How to Create an Advent Book Calendar for Children
Advent is the time leading up to Christmas. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, normally the last Sunday in November, and ends on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24. While Advent has great meaning and tradition within the Christian church, it also serves as a countdown to Christmas for children and adults alike. Numerous Advent calendars are available, and most offer users a small gift, such as candy, for each day. But the calendars can sometimes be hard for children to use, and parents do not always want to hand out more sugar. You have another option that encourages reading and family time while still acknowledging Advent: an Advent book calendar that has children open a new holiday book each day. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Count the days of Advent. Look at a calendar and determine which Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. Starting with that day, count to Dec. 24. The number you come up with is the number of days in Advent this year.
-
2
Find the appropriate number of books. Using the number of days in Advent as your guide, locate the same number of holiday books.
-
-
3
Wrap the books. Using tape and Christmas wrapping paper, wrap each book individually. Use the same patterned paper for the entire set, use different patterns for different weeks or have no theme at all.
-
4
Label the books with dates. Using gift tags that you purchased or made, write one date on each tag for all the days from the first day of Advent through Dec. 24. The children will open each book on the day that corresponds with the date on the package. So if you have certain books you want read on specific days, label the books appropriately.
-
5
Place the books in a basket in a designated place in your home. If you plan to open the package and read the book at night in the living room, put the basket in that room. Put the books in order or mix them up and let your children search for the correct book each night.
-
6
Explain the process to your children. Tell them that each night, they will get to open a present and you will help them use it. Depending on the children's ages, you can choose whether or not to reveal that each package contains a book. Tell them that each gift indicates a day before Christmas, so as the pile dwindles, Christmas is getting closer.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
You don't have to purchase all new books for your Advent project. Raid your children's bookshelf, hit the library and ask friends. Include a mix of religious books, Christmas tales and winter-themed stories. The books do not have to be stories your children have never read, and they do not have to stay at your home after Christmas.
Use the Bible as the final book, and read the actual Christmas story out of the Book of Luke if your children are old enough to understand it.
References
- Photo Credit christmas-tree image by sylvia from Fotolia.com
