Three alternative advent calendar ideas that won’t cost a fortune!
November 1st, 2017
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So that time of year is upon us. Toys miraculously go on sale yet still seem to cost more than the original price.
Wish lists that you’ve been buying over the last few months are forgotten as adverts brainwash your children into, "I want that one" Andy from Little Britain.
Discussions start over whose turn it is to host the family Christmas meal, if you’re unlucky it’s you, if you’re lucky you begin the next round of ‘whose turn is it to drive.’
Christmas is coming!
Before you submit and shell out over twenty pound for some branded Lego or Playmobil advent calendar (of which the pieces will be lost and disguarded by Boxing Day) consider these three, cheap DIY alternatives.
Wish lists that you’ve been buying over the last few months are forgotten as adverts brainwash your children into, "I want that one" Andy from Little Britain.
Discussions start over whose turn it is to host the family Christmas meal, if you’re unlucky it’s you, if you’re lucky you begin the next round of ‘whose turn is it to drive.’
Christmas is coming!
Before you submit and shell out over twenty pound for some branded Lego or Playmobil advent calendar (of which the pieces will be lost and disguarded by Boxing Day) consider these three, cheap DIY alternatives.
Advent Books
I started doing this one a few years back and it is definitely one of my favourite Christmas traditions.
For each night of advent wrap up a book for your child to open and share with you at bedtime. They don’t have to be new books, in fact it’s a great way to rediscover some old favourites.
On December 1st, show your child their advent stack of books and let them choose which they’d like to open. Cuddle up in bed and share a story together, much better than a misshapen lump of cheap chocolate!
The majority of my books, are just ones we already own, that I wrap up, however each year I tend to treat us to one or two festive stories. This means I’ve now got a fair few seasonal stories that I store with the Christmas decorations and get out just for the purpose of our advent books.
I adore this idea below from BookRiot.com, where they are stacked to look like a Christmas tree...I know my son will be excited to see this on a December 1st!
For each night of advent wrap up a book for your child to open and share with you at bedtime. They don’t have to be new books, in fact it’s a great way to rediscover some old favourites.
On December 1st, show your child their advent stack of books and let them choose which they’d like to open. Cuddle up in bed and share a story together, much better than a misshapen lump of cheap chocolate!
The majority of my books, are just ones we already own, that I wrap up, however each year I tend to treat us to one or two festive stories. This means I’ve now got a fair few seasonal stories that I store with the Christmas decorations and get out just for the purpose of our advent books.
I adore this idea below from BookRiot.com, where they are stacked to look like a Christmas tree...I know my son will be excited to see this on a December 1st!
Advent treats
This idea from over at Click Here to Buy is so sweet!
You think up activities that you can do as a treat with your child (the more festive the better) and they get to select one each day.
It’s great that this is customisable, in that you can make the activities as ambitious or simple as you want. I love the idea of driving round to look at Christmas lights and baking cookies! You could even colour code so that simpler activities are chosen on school nights and at the weekend you get ones that might affect bedtime, such as a Christmas film or carolling!
You think up activities that you can do as a treat with your child (the more festive the better) and they get to select one each day.
It’s great that this is customisable, in that you can make the activities as ambitious or simple as you want. I love the idea of driving round to look at Christmas lights and baking cookies! You could even colour code so that simpler activities are chosen on school nights and at the weekend you get ones that might affect bedtime, such as a Christmas film or carolling!
Advent kindness
This one is such a brilliant idea and one that we should all be considering. Each day of advent, you child is encouraged to do something kind for other people. Again the idea seems quite easy to tailor to your child’s age, planning tasks such as "read a story to your little brother" or "phone up nan for a chat".
How great would it be, if, instead of encouraging our children to be materialistic, or eat junk food, we encouraged them to think of others at Christmas? This one is going to be one to try in my house this year!
Find out more at Click Here to Buy
How great would it be, if, instead of encouraging our children to be materialistic, or eat junk food, we encouraged them to think of others at Christmas? This one is going to be one to try in my house this year!
Find out more at Click Here to Buy
How do you count down for Christmas? Let our newer mums and dads know your advent ideas below!
Hayley x
