Fun Last Minute 'Game Show' Advent Calendar Idea for Big Kids { Free Printable }

 Our children are now 11, 11, and 14.  If you have older kids like us, that means you might be running out of ideas for ways to make the annual tradition of an advent calendar a fresh and fun experience.  We have done everything from puzzle pieces to Lego minifigure parts, from Christmas books to dollar scratch tickets.

Since all 3 of our children are gamers, I thought it would be fun this year to give them a way to earn in-game currency.  Usually, I am not a huge fan of spending real life money on virtual items, so I think this will be a real treat for them. Since we have three children, I'll give each child one guess at the answer to one 'game show' question each day.  Only one child needs to answer correctly for all three to win the prize, which I have decided to be one dollar per child to go towards in-game currency or a gaming membership.

DIY Game Show Advent Calendar Activity . . .

Step 1.  Download the PDF below.  Then either print out four copies of the blank cards or digitally add text and save four versions with six different game cards on each version.  Do not include the answers to the game show questions on the card, but rather keep a list of them in a safe place.

TIP 1: I found age-appropriate Christmas-themed riddles online and used one riddle per card.  Other ideas would be trivia questions, math problems, brain twisters, tongue twisters they'd need to say 3 times quickly, etc . . .  If this activity is a hit this year, next year I might try Star Wars trivia questions.

DOWNLOAD FREE PRINTABLE PDF

Step 2. Carefully cut out your 24 cards.  Then roll them into tiny little scrolls and secure them with curling ribbon, gold cord, inexpensive Christmas stickers, Christmas washi tape, or tiny elastics.

TIP #2:  If you don't have the dexterity (or the desire) to roll and secure 24 tiny scrolls, other options would be to merely fold the cards in half  or into thirds, or to put them in business card sized envelopes.

Step 3.  Put one scroll into each day of your advent calendar. I also always include one small piece of candy for each child, but that is certainly not required.

What ideas do you have for making an advent calendar more fun and interesting?

Tell us in a comment here.

Easy DIY Advent Calendar to Make with Your Kids!

Thank you to Oriental Trading Company for sending us everything we needed to create this fun and easy-to-make hanging DIY advent calendar for the holidays.  All opinions expressed are my own. 

I am a huge fan of having reusable advent calendars.  There are some really nicely crafted hand painted wooden ones out there, but most of them are out of my budget.  I've made several different kinds of DIY advent calendars over the years, and I adjust each one to suit my family's changing needs.  With 3 children who are now almost 10, 10, and 13, what we fill the advent calendar with has changed.  I've included a list of fun and creative ideas for filling your advent calendar at the bottom.  Be sure to check it out!

Since we now have two dogs, we try to have hanging advent calendars, so our dogs can't get to the treats (often chocolate) inside.  This advent calendar craft was super-easy to make, and I was able to enlist my daughter to help with the artwork.  She happily obliged, of course.  This turned out to be a very fun holiday craft to make together. I love how this advent calendar turned out to have sort of a rustic, Americana style to it. Check out the short list of supplies needed below, all of which I found in Oriental Trading Company's Christmas crafts, stocking stuffers, and Christmas decorations sections.


DIY Hanging Advent Calendar Craft . . . 

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

(2) Dozen Mini Stitched Christmas Stockings

(4) 6pc Burlap & Jute Gift Tags

Fabric Markers (Red, green, black)

(2) Poinsettia Garlands (optional)

Large Colored Candy Canes (optional)

Step 1.  With a black fabric marker, write one number (from 1 to 24) on each burlap tag.

TIP #1:  It might be a good idea to order one additional set of 6 burlap tags in case you make any errors.

Step 2.  Using your fabric markers, decorate each tag with a festive and colorful design.  We stuck with red, green, and black (and occasionally yellow).  Invite your children (school-age and older) to help you!

TIP #2:  Although fabric markers usually require to be set by heat, we skipped this step since our advent calendar would not likely be getting wet, nor will it be handled extensively.

Here is a sample of what my daughter and I came up with.  We are quite proud of ourselves for coming up with 24 different designs.

Step 3.  Tie each burlap tag onto one stocking, creating a neat bow with the twine ties.

