Advent Activities for Families

 


Advent is a lovely way to extend the Christmas period and make some real memories for your children, especially if you start your own Advent traditions and build on them every year. We've pulled together a huge collection of suggestions of Advent activities for families to inspire you - some of which we have enjoyed ourselves, and some of which we wish we had started when our kids were little. We are adding to it all the time and always welcome suggestions too.

Advent Activities for Families

Here are just some ideas that you might want to include in your own family's list of Advent activities. Pick and choose as appropriate, maybe writing them down on our Advent Calendar planner in advance so that you can be prepared, or just selecting depending on mood and weather the night before! Write on a slip of paper and tuck into your child's Advent Calendar, ready to be discovered in the morning. We also have all these Advent activities suggestions in printable format here, or lots of pretty blank printable slips that you could use here.

Going Out

  • Go out for hot chocolate
  • Go Christmas carolling
  • Go out to choose / buy a Christmas tree
  • Feed the birds
  • Is it snowing? Make a snowman!
  • Is it snowing? Go sledding!
  • Take a nature walk and bring something home to draw
  • Go on a Christmas nature hunt and see if you can spot holly, ivy and mistletoe
  • Go for a walk in the countryside or park and count the animals and birds that you see
  • See a Christmas play or show
  • Watch a Nativity play
  • Go to the Christmas pantomime! Oh no you don't...
  • Visit Santa
  • Go ice-skating at the ice-rink (outdoors, if possible!)

Go ice-skating

  • Go to the cinema to watch a Christmas movie
  • Pick out a new ornament for the Christmas tree
  • Drive around to see the local Christmas lights
  • Go out to buy a poinsettia and learn all about it
  • Paint a Christmas plate or a mug at your local ceramic shop. Sign and date it!
  • Go to the library and choose a new Christmas book
  • Collect pine cones and evergreens to make a simple wreath
  • Do you have a pet? Go out to choose a special new Christmas toy for them
  • Take some old or outgrown toys to a charity shop, and maybe pick out something small to bring home
  • Collect pine cones ready to decorate and hang on the Christmas tree
  • Visit Santa's reindeer
  • Deliver homemade Christmas cards (or bought Christmas cards) to neighbours

Christmas Crafts

  • Make homemade Christmas cards for friends or family
  • Cut paper snowflakes and hang them all over the house
  • Use collected evergreens and pine cones (or bought artificial greenery) to make a simple wreath
  • Decorate pine cones to hang on the Christmas tree

Paint pinecones to hang on the Christmas tree

  • Make a bird feeder
  • Make an advent wreath
  • Paint a Christmas picture
  • Make a homemade Advent Calendar with the kids
  • Pick a Christmas craft to enjoy today
  • Make a paper chain and hang it up
  • Make homemade Christmas cards for your neighbours and deliver them
  • Make and decorate a gingerbread house
  • Cut up last year's Christmas cards to make gift tags
  • Cut up last year's Christmas cards to make a puzzle game
  • Paint a Christmas plate or mug at home and sign and date it
  • Make salt dough ornaments for the Christmas tree
  • Do you have a pet? Make a special Christmas bow for them to wear
  • Learn to knit and start a simple scarf or a blanket for your doll or toy's bed
  • Make an ornament to hang on the tree
  • Bake Christmas cookies
  • Bake cookies and take some round to a neighbour

Bake Christmas cookies

Snuggling Up At Home

  • Make hot chocolate and snuggle up to enjoy it
  • Make a hot chocolate station, complete with mugs, hot chocolate powder and marshmallows
  • Read a favourite Christmas story together
  • Older children could read a Christmas story to a younger brother or sister or friend
  • Read a new Christmas story
  • Write a Christmas story
  • Older children could write a Christmas story for a younger brother or sister or friend
  • Write a Christmas poem
  • Sing Christmas carols
  • Do a holiday jigsaw puzzle
  • Decorate the Christmas tree
  • Make a special Christmas reading den or nook

Make a special Christmas reading den or nook

  • Wrap up Christmas presents while listening to Christmas music
  • Go through your toy cupboard and choose some toys to take to a local charity or charity shop
  • Write a letter to Santa
  • Snuggle up to watch your favourite family Christmas movie, with popcorn
  • Can you make up a Christmas song?
  • Put on a Christmas play or show for your family
  • Try a Christmas puzzle, like a word search
  • Do you play an instrument? Learn a new Christmas tune!
  • Colour a Christmas card for your grandparents or other family members
  • Draw a Christmas picture for a relative you haven't seen for a while and post it
  • Colour a Christmas picture
  • Put up the Nativity
  • Write a Christmas letter to someone in your family
  • Make a Christmas playlist of all your favourite Christmas songs
  • Donate to a food pantry ?
  • Decorate the kids' bedrooms, or the whole house
  • Decorate a special mini Christmas tree for a child's bedroom or playroom

Decorate a miniature Christmas tree

If you have a DIY Advent Calendar you might like to read our ideas for filling your own homemade Advent Calendar!


 

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