Advent Calendar Crafts and Activities
Activities
Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar
Children will:
Count to 24
Materials:
- Advent calendar printouts
The Advent Calendar :
An Advent calendar is a special calendar used to count the days of Advent until Christmas .The origin of the Advent Calendar can be traced back to the 19th. Century in Germany. Advent is a term from the Latin word adventur which means "arrival". The advent officially begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Start this great Christmas time tradition for your family. We are sure it will become a real treasure in the years to come.
Activity:
To help your child count the days until Christmas, repeat the following rhyme with him or her each day beginning on December 1 and ending on December 24. Each day the number of days will decrease by one. For example, on December 2 you would count to 23, on December 3 you would count to 22, and so on.
Count to 24
From the first of December until Christmas
Is the longest time of the year.
It seems as though old Santa
Never will appear.
How many days is it ‘til Christmas?
It’s mighty hard to count.
Let’s try together
And get the exact amount.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 . . . 24,
We don’t have to count anymore.
Christmas Eve, it’s finally here.
Is it Rudolf and Santa I hear?
Extensions:
Print count down rhyme printout (see link below). Recite rhyme with your children and have them write the number and color the square for each day.
Additional Resources
Newsletter 2008
Advents calendar
craft printouts
Newsletter 2008
Santa tracing
worksheet
Hershey's Kisses Christmas Tree Advent Calendar
Cut a piece of green tagboard into the shape of a Christmas tree. Put a bow at the top of the tree. Cut twenty-four 4 to 6-inch lengths of ribbon and tie them into bows. Glue bows to tree. Put a dab of glue on each Hershey’s Kiss and glue to top of bows. Let dry
Paper Chain Advent Calendar
Help your child make a paper chain to count down the days until Christmas. Every day have your child tear off a paper chain. Count the number of remaining paper links out loud with your child.
Paper Towel Roll Calendar
Cut a piece of wrapping paper and carefully tape it over the bottom of the paper towel roll so that nothing can slip out. Fill the tube with small gifts, confetti, and candy. Wrap the tube with Christmas paper. Twist the edges to make them look like candy wrappers and tie them in place with ribbons. Attach a ribbon with a number.
Movement Activities
Play a game of “Drop Santa’s Hat” with your children, a game similar to “Drop the Hankie.” Have children stand in a circle facing each other.
