Here are the links for many Advent calendars, activities and Countdown Calendars so you can get your planning and printing done this weekend!
This is a full-color one-page Christmas Countdown from Free Printables. There are sweet pictures behind each festive number:
http://www.santaprintables.com/preview/Christmas_Advent_Calendar
Here’s something a little more active – a fingerprint countdown calendar. Guildcraft is making a printable form available so all you have to do is add little fingers!
http://freebiefriday.guildcraftinc.com/index.php/fingerprint-christmas-countdown-printable/
Here’s are two CountDown options from 3dinosaurs. Color, stamp, use a dot-marker or glue cotton balls or pompoms to fill in the circles during December:
http://www.3dinosaurs.com/printables/holiday/countdownchristmas-singlepage.php
Worksheets to fill up as you count down:
http://3dinosaurs.com/wordpress/index.php/free-countdown-to-christmas-with-numbers-math/
TotSchooling has another active Countdown to Christmas – print out this tree and then glue on a pompom for the corresponding day:
http://www.totschooling.net/2015/11/christmas-countdown-advent-calendar-printable.html
A variation of the Christmas Tree calendar is this one at Crafty Kids at Home: Don’t just make the tree! Make the “surprises,” too — out of dough, stickers, what have you. Oh, and she had her kids make them for one another (rather than themselves) – Brilliant!
http://www.craftykidsathome.com/2015/11/diy-christmas-tree-advent-calendars.html
If you’re running behind, here’s a Countdown you can whip up in an hour or so – as long as you have some special sequins and/or stickers on hand (and since you’re crafty, I know you do. Check it out at Peakle Pie:
http://peaklepie.com/make-fun-easy-countdown-card/
The ecologically-minded among us may like this set of activities that you can download at Kitchen Counter Chronicles:
http://www.kitchencounterchronicle.com/eco-friendly-advent-calendar/
And from the same site: A Christmas Cookie Countdown Calendar. This idea is so cute it makes me wish I was a better baker. Make tiny Christmas sugar cookies (recipe provided), box them up and arrange in a Christmas tree shape on a pretty background board:
http://www.kitchencounterchronicle.com/christmas-cookie-advent-calendar/
Ok, if you can’t bake, maybe you can sing? Here’s a fun Advent Calendar based on Christmas Carols from Mama Smiles:
Christmas Carol Advent Calendar Printable
Here’s an Advent calendar with a daily link to a recipe, game, craft and coloring/activity pages – (not all the links work). Thanks, About.com!
http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/unitssubjhol/a/advent125.htm
Speaking of 3D Advent calendars, Green Owl Art has a nifty idea for making one using coin wrappers:
http://greenowlart.blogspot.com/2011/11/advent-tree.html
Another idea is this vertical hanging Calendar over at The Duty Chronicles. It’s made from recycled cardboard tubes!
http://xtremeteamduty.blogspot.com/2009/11/toilet-paper-roll-advent-calendar.html
Older kids might like to make an origami Advent Calendar. Here are four choices at Activity Village:
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/origami-advent-calendars
And if you like papercrafts, try this idea. Every day in December, you can print, cut and fold a new building for Christmas Street. Free download at Mr Printables
http://mrprintables.com/christmas-advent-calendar-street.html
If you are a Lego family (we are) and you’d just as soon save the $40 on the “official” Lego calendar, check out Frugal Fun for Boys – she’s got two good ideas there for making a countdown using some people’s favorite building blocks:
http://frugalfun4boys.com/2014/11/07/lego-advent-calendars/
Here’s an idea: make a craft a day. The Activity Mom blog has downloadable color cards for each day of December; each card specifies a craft to do that day. Links to the crafts are at the site; crafts are suitable for PK through Elementary students:
http://activity-mom.com/2013/11/06/2013-activity-advent-countdown/
Just Crafty Enough has a set of Advent Calendar projects for you. Some involve cross –stitching and crochet; others are less complicated in terms of materials and time. Here’s the announcement page where you can see the projects for 2015 and for the past few years. Just click the picture to get directions for that particular ornament. Follow the order, or mix & match – BTW, she starte publishing these in June, so finishing all of them in a month may be overly ambitious; you might want to save them in a file for next year (JS):
http://www.justcraftyenough.com/2015/06/advent-calendar-project-15/
Santa Games plays jazzy music while you click the calendar numbers (and it will probably get really old really fast).
http://www.santagames.net/calendar/index.htm
BTW, while you’re there you can check out coloring pages, crafts, stories, and recipes. Of course, as the site’s name suggests, there are some online Santa games to play, too.
This one is supposed to show up on December 1:
http://www.whychristmas.com/adventcalendar/
Project Britain. We’ve done this one before: Click on the date and you’ll be shown a flag. Guess the country and read more about how Christmas is celebrated there:
http://projectbritain.com/Xmas/calendar/
Your older kids might like to see images from space, courtesy of the Herschel Space Observatory: What’s nice is that if there’s something you’re particularly interested in, the scalendar links to “read more” page with lots more info to read.
http://herschel.cf.ac.uk/advent
Here’s one for Adults from Loyala Press – Starting with the first Sunday of Advent (November 29), each day offers a reflection, link, a video, or some other activity to inspire you to nurture your spirituality during this busy season:
An Online Advent Calendar for Adults – Loyola Press
As usual if we have blessed you please invite your friends to join.