TIP #3:  If you are using stockings in different colors or designs like I did, then it will be worth it to take a couple of minutes to plan ahead by stacking the stockings in the order in which you would like them to appear.  This is a great way to avoid having two of the same color or design next to each other.

Step 4.  It's time to hang your advent calendar up!  We chose to hang each stock on a separate nail, which are hidden under the poinsettia garland, but you could tie each stocking (evenly spaced apart) to one long length of sturdy twine.  Then you could hang the twine up like you would a garland.  I personally think it's more fun to be able to take one stocking down at a time to hand to the children to discover the contents.

Step 5.  Fill your advent calendar!  As far as candy goes, I like to vary what I put in there from day to day.  Some days will have something chocolaty, and other days will have a surprise, like these flavored candy canes.  But, what about the non-candy treats?  Check out some of the fun and creative ideas I've listed below for filling your advent calendar . . .

5 fun ideas for filling your advent calendar . . .

1. Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces - Choose a jigsaw puzzle that fits your child's skill level.  Then assemble the puzzle, so that you can disassemble it in an orderly fashion.  Place a handful of puzzle pieces in each day's advent calendar so that your child will have completed the puzzle by Christmas Eve.
2. Lego Mini Figures - Instead of putting whole Mini Figures in each day of the advent calendar, only put one or two parts (hat/hair, head, body, legs, or accessory).  Then, as each day goes by, your child will be able to mix and match the pieces to build some cool figures.
3. Fun Coupons - Print or hand write a fun perk on a coupon for each day, such as a trip to the mall or the ice cream shop, having mom do your nails, getting to choose the restaurant next to the family eats out, etc . . . 
4. Collectibles - For a young collector of anything, it would be fun and exciting to receive a new item to add to his or her collection each day.  Some examples might be die cast cars, marbles, buttons, seashells, or stamps.
5. Beads - Include a handful of beads in the advent calendar each day.  By the 24th day, your child will have enough beads to make a necklace or a couple of bracelets.  If needed, be sure to include nylon thread to string the beads on, on the last day of the advent calendar.

What fun ideas do you have for filling an advent calendar? 

Share them with us in a comment here.

DIY LEGO Minifigures Advent Calendar

I first made our own reusable, refillable advent calendars four years ago.  We've gone from using these paper mache boxes to these more durable burlap drawstring pouches last year.  The pouches with the hanging chalkboard clips worked out well, so we're using them again this year.  One thing that we are changing this year is what goodies the children will find in the pouches each day.

Our DIY advent calendars usually have one piece of candy for each child plus something fun.  For the past four years, we've put jigsaw puzzle pieces in the advent calendars to add a fun, quick activity to each day.  As the children grew older, we increased the difficulty of the puzzles.  Last year, we used a puzzle that was several hundred pieces.  It took my husband and I hours to put the puzzle together so that we could put the pieces in the pouches in a logical order.  Also, there were so many pieces, that the advent pouches were stuffed full, leaving very little room for candy.

After thinking about a possible solution for quite awhile, I decided to try something new . . . using loose LEGO Minifigures!

To keep the cost down, I decided to put one minifigure part for each child per day rather than a whole minifigure.  This also adds an aspect of fun because the children can see what parts they have at the end of the 24 days and trade with each other.  For example, on Day 1 there will be 3 minifigure heads, on Day 2 there will be 3 minifigure hats or hair, and so forth.  After the 5th day, they will each have enough parts to make one complete minifigure.  After 20 days, each child will have enough parts for four complete figures.  Day 24 will have extra parts and candy in it.

You can find minifigures at your local LEGO Store for 3 complete figures (head, hair or hat, torso, legs, and accessory) for $9.99.  I purchased mine from this ebay seller and was extremely pleased.  All the figures I received were genuine LEGO (not knock-offs) and included a good mix of figures for both boys and girls (no duplicates).  You can also find loose LEGO Minifigures on Amazon for a decent price.  Just be wary of prices that look too good to be true, because those might not be genuine LEGO figures.

I probably will need to think of something new to go in next year's advent calendar to surprise the children.  Have any good ideas?

Share your ideas with us in a comment on Facebook!

