Fun Christmas Advent Calendar Ideas

Make Christmas extra magical with these fun Christmas Advent Calendar Ideas and take some time to enjoy the simple holiday traditions with your family.

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December is almost here and it’s time to start getting those advent calendars ready! As soon as December 1st hits we’re in full Christmas mode around here and I like to try and do something Christmas related every day. It doesn’t have to big, expensive or even time consuming – just something extra to make the days leading up to Christmas special.

The Christmas season goes by way too fast and I know that those favorite family Christmas traditions will get lost in the chaos if I don’t take a little time to schedule them in. I’ve had a Christmas activity advent ever since the boys were little and they still look forward to it every year {even though they’re now 10 and 13!}. Sometimes we plan an extra-special outing, but most days are just filled with simple holiday fun – watching a Christmas show together, reading a favorite Christmas book, baking, or decorating a gingerbread house. {You can find some of our past Christmas ideas HERE and HERE}.

There are so many fun Christmas countdowns to choose from, it’s hard to pick just one. My favorites are those filled with little notes and daily Christmas activities to help celebrate the season. Even if you just have a Christmas countdown-style advent calendar, you can still put activities in little numbered envelopes to have the kids open each day along with moving the countdown.

I’ve put together a few fun DIY Christmas Advent ideas, but remember that it doesn’t have to be fancy. A little chocolate and a Christmas note tucked away in an envelope is just as exciting for the kids! 🙂

Christmas Countdown Ideas

This DIY Wooden Advent Clock Countdown from Thrifty and Chic is one of my favorite Christmas countdowns that I’ve come across. It fits perfectly with the Christmas farmhouse style that I love, but would really go with any Christmas decor.

I’m always a huge fan of chalkboards and a countdown similar to this Chalkboard Christmas Countdown from The Golden Sycamore would be pretty quick to whip up. Bonus that you can leave it up year round and just change out the chalkboard design!

My boys have always loved LEGO and I think that this Lego Advent Calendar from Frugal Fun for Boys would be so fun to create!

If you love the vintage look, gather up some of your favorite ornaments and put together this Free Printable Vintage Christmas Advent from Ella Claire.

Christmas Advent Ideas for Treats and Notes

I love these sweet Advent Paper Houses from Delia Creates. This one looks so pretty with all of the lights! You could add little notes or tuck a treat into each of the houses too. A cutting system such as a Silhouette or Cricut makes this go together in a snap {free cutting file included!}.

This Woodland Inspired Advent Calendar from Live, Laugh, Rowe is so cute! I love how she used an over-the-door organizer for this! There are lots of pocket spaces available for any goodies you want to add.

I love the rustic look of this Christmas tree advent using branches and white paper bags from Venoske Made. You could just hang envelopes or mini canvas bags too – or even little stockings!

And if you can only find a couple of sticks, this one from BHG is also really cute!

If you’re short on space, this Christmas Countdown in a Can from The Dating Divas can be put anywhere and they have everything you need {except the can!} to put it together.

For those of you that have a shelf or little mantel that you need to decorate, this cute Christmas Tree Countdown from Eighteen25 is the perfect Christmas touch! Just pick up some cute coordinating Christmas scrapbook paper {or use up your stash!} to create your own colorful Christmas forest. It would be a fun craft to get the kids to help you with too!

Here is our Christmas Activity Countdown on a canvas that I created. I’ll have to get an updated picture for you, but here it is from way back in 2010 when I first started blogging! I obviously change out the little notes each year and there are now a few tags missing here and there, but it’s still going strong. 🙂

Another fun idea – especially with little kids – is to do a Christmas book advent. Each night they get to unwrap a book and you can read it together before bed. It’s a great way to gather some favorite Christmas books and you can always supplement the rest with a trip to the local library {or hit up the second hand stores!}. I’ve also included some printable numbered tags as well as a list of favorite Christmas books to help get you started.

The most fun, of course, is deciding what Christmas activities you want to add to your Christmas advent calendar. For some ideas to help get you started, check out this post on Fun Christmas Activities To Do With Your Kids.

I hope you take some time this Christmas season to just slow down and enjoy the magical little things that the holidays have to offer. Say NO to the craziness and make time for what you and your family love to do together.

For more holiday fun check out these posts…

Gingerbread Men Rice Krispie Treats