advent calendar activities.

I decided, the day before it was time to start an Advent Calendar, that I wanted to do an Advent Calendar with the kids (mainly Bennet) this year. As much as I would have liked to sew a really cute one, it just wasn't in the cards with such short notice. Instead, I took an old wreath and made up some cute envelopes to tie to it. In each day's envelope is a Christmas activity that we do together as a family. It's not the fanciest Advent Calendar out there, but it works for us - and it's been making Bennet very happy!

We have done all sorts of fun things, some of them big, holiday events, some of them simple things like eating dinner in the living room and watching a Christmas movie. Whatever we've done, Bennet has really enjoyed having a special activity each day and getting to count down the days until Christmas.

Here are some of my favorite activities we've done so far...

Take a toy to a friend in need, and have dinner at Chick-Fil-A. Our church was collecting toys for needy families on a Wednesday night, which also happens to be Kids' Night at our local Chick-Fil-A. Bennet took the toy in himself and dropped it off, and we had a nice dinner together at his most favorite restaurant.

Visit the library to check out some Christmas books. We visited our local library and checked out some Christmas books and a "Bear in the Big Blue House Christmas" VHS tape. Bennet loves reading and is obsessed with the library, so this was especially exciting for him!

Go on a walk around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights. My little guy loves him some "Miss-mas" lights. He loved running around the neighborhood, pointing to his favorite light displays.

Go to the Pasadena Christmas Tree Lighting. We attended the 1st Annual Pasadena Christmas Tree Lighting. Santa was there, and we got to see the tree being lit. Afterwards, we drove around looking at Christmas lights.

Go to the dollar store, and pick out Christmas presents for Kennedy and Sophie. Bennet got to go shopping for presents for his sister and his dog. He picked a baby bottle for Kennedy and a ball for Sophie. He also talked me into buying a Santa door mat, some candy canes for the yard, and a Mickey Mouse Christmas paint set.

With 10 days left until Christmas, I can't wait to continue our Advent activities with Bennet. It has been a lot of fun to spend time with him every night, doing our little family activity and talking about the upcoming holiday!