Toddler Activity Advent Calander

I have been thinking about Christmas for several months, and about different traditions surrounding that time of year. Now that Liam is a little older, able to be involved and understand a lot more, I was looking for some traditions to start. Something that would be both fun and meaningful. I decided an Advent calander sounded fun, but the more I looked, I just couldn’t find one to buy that fit what I was thinking. There are lots of candy Advent boxes, but I didn’t want him to come to expect candy every single day. And I didn’t love the toy Advent calander, as we live in a very small space, and we tend to be very minimal, and intentional about what we being into it. (Clutter builds up so fast! )

So after looking at a ton of ideas online, I decided to try to make my own, that fit my toddlers personality, and the mix of fun, and “the reason for the season” that I was wanting!

I found all of the components for this at The Dollar store, and all together, it cost about $7 to make. Most of the activities on ours are free, and the couple that cost money are less than $10 each, making it exciting, but won’t break the bank, which is important to us!

What you need:

-tiny clothes pins

-pretty marker

-copy paper

-yarn

-thumbtacks

-decorations (I made the trees out of yarn, and found the tiny ornaments there too.)

1. Write out your list of activity’s on slips of paper, and make tiny envelopes (you could probably buy some!).

2. Label the envelopes 1-24, stuff them with your activity’s.

3. Tack 4 or 5 strands of yarn to the wall, (you’ll do 4 strands of six envelops across, or 5 with 5 envelopes on 4 strands, and 4 on the last one, I ended up liking this look better.)

4. Attach envelopes using the tiny clothes pins.

5. Then add any decorations you want, and enjoy a fun, inexpensive advent calander! (Plus most of these activities are free, and feel free to add your own activities that work best for your family!

1. Read Christmas books

2. Watch Rudolph the red nose reindeer

3. Bake cookies to take to the neighbors

4. Make a Christmasy craft

5. Go look at Christmas Lights

6. Decorate a gingerbread house

7. Read the Christmas Story and talk about all the characters

8. Make Christmas cards for grandparents

9. Decorate a Christmas ornament

10. Go out for Hot Chocolate

11. Mail a Letter

12. Decorate sugar cookies

13. Color a Christmas picture

14. Go shopping for a gift for Sibling

15. Have lunch with Daddy at work!

16. Watch a Charlie Brown Christmas

17. Watch The Snowy Day (Amazon)

18. Watch a Merry Pooh Year

19. Go to the Library and read Christmas books

20. Homemade hot chocolate night

21. Decorate the tree

22. Make a Christmas garland

23. Take pictures in Christmas pajamas

24. Go Look at Christmas displays in stores (Costco etc.)

Let me know if you end up making one! I can’t wait to start this with my son! His birthday is at the end of December, so it’s also a countdown to that, which makes it double fun!

We are also also planning to go through the book Waiting for Jesus, from The Daily Grace Co, and do readings out the the Jesus Story Bible.

Love,

Becca Weston

10 Things making our summer easier

–Inflatable pool from target

My kids (2 and 9months) are loving this pool! It’s a great size, and I have been happy with how it’s holding up, especially for only $15! The kiddy pool we had last year was great, but toddlers are hard on things, and Liam ended up braking the sides pretty fast while climbing in and out. The inflatable pool seems a little more forgiving!

–Bucket hats!

I love bucket hats on little ones, and they are great for extra sun protection! Especially with a babies with not a ton of hair to protect their scalps! Bonus points for the straps that keep them on.

–Trampoline

We put a trampoline in the yard a couple of months ago, (found extremely cheap but in great condition on Facebook marketplace.) and it’s been the best purchase! Both the kids love it, and the trampoline has a net around it, which is amazing with a crawling baby! I can let Tori play freely, and it’s honestly one of her very favorite things.

–snack lunches

I was getting frustrated with lunches, but realized that I’m feeding a 2 year old. He literally doesn’t care what he eats, so long as I feed him something. So often when we don’t have leftovers for lunch, I feed him a snacky lunch, usually cheese or chopped chicken, a fruit, a veggie, and possibly chips or a piece of bread. It’s quick, super easy, not very messy, and Liam loves it!

–early morning stroller runs

I started running back in March, and as it has started really heating up, we are heading out the door around 6:30am, for about an hour, and we are all loving it! The exercise is invigorating, and I am much more likely to actually get it in first thing, but it also means that no matter what our plans for the day, we have spent at least an hour out in the sunshine and fresh air.

–getting outside as much as we can in the morning before it gets super hot.

This is similar to the last one, but I am trying to let go of my morning routine of sorts, and prioritize getting the kids outside as long as we can in the mornings. Our patio is in full sun in the afternoons, and gets extremely hot, so it isn’t safe to be out in in the summer heat. We also take advantage of the wonderful HOA parks around us.

–letting go of expectations in the afternoons.

I am a creature of habit, and routines. It’s hard for me to just relax or enjoy slow lazy days. But the kids are little, and I am trying to make a point of enjoying these slow summer days.

–all the berries and apples on hand for snacks.

Liam is super into snacks right now (growth spurt!) so I am keeping lots of berries and apples on hand for easy snacks! He can even get himself an apple out of the drawer in the fridge (with permission.) which is a bonus when we are busy!

–ice and lime essential oil to encourage drinking water.

I struggle with drinking enough water, so this has been a game changer for me, and it really helps encourage Liam to drink more water too!

–pizza one night a week

I started getting pizza one night a week a couple months ago, and it has been so nice to know I get to have a break! I love cooking, but sometimes it gets monotonous and exhausting. Knowing that I don’t have to think about it one night a week has been really refreshing!

What are some things that are making your summer better this year?