25 Simple Christmas Advent Activities

“It’s not what’s under the tree that matters it’s who’s gathered around it.”

I have been really making a conscience effort to slow down and say no to more things this holiday season. I want to be able to enjoy more of the little moments and encourage my kids to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. In light of this goal, I found an advent calendar that is helping us think of others and to do simple things at home as a family. So I wanted to share 25 simple Christmas advent activities that we have already done and hope you find them inspiring as well.

One of the ideas from the advent calendar was to have dinner by candle light, sounds so fancy, right?!? Well, it doesn’t need to be. Thankfully I had just gone to the store and stocked up on a few of the necessities like candles and finger foods.

I decided to make brie & fruit tarts that were incredibly easy, you don’t even need a recipe…

Open a pre-made dough, roll it out, cut it into squares…

Place the dough into a cupcake pan (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) and top with your choice of fruit (I used thinly sliced apples and raspberries) and a slice of cheese. Optional: drizzle a little honey on top.

The second dish I made for our candle light dinner was a brie and jam pinwheel. It literally doesn’t get much easier. Again, take a pre-made dough, roll it out in a baking dish and place the cheese directly in the middle.

Next, top with your favorite flavor of jelly. Optional: add a few walnuts on top.

Lastly, pull all the corners of the dough over the cheese and drizzle some honey on top.

Cook both at 350 degrees until they are a golden brown. Bring to table, light the candles and boom, a “fancy” candle light dinner has begun.

The second idea from our advent calendar was to have a picnic by the Christmas tree. The kids were especially excited about this one and I knew it didn’t need to be ecstravagant. So I grabbed our table cloth from the kitchen, threw it in front of the tree and set up a tray of snacks. Since I had some leftover cheese and some pre-made dough, I made pie pops.

Cut dough into squares and place a popsicle stick half way on dough. Place cheese inside. Optional: add a small piece of fruit inside. Then add another square of dough on top and press edges together. Optional: place a walnut on top. Cook at 350 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Then I grabbed a festive tray and filled it with the leftover cheese, crackers, apples, nuts, raisins and the pie pops.

The kids had so much fun doing both of these activities, and they were really simple to do!

Here are some other simple ideas for Christmas activities to do at home:

• Call a relative or friend you haven’t spoken to in a while.
• Write a personal note of encouragement and leave it for someone to find.
• Bake Christmas cookies.
• Leave a surprise for a neighbor on their doorstep.
• Make paper snowflakes.
• Have a Christmas tea party.
• Watch a Christmas movie.
• Make a Christmas ornament.
• Make a bird feeder with a pinecone, peanut butter and bird seed then give it as a gift.
• Collect old toys and clothes for a charity.
• Have a dance party to Christmas music.
• Drink hot cocoa or hot apple cider.
• Walk your neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.
• Read a Christmas story.
• Collect old towels to bring to an animal shelter.
• Play board games by the fireside.
• Put on a Christmas play (reenact your favorite Christmas book).
• Write a letter to Santa and mail it to the North Pole.
• Decorate the Christmas tree.
• Wrap presents with plain wrapping paper and then decorate the gift with stickers and drawings.
• Have a campout in the living room.
• Pop popcorn and use some to string up and some to eat.
• Have everyone write down a few of their favorite memories from the year (without saying it out loud), place them in a jar and open on News Years Eve to read as a family.
• Tell a family member why you love them.

Write down the ideas on 3×5 cards, hang them on string with some paper clips and you instantly have a great way to count down to Christmas.

Looking for a Christmas bucket list printed for you?? HERE is a great option from a small shop!!

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What is your favorite activity?