Countdown Activities

I told you about our new advent countdown calendar here.

For the cards inside each envelope, I cut cardstock down (but you could use 3.5×5 index cards, too). I used one of 3 stamps (and sometimes drew really bad pictures) on each card, and then wrote out our activity for the day.

Here’s a sampling of some of the cards we have.

Some activities have included:

Now we eat the chocolate!
Tell 5 people you love them
Sing 5 Christmas Carols together – we sang:

Jingle Bells

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Chestnuts Roasting on the Open Fire

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Happy Xmas (War is Over)

Write a Christmas Haiku

Cori’s:

merrily we laugh

singing songs from yesteryear

true holiday joy

Skotte’s:

Yule tidings and cheer

shiny things to give loved ones

Yes, Virginia. Yes.

Read a Christmas Story Together – and Do a Christmas Mad Libs – We read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, which was also the mad lib text.

‘Twas the age before Christmas, and all through the igloo,
Not a creature was stirring, not even an emu.
The socks were hung by the ottoman with care,
In hopes that St. Paul soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their chifferobes,
While visions of sugar-milks danced in their fingers.
And traveling companion in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the desk to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
scuttled open the shutters, and read up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the luster of mid-jiffy to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear?
But a delightful horn, and eight tiny sheep.

With a little old driver, so lively and ponderous,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Paul.
More rapid than turtles his sheep they came,
And he whistled, and pasted, and called them by name;

“Now, Dasher! Now, Henry! Now, Pineapple and Vixen!
On, Daughter! On Dog! On, Jerkin and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! To the top of the tree!
Now converse away! Converse away! Converse away all!”

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof,
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the ottoman St. Paul came with a bound.

His eyes — how they turned! His dimples, how lugubrious!
His knees were like flowers, his toe like a sushi!

He spoke not a word but went straight to his work,
And filled all the socks, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his neck aside of his armpit,
And giving a nod, up the ottoman he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a splork,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight,
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good age!”

— “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” corrupted and abridged.