Create your own personalised Advent Calendar
Skip the morning chocolate and instead, create your own Advent Calendar, full of fun and festive activities for the whole family to do in the countdown to Christmas Day.
Here you can download your own free Advent Calendar and then edit it directly on your computer (in case you don't love your own handwriting). Once you're done, print it out and follow the instructions below to get it hanging up at home, all ready for the 1st of December.
To create your own Lorna Leigh Lane Advent Calendar, you will need:
34 pieces of thick A4 paper or cardstock
Scissors or a blade, ruler and cutting mat
Glue
Corkboard pins
Twine or string
25 mini clothes pegs
STEP ONE - Plan
Plan out your Advent Calendar activities. Get your planner and either flip to the December monthly layout or find a calendar for December.
Fill in each date with an activity. Begin by looking at what activities you already have booked in your planner for December and work around those.
For instance, you may have already planned to put up the Christmas tree on 1st December so put that activity there. Don’t plan to drive around looking at the Christmas lights on the same night as the school Christmas play and save Christmas craft activities for the weekends.
Take inspiration from this list of 30 Advent Calendar activity ideas or create your own based on your family traditions:
ADVENT CALENDAR ACTIVITY IDEAS
Decorate the Christmas tree
Hang the outside lights
Tie a huge ribbon around a tree in the yard
Decorate the front gate
Have hot chocolate and truffles before bed
Make paper chains
Make paper snowflakes
Do some Christmas colouring in
Write a letter to Santa
Go to the cinema to see a movie
Make Christmas cards for friends
Make cards for teachers
Wrap gifts for teachers
Paint pine cones for decorations
Choose a toy to donate to charity
Go out for ice cream
Choose a dessert for Christmas Day
Go and have a photo with Santa
Play a board game together
Read a Christmas story by the tree at bedtime
Paint everybody's nails in Christmas colours
Go out and see the Christmas lights
Watch The Polar Express together
Make a gingerbread house
Collect greenery for decorations
Buy a gift for someone
Bake some Christmas bickies
Go to Carols By Candlelight
Have a picnic dinner under the Christmas tree
STEP TWO - Type
Once you’ve planned out all of your acitivites, click here to download and save the Advent Calendar template.
Then type each activity into each day’s card.
STEP THREE - Print
Print the entire document, preferably onto thick paper or card. I used linen bond board.
Quill A4 Linen Bond Board White
STEP FOUR - Make envelopes
If you have a blade, use a ruler to lightly score along the fold lines to ensure good, straight folds. Next, place your template face down and follow the instructions below:
STEP FIVE - Fill the envelopes
Cut out each card and put it into its corresponding envelope. You may find that you have to shuffle them around a little as the month progresses and things pop up, so perhaps just fill a few envelopes at a time.
STEP SIX - Hang your Advent Calendar
Drape your twine, string or ribbon on a wall and then peg the envelopes to it in order. The kids can then take turns opening each day's envelope. Peg the card back in front of the envelope each day so you know where you're up to.
Enjoy your own personalised Advent Calendar!