{Christmas} Advent Calendar

I am so excited about the holiday this year...at 11 and 6 years-old, my kids are in prime excitement age...and it is definitely contagious!

Advent Calendars are always a fun way for kids count down to Christmas. I realized this weekend that December 1 is days away, so I had to get it in gear so we'd be ready to go! Nothing whips kids into a Santa Frenzy like daily gifts on display!

My mantra this season is Minimize and Simplify! I'm determined to enjoy every moment, and the way for that to happen, is if I keep things simple and stay organized. So this year's Advent Calendar is short on time and money, but long on sweetness and sentiment.

Start with a set of party tins, typically found in the wedding favors section of the craft store....with a coupon, they are about $12. You'll also need some magnets and decorative tape.

The tins aren't metal, so you have to adhere the magnets to the back. These are sticker magnets, but didn't hold well to the tins, so I just hot glued them on.

Ah man, is your skin as dry as mine?!

Next is the fun part...filling the tins with goodies! They are quite small, so the little snack-sized candies leftover from Halloween are perfect. Most of the tins also contain slips of paper, some with activities, and others with a riddle leading them on a treasure hunt to find a bigger treat somewhere in the house.

Our activities include:

Family Movie Night...ELF!

Check out the neighborhood Christmas lights.

Make hot chocolate.

Go ice skating.

Make popcorn balls.

Purchase gifts for an Angel Tree family.

Make sweet treats.

Take treats to the elderly.

Make paper snowflakes, hang in the window.

Breakfast for Dinner, served picnic-style while watching a Christmas show.

Roast marshmallows in the chiminea.

Read Luke 2, the birth of Jesus.

Be sure to consult your calendar, so you're able to carry out the activities on those days!

For the numbers, I just typed all different fonts and sizes, then cut cut them out with a scalloped punch. The favor set comes with printable stickers, but I'm terrible at figuring those templates out. My numbers are just setting inside the tins.

To keep them sealed until their given day, I added decorative tape along the seam.

We arranged them in the shape of a Christmas tree, on the side of the refrigerator. You could use colored paper, or add a bow at the top, if you wanted a more ornate look.

The kids can hardly wait to get started on December 1, and are already trying to sneak a peek!

Watching them race to the calendar each morning is one of my favorite things about the holidays.

Our Advent Tree and Muslin Bags Calendars of years past were more elaborate, but the subtlety of this tree is perfect for our laid-back attitude this season.