An advent calendar does not have to contain things. Many families make an activity calendar instead, where each day has a small task you do together: draw a card, bake a cake, light a candle and read a story. It needs no shopping, takes up less room in the house and gives you time together in a month when time can otherwise disappear. Here are 24 ideas for children aged 3 to 9, and a simple way to make the calendar.
What is the difference between an activity calendar and a gift calendar?
A gift calendar contains small presents. If you need ideas for that, you can read our post about gift calendars for children. An activity calendar contains a note with a small task instead. You can also mix the two, so that some days have a parcel and others have an activity. This post is only about activities.
How to make the calendar
You need 24 pieces of paper, 24 small envelopes, jars, bags or pegs and a piece of string. Write an activity on each note and put them in. Hang them on the string, or put them in a box where your child draws a note each day.
Some good advice:
- Plan the week. Put the short and easy activities on weekdays and the slightly bigger ones at the weekend.
- Have a plan B. Write "Joker" on a few notes. Then your child can choose a favourite activity from earlier.
- Ask your child. Let your child suggest two or three activities, so the calendar becomes theirs.
- Count along. Young children often do not understand dates. Put numbers on the notes and let your child find the number of the day.
- Keep the notes short. Children who cannot read yet can get a drawing on the note instead.
24 activities for the calendar
- Day 1: Make the calendar. Draw the numbers together and hang the calendar up.
- Day 2: Decorate a window with paper snowflakes.
- Day 3: Listen to an audio story with a blanket and candlelight. Crateit has three original Danish audio stories, free to download.
- Day 4: Draw a Christmas card for someone you care about.
- Day 5: Make hot chocolate and drink it by the window.
- Day 6: Go for a walk in the dark with a torch and look at Christmas lights.
- Day 7: Build something together. A town, a house or a den made of cushions.
- Day 8: Bake cookies. Let your child stir and cut out the shapes.
- Day 9: Write a wish list. Your child draws or writes what they wish for.
- Day 10: Have a pyjama day with a film or books on the sofa.
- Day 11: Make an elf hat for a teddy or a doll.
- Day 12: Cut woven Christmas hearts.
- Day 13: Make a Christmas story. Your child makes it up and you write it down.
- Day 14: Phone or write to grandparents and tell them about the best part of the day.
- Day 15: Do a jigsaw puzzle or play a board game together.
- Day 16: Draw the family Christmas tree and hang the drawing up.
- Day 17: Make a little gift for a friend, for instance a drawn bookmark.
- Day 18: Light a candle together with an adult and talk about what you are looking forward to.
- Day 19: Wrap gifts together.
- Day 20: Build a road and a town where the elf can live.
- Day 21: Make a "thank you for this year" drawing of the best things this year.
- Day 22: Help decorate for the Christmas meal, for instance laying the table and making place cards.
- Day 23: Have a quiet evening with music and a story.
- Day 24: Christmas Eve. A quiet moment in the afternoon, such as a drawing or a walk.
Make activities that fit your everyday life
Go through the list and swap out the activities that do not suit you. If you have no snow or a neighbour with Christmas lights, you can walk in the woods. If there is a day with many appointments, the activity can be to sit and look at Christmas lights for five minutes. A good calendar makes December lighter, not heavier.
Feel free to use Crateit Town for the days with building. It is a wooden town that children build and colour themselves and that can be rebuilt again. But it works just as well with blocks, cardboard boxes or cushions that you already have at home.
A calendar for more than one
If you have several children, you can make a shared calendar where you take turns choosing. Or give each child their own row of activities that only they may do. That can work well if there is a big age gap. You can also make a calendar for the whole family and let a different family member choose each day.
If you are looking for more ideas, you can also read our Christmas activities for children at home.
An example week
Here is a week that can give you an idea of how the calendar can be spread out. Monday and Tuesday are short days, so the activities are small: a drawing and a cup of hot chocolate. On Wednesday there is a little more time, so you can listen to an audio story or cut woven hearts. Thursday is a calm day with a game. Friday can be a pyjama day with a film. At the weekend there is time for the bigger activities, for instance baking, building or a walk in the dark.
Check the calendar against your own plans. If your child has a birthday, a Christmas show or visitors, swap the activity for something very small. What matters is that you do not feel the calendar is yet another thing that has to be achieved.
When your child wants everything at once
Many children want to open several doors in one day. Agree a rule: one note a day, and the rest wait. If your child opens too many anyway, you can simply do one more activity and let the next day be free. It is not a disaster.
Frequently asked questions
What should go in an activity calendar?
Small tasks that your child likes and that you can manage in 10 to 30 minutes. Mix easy and slightly bigger activities.
What do we do if we miss a day?
Skip it, or move it to the next day. A calendar should not cause a guilty conscience.
Can we combine activities and small gifts?
Yes. Many families make a mix, where some days have a parcel and others an activity.
When should I get the calendar ready?
Get it ready at the end of November, so you have time to find the materials and write the notes.
Build a wooden town in December, one activity at a time.
