Book Advent

We have a tradition of starting off the Christmas season with new Christmas pjs and a fun activity to enjoy during the Christmas season. This year I put together a book advent where the kids can pick out one book to unwrap each night leading up to Christmas. Last night they unwraped their first book which was a new book - “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” 

I wish I got a video of them opening it because of how excited they were. They love the movie! Haha. The last book will also be a new book but the other 22 books are ones I gathered from around the house and include Christmas, winter and Jesus themed books. The first and last books are labeled #1 and #24 while the others aren’t numbered and the kids can pick one at random. We have 3 children and each night they rotate whose turn it is to pick the book. 

I am excited to see their eyes light up each night as we read books about the magic of Christmas, winter fun and learning about Jesus, the reason for this season. 

There are many different ways to do a Christmas Book Advent, I decided to keep it simple by mostly using books we already have. Others might prefer to buy all new books or perhaps borrow some from the library to include. You could also use less books and have “12 days of Christmas Books”. I have also heard of people doing 10, 7 or 5 days of books too. 

If you have a variation you have done, let us know in the comments. 

Whatever way you choose to do a book advent, the best part is snuggling up with your babies and reading together. 

DIY Christmas Cards for Toddlers to Make

A homemade Christmas card made by your toddler is sure to spread cheer and put smiles on the faces of Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Childcare Workers who recieve them.

Here is a simple and stress free activity I did with my toddler and preschooler (2 and 4 years old) that they were excited about, was stress free for me and makes a beautiful keepsake. Win-Win-win. 

I had them each draw a picture, without giving any instructions and encouraging them to use different colours. Once they were finished, I rubbed a green crayon  across the page to fill any white space. Then using a Christmas tree template, I traced Christmas trees on the back (I was able to fit 7 trees on a standard 8.5 x 11 piece of paper). You can also draw the trees freehand. I then helped my children cut the trees out and glued them on to  the front of a folded red card-stock. We topped each tree off with a star sticker. 

this is a great way to encourage creativity in your child and share their artwork with family, friends and care givers. Chances are you already have all of the materials you need at home! 

Materials Needed: 

8.5” x 11” paper (we used white printer paper)

Crayons, markers or other colouring tools

Christmas Tree Template (we used a 4- on a page one found here - I found this size worked well) 

Scissors 

Glue Stick

Card-stock (we folded a 5” x 7” piece in half to make our cards)

Star Stickers

I would love to know if you try this activity with your children and how it turned out.