The holidays are coming and Advent calendars are family favourites when it comes to putting everyone in the spirit. One of the great joys of the holiday season is observing our grandkids’ growing excitement as Christmas day nears. It’s the big countdown!
The traditional Advent calendar is fairly simple as it looks like a monthly calendar, but usually has a treat or beautiful illustration hiding behind each number. One number is opened daily counting down until the big day has arrived.
Today there are hundreds of versions of the traditional calendar. And the cost of these items ranges from zero to hundreds of dollars. Which kind of Advent calendar will delight your grandchildren and perhaps their parents as well this year?
Advent Calendars with Edibles
Calendars with edibles include such favorites as chocolates, peppermints, licorice pieces, caramels and much more. But there are also more exotic choices available including jams and jellies, popcorn treats, various teas and even drinking vinegars. Some come as small boxes with drawers containing larger edible items such as cookies or nuts. While the grandkids gobble up the chocolates, your children may enjoy a calendar with teas or jellies.
Advent Calendars with Toys Inside
As much as children enjoy candies, they also love small toys. There are many choices in Advent calendars with small toys behind each number. These include Crazy Scientist toys with twenty-four science tricks or experiments to do, or twenty-four magic tricks to amaze and delight the children. Another choice is a calendar with posable action characters and still another offers rocks and minerals to collect. For those who love building blocks there are calendars with small packets of blocks to make animals and the like, with the added treat of being able to use all of the blocks at the end of the month to build a larger figure.
Homemade Crafty Advent Calendars/Activities
Children don’t really care how fancy the Advent calendar is, they just love the anticipation of moving toward Christmas day by day and enjoying a surprise along the way. So you may choose to make a homemade Advent calendar.
These can be as simple as a piece of paper or fabric with numbered paper bags attached. Or you might create a felt Christmas tree with numbers attached. The simplest, by far, is a paper chain with numbers on each link. Small candies, toys or gifts may be kept in a secret place and given out as each link is taken off the chain.
Another fun idea is to use your nativity scene characters to “travel to Bethlehem.” The Mary and Joseph characters travel along a route in the home, reaching ever-closer to the creche where the baby will be born.
Your grandkids will love the daily ritual of opening the next number and getting that much closer to Christmas. For some great Advent calendar choices see:
The holidays are coming and Advent calendars are family favourites when it comes to putting everyone in the spirit. One of the great joys of the holiday season is observing our grandkids’ growing excitement as Christmas day nears. It’s the big countdown!
The traditional Advent calendar is fairly simple as it looks like a monthly calendar, but usually has a treat or beautiful illustration hiding behind each number. One number is opened daily counting down until the big day has arrived.
Today there are hundreds of versions of the traditional calendar. And the cost of these items ranges from zero to hundreds of dollars. Which kind of Advent calendar will delight your grandchildren and perhaps their parents as well this year?
Advent Calendars with Edibles
Calendars with edibles include such favorites as chocolates, peppermints, licorice pieces, caramels and much more. But there are also more exotic choices available including jams and jellies, popcorn treats, various teas and even drinking vinegars. Some come as small boxes with drawers containing larger edible items such as cookies or nuts. While the grandkids gobble up the chocolates, your children may enjoy a calendar with teas or jellies.
Advent Calendars with Toys Inside
As much as children enjoy candies, they also love small toys. There are many choices in Advent calendars with small toys behind each number. These include Crazy Scientist toys with twenty-four science tricks or experiments to do, or twenty-four magic tricks to amaze and delight the children. Another choice is a calendar with posable action characters and still another offers rocks and minerals to collect. For those who love building blocks there are calendars with small packets of blocks to make animals and the like, with the added treat of being able to use all of the blocks at the end of the month to build a larger figure.
Homemade Crafty Advent Calendars/Activities
Children don’t really care how fancy the Advent calendar is, they just love the anticipation of moving toward Christmas day by day and enjoying a surprise along the way. So you may choose to make a homemade Advent calendar.
These can be as simple as a piece of paper or fabric with numbered paper bags attached. Or you might create a felt Christmas tree with numbers attached. The simplest, by far, is a paper chain with numbers on each link. Small candies, toys or gifts may be kept in a secret place and given out as each link is taken off the chain.
Another fun idea is to use your nativity scene characters to “travel to Bethlehem.” The Mary and Joseph characters travel along a route in the home, reaching ever-closer to the creche where the baby will be born.
Your grandkids will love the daily ritual of opening the next number and getting that much closer to Christmas. For some great Advent calendar choices see:
