Activity advent calendar
Activity advent calendar ideas, one for every day.
An activity advent calendar swaps the chocolate behind each door for something to do together. Here is a complete 24-day example, a simple way to plan your own, and ideas sorted by type.
A complete 24-day example
This calendar is for a six-year-old, with about 30 minutes on school nights and a small budget. Weekdays get short activities and weekends get the bigger ones. Day 1 starts the countdown and day 24 is a Christmas Eve tradition.
- 1TueDraw your winter wish list20 min · Free
- 2WedSurprise a neighbour20 min · Free
- 3ThuBe animal track detectives45 min · Free
- 4FriBuild a fruit Christmas tree25 min · Costs a little
- 5SatWatch or dance The NutcrackerAbout an hour · Free
- 6SunMake a time capsule45 min · Free
- 7MonHave an ice-melting race30 min · Free
- 8TueMake paper lanterns30 min · Free
- 9WedPlay winter bingo30 min · Free
- 10ThuTell the story of the day they were born15 min · Free
- 11FriDo a back-massage train15 min · Free
- 12SatVisit the library for winter booksAbout an hour · Free
- 13SunMake a jam-jar snow globe45 min · Costs a little
- 14MonBe a secret elf helper20 min · Free
- 15TueSay “happy holidays” in five languages15 min · Free
- 16WedDo a litter pick30 min · Free
- 17ThuHold a paper plane contest30 min · Free
- 18FriDo a pyjama run15 min · Free
- 19SatHave a winter picnicAbout an hour · Free
- 20SunBuild an indoor obstacle course45 min · Free
- 21MonLook closely at snow or leaves20 min · Free
- 22TuePlay freeze dance15 min · Free
- 23WedRead “The Night Before Christmas”20 min · Free
- 24ThuMix magic reindeer food15 min · Free
Every family gets a different calendar. Yours depends on your children’s ages, interests, time and budget.
How to plan your own in 20 minutes
Decide how much time you really have
Be honest about school nights. Ten to thirty minutes is plenty. Save the long activities for weekends and the school holidays.
Check the December diary
Mark the nativity play, the office party, the late swimming lesson. Those days get the shortest activity, or a cosy one like a story under the fairy lights.
Pick a mix
Aim for a spread: something creative, something in the kitchen, something outside, a game, a kind act and a few cosy nights in. Children remember the variety.
Keep most of it free
Paper, a torch, a pack of cards and the park cost nothing. Choose two or three treats, like ice skating or a winter market, for weekends.
Write each day on a card
Put the cards in envelopes, pockets or a reusable wooden calendar. Write anything you need to buy on the back, so you see it a day ahead.
Keep three spare cards
Some days go wrong. A spare 10-minute card (freeze dance, a joke night, candle breathing) keeps the calendar going without guilt.
Crafts and making
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Cut paper snowflakes
Fold a square of paper into a triangle twice more, snip shapes along the edges and unfold. No two will be alike, just like real ones.
You need: Paper, scissors
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Make salt dough ornaments
Mix 1 cup flour, ½ cup salt and ½ cup water. Roll, cut shapes, poke a hole for string and bake at 120 °C / 250 °F for 2 hours. Paint them tomorrow.
You need: Flour, salt, water, cookie cutters
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Make paper lanterns
Fold paper in half, cut slits along the fold, open it up and glue it into a tube. Hang them in a window or around a battery tea light.
You need: Paper, scissors, glue
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Design your own wrapping paper
Roll out brown paper and decorate it with stamps cut from potatoes, sponges or fingerprints. Use it for your presents.
You need: Brown paper, paint, a potato or sponge
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Make a jam-jar snow globe
Glue a small toy to the inside of a jar lid, fill the jar with water, a little glycerine and glitter, and screw it shut tight.
You need: A clean jar, a small toy, glitter, waterproof glue
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Build a cardboard winter village
Turn cereal boxes and toilet rolls into houses, a church, a shop and a station. Add cotton-wool snow and battery tea lights.
You need: Boxes, tape, paint or pens
In the kitchen
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Bake gingerbread people
Mix, roll, cut and bake a batch of gingerbread. Decorate with icing faces and give one to someone who needs cheering up.
You need: Flour, butter, sugar, ginger, golden syrup or honey
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Set up a hot chocolate bar
Make hot chocolate and lay out toppings: marshmallows, cream, cinnamon, sprinkles. Everyone builds their own and gives it a name.
