I love the holidays.  Always have but now that I have children I love it even more.  The one thing I don’t love is the stress involved in getting ready.  Every year I vow to be more organized when it comes to getting ready for Christmas and every year I fail, especially since having children.  But since I want the holidays to be happy memories for my children, full of family time and traditions, I am determined to be organized and ready to go by December 1st.  This way we can all enjoy the month of December without being stressed!

In our house we have always had an advent calendar and not a character one with chocolate, but one with the whole nativity scene.  It’s always been important to me to teach my children the real meaning of Christmas and to include Santa as an extra bonus.

I first came across the idea of the Family Activity Advent Calendar when I saw it in the November issue of Canadian Family.  Then I got more excited about the idea when I read Andrea (aka @missfish) at a peek inside the fishbowl ‘s post on the 25 Days of Christmas Challenge.  I thought it was a great way to enjoy all the days leading up to the big one, while at the same time teaching my kids that Christmas is not all about Santa!

I have already made up all the little envelopes and am ready to fill them up with these activities (in no particular order):

1. Go to the market and pick out our Christmas tree

2. Decorate our tree and house

3. Write and mail letters to Santa

4. Think of 10 things we are thankful for and post them where we can seem them

5. Take the new toys we have bought to Toy Mountain

6. Make paper chains and snowflakes to decorate the kids tree

7. Decorate a gingerbread house

8. Make kitchen gifts to give to family

9. Take a trip to see the lights on Parliament Hill

10. Make Christmas cookies

11. Light the 2nd candle on the Advent Wreath and read the story that goes with it

12. Snuggle up with some hot chocolate and read Christmas stores under the tree

13. Make bread for our neighbours and deliver

14. Watch a Christmas Movie for Family Movie Night

15. Sing and dance to Christmas music

16. Visit Santa at the mall

17. Hang outside lights and decorations

18 Light the 3rd candle on the Advent Wreath and read the story that goes with it

19. Attend a Christmas service at Church

20. Do a special Christmas craft

21. Make snow angels

22. Buy food and bring it to the Food Bank

23. Set up the Creche

24. Enjoy Christmas Eve dinner and presents at Oma’s, then set out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots and water for the reindeer.

25. Christmas Day!  Remember you have a family who loves you. And that’s the most important gift of all.

Most of these activities are ones my family and I already do during the month of December and others are “borrowed” from others lists.  Check out these list from A little bit of Momsense, and Thoughts from a Lite Mocha Mom .

Would love to know if you are going to take the challenge.