Countdown to Christmas with Refillable DIY Chalkboard Advent Calendar Ornaments

This is an easy Christmas craft I had thought about making two months ago.  I actually purchased all the supplies at Michael's Arts & Crafts several weeks ago.  Unfortunately, I didn't have time to sit down and make this advent calendar craft until two days before December began.  Even though you won't be able to countdown for the whole 24 days, you could still countdown the remaining 12 days or 10 days this year and start at the beginning of December next year.  That's one of the things I love about this advent calendar, it is completely refillable and reusable!

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

(24) chalkboard ornaments with clips and twine

(24) small burlap drawstring bags

(24) 10" pieces of festive ribbon (approximately 3/8" wide)

small candies or toys (to fill the bags)

white anti-dust chalk

TIP #1:  If you cannot find pre-made chalkboard ornaments like the ones shown, you could easily make your own with chalkboard ornaments, mini clothespins, a roll of twine, and some glue.  Likewise, if you cannot find printed burlap bags, you could use rubber stamps to decorate plain ones.

Step 1.  Assemble the chalkboard ornaments, whether you purchased kits or are making your own, This includes cutting the twine into (24) 6" segments, threading them through each ornament, and tying them off at the top.  Trim off an excess to make the ends short and even.

Step 2.  Tie the ribbon around the twine right at the top of the chalkboard ornament.  Form a small bow and trim the ends to make them even.

Step 3.  Repeat Step 2 for the other 23 ornaments.

Step 4.  Use the chalk to number your ornaments from 1 to 24.

TIP #2:  The chalkboard ornaments I bought seemed like they had chalkboard paper on them.  As a result, it was not easy to erase the chalk, even with a damp paper towel.  If this is true for your chalkboard ornaments, I recommend that you use a chalk holder to hold the chalk so you can write more easily without making too many errors.  If you're confident enough, you could also use permanent white paint pens to draw the numbers.

Step 5.  Fill your bags with something fun for your children to find each day.  Every year, we include one small piece of candy for each child along with a handful of jigsaw puzzle pieces.  (This year, we upgraded to a challenging 400-piece puzzle.  It took my husband and I five hours to assemble it before we divided the pieces between the 24 bags.)

We hung our advent ornaments on a garland high up along the rafter that separates our living room from our dining area.  You could also hang them on your Christmas tree or make a calendar using a board and 24 nails.  If you have other ideas, I'd love to hear them!


If you like this advent calendar craft, be sure to Pin It for later . . . 

DIY Reusable Advent Calendar Boxes

Last year, I made these DIY Advent Boxes and I am happy to say that our children just loved them.  If you recall, I had put a piece of Holiday candy for each child in every box along with pieces to a jigsaw puzzle.  Every day in the month of December, they would open a new box to retrieve their candy and to find more pieces to the puzzle.  I will be using these advent boxes again to countdown to Christmas with my children, but I made two changes . . .

The first change is that I included 4 pieces of candy in each box instead of 3.  Why?  Because my husband jokingly complained that there was no candy for him each day, thus guilting our children into sharing their candy with him.

The second change I made is to use a more difficult puzzle.  Last year I used the 100pc Crocodile Creek Robot Travel Puzzle.  I was able to put 4 puzzle pieces in each box.  Although the puzzle was just slightly challenging for our then nearly 5 year old twins, it was far too easy for their big brother, who was nearly 8 at the time.  So this year, I chose a more challenging puzzle . . . the Disney Circle of Friends 150pc Puzzle.  I thought this puzzle looked neat because it is circular in shape, plus it has all our children's favorite Disney characters on it.  Well, it turned out that the puzzle was even challenging for me.  I had to assemble it in order to put the puzzle pieces into the advent boxes in an order that made sense.  Hopefully, our now nearly 9 year old son will be able to help the twins with adding their pieces.  Since there are 150 pieces in the puzzle, most of the boxes have 6 puzzle pieces in them, which I think will be more fun for each child to be able to add more than one piece to the puzzle per day.

Go here to learn how to make these DIY Reusable Advent Boxes.