You need: Milk, cocoa, a few toppings
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Make snowman pancakes
Fry three pancakes of different sizes and stack them into a snowman. Raisins for eyes, a strawberry hat, a carrot-strip nose.
You need: Pancake batter, fruit
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Make winter-face pizzas
Everyone gets a small base and turns it into a snowman, a reindeer or a penguin with toppings. Then dinner is done.
You need: Pizza bases or dough, toppings
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Roll chocolate truffles
Mix crushed biscuits, cream cheese or condensed milk and cocoa, roll into balls and coat in sprinkles or coconut. Box some as gifts.
You need: Biscuits, cocoa, condensed milk, sprinkles
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Cook a grandparent’s recipe
Call a grandparent or older relative, ask for a recipe from when they were young and cook it together. Ask for the story behind it too.
You need: The ingredients they tell you
Outside
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Go on a Christmas lights walk
Wrap up after dark and walk around the neighbourhood rating the best-lit houses. Bring a flask of something warm.
You need: Warm clothes, a torch
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Go on a nature scavenger hunt
Hunt for something red, something prickly, a feather, a footprint, a perfect stick and something that smells nice.
You need: A list (we drew one) and a bag
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Make a bird feeder
Roll a pine cone in peanut butter or lard and then in birdseed, hang it outside and watch who comes to visit.
You need: Pine cone, lard or peanut butter, birdseed
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Take a torchlight adventure
Hide glow sticks or reflectors in the garden or park, then go out after dark with torches to find them.
You need: Torches, glow sticks or reflectors
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Go stargazing
On a clear night, find a dark spot and look for Orion, the Plough or the Southern Cross. Let your eyes adjust for ten minutes first.
You need: Warm clothes, a blanket, maybe a star app
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Collect greenery to decorate the house
Collect fallen branches, ivy and holly (ask first if it is not your garden) and arrange them on the table or mantelpiece.
You need: A bag, gloves
Games, stories and cosy nights
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Have a board game night
Everyone picks a game. Make snacks and play the youngest player’s choice first.
You need: Board games
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Follow a treasure hunt
A grown-up hides clues around the house, each leading to the next. The treasure can be a small treat or a hot chocolate.
You need: Paper clues, a small treat
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Have a blanket-fort story night
Build a fort from blankets and chairs, crawl in with torches and read stories until someone falls asleep.
You need: Blankets, chairs, torches, books
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Put on a shadow puppet show
Shine a torch at a wall in a dark room and make animals with your hands. Can you tell a story with a fox and a rabbit?
You need: A torch
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Sleep under the fairy lights
Drag mattresses or sleeping bags into the living room and fall asleep by the glow of the lights.
You need: Sleeping bags or duvets
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Eat dinner by candlelight
Turn off the lights and eat by candles or fairy lights. Each person shares the best part of their day.
You need: Candles or battery lights
Kindness
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Play secret buddy
Everyone draws a name and secretly does something kind for that person today. Guess who your buddy was at dinner.
You need: Names in a hat
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Thank the everyday helpers
Make cards for the postie, the bin crew, the bus driver or the teachers, and leave them where they will be found.
You need: Card, pens
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Surprise a neighbour
Leave a drawing, a homemade treat or a little note on the doorstep of a neighbour, especially one who lives alone.
You need: Something homemade
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Choose toys to give away
Each person picks toys or clothes in good condition to give to a charity shop or a family who needs them.
You need: A box
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Make cards for a care home
Make a stack of bright cards and drop them at a local care home for residents who may not get many visitors.
You need: Card, pens
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Send three thank-you voice messages
Pick three people who made your year better and record a short voice message telling them why.
You need: A phone
Questions
What do you put in an activity advent calendar?
One thing to do together for each day, written on a small card. Mix short activities for school nights (a game, a story, a dance) with bigger ones for weekends (baking, a woodland walk, a winter market). Add anything you need to the back of the card.
How do you make an activity advent calendar?
List 24 activities, match the short ones to busy weekdays and the long ones to weekends, then put one card behind each door, pocket or envelope. Advent of Play does the matching for you and prints the cards for free.
Can I mix activities and small treats?
Yes. Many families tuck a small treat or a sticker in with the card. The activity is the main event; the treat is a bonus.
What if we miss a day?
Do two the next day, or swap in a short one. The calendar is there to make December nicer, not to add pressure. Keep a few spare 10-minute cards for this.
What age is an activity advent calendar for?
Any age from toddlers upwards. For two-year-olds keep activities to 10 or 15 minutes. Children up to about 12 still love it, especially if they help choose.