a peek inside the fishbowl

21 Nov, 2008

Twenty five days of Christmas: a challenge

Posted by andrea in: Easy ways to make kids happy| File under crafty| Yaktivism

25days

Ha. Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? It isn’t meant to, really. This should not be overwhelming. It’s really just twenty five days of organized, customized fun. Are you up for it? I hope so. My kids loved this so much. I can’t wait to do it again.

Here’s how it works:

1) Make a Family Activity Advent Calendar using some scrapbook paper, old Christmas cards or some jolly old wrapping paper. Scroll down this post for a free template and instructions.

Non-crafty types, don’t fear! Making these is much easier than you think.

2) Sit down with your agenda or family calendar (preferably in a quiet spot!) and flip forward to December. This is where the organizing part comes in. Figure out what holiday fun needs to get done and the best times to do it. For example, you probably need to get your Christmas tree, visit family, go to a party, decorate the house, bake cookies, wrap and deliver gifts for charity etc. 

Keep these few tips in mind:

  • These activities are supposed to be fun and family-oriented.
  • Consider leaving “shopping” off the list.
  • Do the bigger tasks early in the month (I learned this the hard way).
  • Mix it up with some cheap and kid-friendly fun activities: building a snowman, go stargazing, go sledding or skating, paint everyone’s toenails, go swimming, make paper snowflakes, make hot chocolate etc. (The post I mentioned lists everything we did.) 
  • And here’s the challenge part … take a photo of your advent activity every day (no matter what!) and post it to the Family Activity Advent Calendar (2008) Flickr group. That way we can all see what we’re doing. And if I’m the only one doing it, well, you’ll get to see what I’m doing. :)

I guess I’d better get started, huh? I can’t believe December is almost here already.

Related posts:

  1. >25 Days of Christmas: day one! I made my envelopes last weekend and pulled together our...
  2. >Easy DIY advent calendar: 25 small folded paper envelopes [edited to add: thinking of making your own advent calendar? Consider...
  3. >Family Advent days 17 and 18: baking and sharing One thing I've learned about planning our advent activities this...
  4. >25 Days of Christmas: days two and three Mark joked that the activity for our first day of...

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17 Responses to "Twenty five days of Christmas: a challenge"

1 | porter

November 21st, 2008 at 2:01 pm

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I’m in! I made advent calendars for my girls already but I think this would be a fun thing to do together or secretly as a nice surprise! My kids (escpecially Mouse-she is by far the one who loves family activities the most..big or small). I have to think about posting pics though…

2 | Chantal

November 21st, 2008 at 2:44 pm

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Oh I remember when you did this last year. And I told myself I would do it. So here goes!

3 | Soire

November 21st, 2008 at 8:21 pm

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It sounds very fun. I might see about attempting a count down to solstice! :D

4 | scatteredmom

November 21st, 2008 at 11:31 pm

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I’m having the worst time keeping up with my blog because real life is just too busy, but I’ll try!

5 | Mike Gifford

November 22nd, 2008 at 11:03 am

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Ok, this is a good idea. How do you market it to the kids though who are expecting chocolate squares? Will you end up making envelopes every year? Kinda thinking the match boxes might be sturdier.

6 | andrea

November 22nd, 2008 at 11:57 am

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Emma and Sarah don’t miss chocolate squares anymore, especially since one or two of our days are spent baking. It’s not a tough sell.

I’m debating whether or not to remake my envelopes this year. If you use paper with a bit of heft to it the envelopes will last. Scrapbooking paper is good for this reason… but match boxes would work too!

7 | Scattered Mom

November 22nd, 2008 at 2:08 pm

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I actually made mini stockings that I hang around the house, or on the tree for the advent thing. They work really well and are sturdier then paper. I’ll put a link on my blog. :)

8 | scatteredmom

November 24th, 2008 at 1:14 am

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Hey the only thing I’m wondering about is that I’m traveling to Calgary somewhere from the 20-25, so I probably won’t be able to post the pictures until after Christmas.

This could be a lot of fun! Thanks Andrea!

9 | J.

November 24th, 2008 at 10:40 am

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I did something very similar with A. this year. We made an advent calender of things that we want to go together. We would write them as:

J. would like you to take her to Starbucks to have a Christmas latte.

We’ll see how it goes. Will post about it soon. :)

10 | Andrea

November 24th, 2008 at 2:44 pm

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I am so in!

I remember when you did this last year and thought it was such a great idea. We’ve never done an Advent calendar of any kind and I’ve always wished I would get my act together and get going on one . . . this is the year it happens!!

Thank you for the inspiration, Andrea!

11 | ImogenSky

November 25th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

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I just finished making the envelopes…so much fun! I’m in with you this year too :)

12 | On The First Day Of Christmas « TurtleHead

November 26th, 2008 at 9:14 am

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[...] 26, 2008 Andrea at Quietfish is always doing something beautiful and crafty with her daughters. I read about these projects on her blog and I always think, “Oh, [...]

14 | Ingrid98684

December 3rd, 2008 at 1:59 am

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First activity on our advent calendar was making Christmas cards for family and friends. It ended up taking two days (I have a toddler and operate on toddler time). We actually made postcards rather than cards, as it seemed it would be easier for my toddler to work with a single piece of paper rather than a card format. And, since there’s less white space for me to fill with news, I may have a chance of actually getting them out the door before January rolls around! This was a LOT of fun and I can see this becoming an annual tradition.

15 | Pam

December 6th, 2008 at 2:17 am

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Wonderful idea! Thanks for sharing your ideas and family activities. I too have accepted your challenge and look forward to enjoying my days to Christmas.

16 | Tangled Hill

December 12th, 2008 at 4:10 pm

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We followed your tutorial and have been enjoying our holiday family activities all month! You can see our (somewhat modified) calendar at

http://tangledhill.blogspot.com/2008/12/holiday-activities-advent-calendar.html

17 | Christmas cheer « Simply Sonya

December 19th, 2008 at 11:39 am

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[...] lucky I am. And I can’t wait until a few years from now when Joe and I can start our own family activity advent calendar like Andrea over at [...]

comment form:


  • sherry: I'm strangely zen about the toilet brush thing. I do fine with all things toilet (which is good since I'm apparently the only one who notices that it
  • KJT: I try and let the toilet brush dry (sandwiched between the bowl rim and the seat) for as long as possible. Minimizes the ick. I have no problem cleani
  • Laura: Yup, I agree with Sarah...anything about cleaning the toilet makes me gag. Hair in the drain = double gag. I would also add that anything involving
  • Marla: I have no problem with the toilet brush - after all, it's used along with cleaning products, so the ew factor is cancelled out. And I do poop patro
  • Sarah: For me it's ANYTHING to do with, in or around the toilet. I am the only female in a house with 5 males... 4 of whom are children that can't aim. 'N
  • Stefania (Ingredients for Life): Betsy Mae, When I was pregnant with Baby #1 Hubby started picking up the dog poop and then it continued to this day. I better give my great guy a big
  • Betsy Mae: Gag! I don't do hair in the drains, nor do I do the toilet brush 'drippings'. I am married to a great guy and I better give him a big ol' smooch whe

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The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our two daughters Emma (10) and Sarah (8). I work as a freelance writer, web content manager, and family photographer. I've been blogging in one form or another since 1999. I have a passion for words (on their own or strung together), the arts, great design, healthy living, family travel, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa for parents and kids. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal ... all rolled into one.

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