Add a Fun Activity to Your Advent Calendar This Christmas

I have nothing against candy as treats around the various holidays.  For my children's advent calendar though, I wanted to have something more than candy for them.  So I thought it would be fun to put a few pieces of a jigsaw puzzle in each box so that they could add to the puzzle everyday from December 1st through the 24th.  I really could not afford to put one toy for each of our three children in every box for 24 days, so this is an inexpensive alternative and a great non-candy option for those who want to avoid putting sweets in their children's advent calendar.

I bought this robot jigsaw puzzle at Target for under $5.  It has 100 pieces, so I put 4 pieces in the first 23 boxes and then 8 in the very last box.  If you have a single child who is younger, a 24-pieces puzzle would work out perfectly . . . one piece for each day.

If you would like to try this, the first thing you would need to do is to assemble the puzzle.  Then you need to select pieces that all join together at some point to place in the first box.  The second box would need to contain pieces that all join together, but also has at least one piece that connects to one of the pieces in the previous day's box.  That way, your child can add to the puzzle everyday without having odd pieces that do not connect.

If my children enjoy this activity, I intend to make it a tradition and will select a new puzzle to include next year.

Click here for my DIY Advent Calender Tutorial

How to Make a DIY Reusable Advent Calendar for Counting Down to Christmas

Having three children, I have found it difficult to find an advent calendar that could be used for multiple children without having to make each child take a turn in a rotation.  Last year, we used a Playmobil advent calendar, which had one or more items in each box meant for a single child, so I ended up trying to squeeze 3 candies into each box.  That way, even though our children had to take turns to get the toy, they would each get a little treat daily.  Like with most advent calendars, the boxes were not designed to accommodate three children, so I had a hard time fitting 3 candies into every box.

Because of this, I decided to solve my own problem by making my own advent calendar.  I was able to find a couple of the key items at Discount School Supply, where I found the inspiration to make an advent calendar that looked like a collection of books.  Books would likely fit into any home's decor and you could even empty out a shelf to house them for the month of December.  We decided to put ours on top of a bookcase, but they would also work on a sofa table or a mantel.

SUPPLIES NEEDED

24 Papier-Mache Secret Books

Red and Green Poster Tape

Assorted Holiday Gift Wrap

Scissors

Thin Permanent Marker

Glue Sticks

All-Purpose Glue

6" to 8" piece of Satin Ribbon (Optional)

Step 1:  Cut a piece of wrapping paper for each book leaving a 1.5" border at the top and the bottom and a .75" border on the left and the right.

Step 2:  With the wrapping paper right-side facing down, crease and fold the top and the bottom, making the entire length of the paper the same height as the book.

Step 3:  Use the glue stick to apply glue onto the entire perimeter of the wrapping paper.  Then very lightly apply glue to the rest of the paper.  (Too much glue will cause your paper to wrinkle.)

Step 4:  Smoothly wrap the paper around the papier-mache book, leaving some overhang along the edges of the front and back cover.

Step 5:  Wrap the overhang around each edge, pressing it down firmly in place.

Step 6:  Use your bottle of all-purpose glue to glue down any corners and edges that need securing.

Step 7:  About an inch from the top of the book, apply the poster tape starting on the inside edge of the front cover, wrapping it around the outer cover, and ending on the inside edge of the back cover.

Step 8:  Using the permanent marker, write the number "1" on the poster tape along the binding.

Step 9:  Repeat steps 1 to 8 with the next 23 books, numbering each one a different number from 2 to 24.

Step 10:  Cut an 8" piece of ribbon to make a bookmark that will help your children keep track of which day they are on.  (I used a scrap piece of patterned ribbon I had leftover from another project, dovetailed the ends, and tied a knot at each end.)

Now comes the fun part . . . filling each book with surprises for your children.  As you can see, these books are large enough to fit Tootsie Roll Pops, so you really are less restricted with what you can fill them with.


Ways to make this project your own . . . 

I like craft projects that are quick and easy, but there are many ways you can customize this craft to fit your own tastes, such as:

• Decoupage scraps of wrapping paper onto the cover instead of using one piece.
• Use fabric to wrap the books instead of wrapping paper.
• Use calligraphy to write the numbers on the binding.
• Use decals for your numbers instead of writing them by hand.
• Tie a small charm onto one end of the ribbon bookmark.
• Instead of wrapping the books, have your children paint them and decorate them with Christmas stickers.

