these ahead of time and put them in the freezer until you are ready to do the advent activity.  Then frost the cookies together and eat ‘em up!

*Christmas Movie Night!

Pop some popcorn and Watch “Charlie Brown’s Christmas” (or another holiday favorite) together as a family.  Don’t forget the hot chocolate and marshmallows.  It just isn’t the same without them!

*Time to visit Santa! Don’t forget to tell him what you might like to get for Christmas!

Hit the mall and go visit Santa!  Don’t forget to take the classic tear-filled picture when you do!

*Go Caroling! Practice some Christmas songs together, then bundle up and pick some special people to visit while caroling!

 If you are brave and convinced you should audition for American Idol, go around the neighborhood.  But let me just advise, caroling is not like the movies.  It’s probably a better idea to go to friends or family that you know would get a kick out of hearing your littles sing Christmas songs.  Practice a couple before you go and have a plan.  Nobody likes a caroler who doesn’t know what he’s singing.  (Dorky ear muffs optional.) 

*Christmas Light Roadtrip!  Bundle up and hop in the car to go see Christmas lights…don’t forget a snack!

Bundle everyone up in the car in their PJ’s and coats and go cruising for Christmas lights.  Play Christmas music over the radio and bring thermoses of hot chocolate and a fun snack to keep all passengers happy.  This can be such fun if you know where to look.  Google your area to find neighborhood’s known for their Christmas lights.

*Elf on the Shelf! Read Elf on the Shelf together and start looking for that elf each morning!

Read the Elf on the Shelf to your little ones and get them completely psyched out for the season.  If you haven’t seen or heard of this book, check it out.  It is a great investment in your kiddos’ fun and your sanity this Christmas!

* Make a gingerbread house!  Decorate a gingerbread house together...don’t forget the gumdrops!

Use a premade gingerbread house or use graham crackers and icing.  Decorate with an assortment of candy or small snacks.  This is a great opportunity to kill off Halloween candy or stale fruit snacks. =)

Shew! That's it.  Are you sweating?  I am.  That sucker took me three weeks.  But it's done. And it's beautiful.  And it is family fun and Christmas memories in the making.

Y'all have a deck the halls kind of day!