Wendy Copley created a clever advent calendar for her children that has two big benefits over all other holiday countdown traditions:
- It focuses on experiences over stuff.
- She can change it according to her mood and available time.
Allow me to explain. She purchased a wooden advent calendar kinda like this one at Target and stuffed it with her own printable choose-your-own-adventure style of daily challenge. On any given day, she can update the mystery box with the activity she wants to do: give the kids a bubble bath or decorate the Christmas tree? Hmmm, what do we have time for? Loving it!
After reading her post last night (one year late I realize, but I had a baby last year, people!), I drove to Target in a thunderstorm to assemble my own. And now I need new toner to make the printables pretty. Then again, I doubt my kids will care if my colors are pale when they see we are going to drink the good hot chocolate or see Christmas lights.
See my stuff up top? It’s good enough, right? Here are Wendy’s printables in true color below. Hop on over to her post, advent crazy, to download the pages to make your own.
[Photos by me, Target, and Wendy Copley]
You’re the best! And you’re not allowed to reprint your cards because your children totally do not care if the colors are faded.
BEST EVER.
I was planning to do this with our advent calendar but was planning to frantically google things on Nov 30 and do everything at the last minute.
I heart rookie moms for bringing me the good stuff.
Wendy, you know what’s funny? I might still mount them on stiffer paper and use my paper cutter… what’s my problem?!
Thank YOU for such a wonderful idea and execution. We should go shopping for glasses together next time.
Yay LauraC, glad to help. Whitney was just asking me why everyone’s doing this stuff so early this year and I told her that if you want to start — boom! — on Dec 1st, then you have to drive to Target in the rain on the 28th to be ready.
LOVE THIS IDEA! And yes, I am yelling. Advent calendars are my favorite.
I made an advent calendar very similar to this last year and then recruited ideas from friends on Facebooj for what to put in it and many of them were experiences/activities — love! This will give me even more ideas — thank you!
I remember this from Wendy’s blog last year, very cool. I had already started making some notes on what to put in our pockets this year. Question: what is a “paper Christmas train”? Is this something you make or buy?
@Annika — That’s something I bought at Michael’s after Christmas a few years ago but never put together. Kinda specific, I guess.
Ha! I assumed a paper train was like the old fashioned paper loops.
@Cara and @Karen — I have to admit I never even thought of loving advent calendars until I saw this idea. I’ve been too scroogey to share the chocolate ones and too cheap about the LEGO ones. But now, I’m turning over a new leaf!