I have to say that my children are very excited for December 1st to arrive so that they can open the first box.  You can use these to count the first 24 days in December or reverse the order and use it as a countdown to Christmas.  My children opted for the countdown so that they will always know how many days there are to go until Santa pays us a visit.

If you are looking for inspiration for craft projects, visit DiscountSchoolSupply.com.  That is where I got the idea to use these papier-mache books!

Thank you to Discount School Supply for providing complimentary product samples for us to use in this craft project.

Holiday 2011: Time Enough For Love Advent Calendars

Although we have always used some type of countdown to Christmas tracker, last year was the first time my family used an advent calendar.  It was quite a novelty, but it began a new tradition for us.  One complaint I have about traditional advent calendars is that the compartments or boxes are tiny, so there is only room for one small surprise inside.  This requires the children to take turns, which is fine if you have two or three children.  Once you reach four children or more, it seems like quite a long wait for each child to have a turn again.  That is why this advent calendar from Time Enough For Love appealed to me.  The boxes are 2-1/2" x 5", which is plenty of room for me to put three candies, 3 erasers, 3 Squinkies, 3 Trash Pack toys, etc . . . in each box.

Another thing I find unique about the Time Enough For Love Advent Calendars is that the numbered boxes are stacked.  Once a box is removed, the rest slide down, making it much easier to know which day it is.

These advent calendars are sold ready-to-fill or already filled with fun high quality small toys.  The toys are selected specifically for the ages and genders of the children (or adults) who will be using the calendar.  Time Enough For Love only includes one surprise in each box, but you can always add more items yourself.  For example, when I set up last year's advent calendar, there was only one surprise per box, so I added 3 small candies to each box.  The child, whose turn it was got the toy and a piece of candy and the other two each were able to enjoy a candy as well.

These advent calendars could be used again in following years if they are handled gently.  They are made of thin cardboard.  I would love to see a similar advent calendar made of wood.  I know the cost would be much higher, but it would be a wonderful keepsake to use for many years and maybe even decades.

The empty advent calendar sells for $19.99.  This would be a great choice if you have many children and would like to put multiple surprises in each box.  The filled children's advent calendar retails for $69.99.  Time Enough For Love also offers advent calendars for adults and for families, which cost a little more.  Visit TimeEnougForLoveCalendars.com to view the full selection.


In order to guarantee delivery by December 1st, you must place your advent calendar order by November 22nd.


Thank you to Time Enough For Love for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

Fun and Unique Advent Calendars from Playmobil

I never realized that Playmobil offered Advent calendars. What a cool candy-free way to countdown the last 24 days before Christmas! We were sent this police-themed Advent calendar to check out, but there are several themes to choose from that are suitable for boys or girls (or both). Of course, it is not December yet, so we have not begun to use it, but I can tell you a little about this particular one.

Like all other Playmobil toys, there is much assembly that is required as part of the set-up process. It took my husband and I about an hour to put ours together as a team. Assembly consists of forming each of the 24 boxes, finding all the pieces that go inside each box according to the manual, and attaching the box to the corresponding numbered spot on the laminated cardboard calendar. We even went as far as assembling some of the box contents because some of the pieces were tiny. Our youngest children are nearly 4 years old and we thought it would be best to complete some of the assembly for them. If it was just our nearly 7 year old son, then we would have left the box contents unassembled.

The Advent calendar also comes with this 3D laminated cardboard backdrop for our children to play with the figures, vehicles, and accessories upon after the boxes have been opened.

I know I mentioned that this is a great candy-free Advent calendar, but we actually put little candies inside the boxes that had enough room to allow it. The reason we did this is because each box really only contains an item or items for one child, so we though we would add a treat for each child in some of the boxes.

One great thing about these Advent calendars is that they are not dated. If you happen to see any on sale, you definitely should buy up one of each theme to use during future years. To view all the themes available, visit PlaymobilUSA.com . You should be able to find these Advent calendars during the holidays most places where Playmobil toys are sold. This particular one retails for $16.99 and is well worth it because of the amount of figures and accessories that are included in the kit.

Thank you to Playmobil for sending us a complimentary product sample to base this review upon.