The list of things I want to make for friends and family for Christmas is quickly becoming overwhelming, so I decided to add to the pressure by making not one, but three advent calendars. If I can get them all done by Dec. 1, I figure I will have proven that I can get everything else done before Christmas!
The first two are still in the works: I’m repairing the calendar my mom made for me and my sister when we were little as a gift for my niece and nephew, and I’m making a new version for my son. The third was an assignment for The Associated Press and was much less involved: a fabric “calendar” that mimics the look of paper chains but is durable enough to last for years.
Inside each link is a slip of paper listing a holiday-themed activity.
Here’s my list of activities, but you can find plenty more just by Googling “advent calendar activities.” I tried to include a lot of things we already had planned: paint ornaments, go the planetarium party, go to see “A Christmas Carol,” go downtown for “Midnight Merriment,” buy the Christmas tree, decorate the tree, drop off gifts for charity, write to Santa, make a gift, drink cocoa, put up outside lights, host work holiday party, build a fire in the woodstove, make paper snowflakes, make a popcorn garland, visit Santa, make cookies, attend school party, drive around to see Christmas lights, go sledding, wrap presents, go out for ice cream, watch a holiday movie, visit relatives for Christmas Eve!
You can read my how-to article and see a step-by-step audio slideshow by clicking below:
AP Advent Calendar article/tutorial
Also, thanks to Amanda at ohamanda.com for agreeing to be interviewed. She’s compiled a great list of creative calendars here and here.
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