12 Days of Christmas: Advent Calendar

You are not stuck doing things the way they’ve always been done, celebrating just as the world celebrates–this year CAN be less frenzy and more focus on what’s really important–Jesus.

12 Days of Christmas: Advent Calendar Printable is my  newest creation!  There’s a bible reading plan, an activity, songs and acts of kindness tied into our days as we celebrate the birth of our Savior! Our advent journey takes us through the reasons why Jesus  needed to come.

I actually made this advent calendar about 4 years ago for my kiddos because I couldn’t find something that was focused on Jesus that had fun activities that didn’t require tons of running around and several trips to the craft store. I’m finally getting around to making it in pdf form so you can print it out and enjoy in your home!

I made this new advent with lots of love for my kiddos and I hope your family enjoys it as much as we do. Below is what it first looked like when I used it with my children when they were 6 and 3 years old.

It started it off with homemade ornaments that I made from felt to hang on a small tree. Each ornament coincided with the reason why Jesus needed to come and it had a verse and activity card (The more official printed card came a year later).

Then it evolved into a felt tree and I hung the ornaments on the pockets of the tree and placed the advent activity cards inside the pockets.

Then once again I changed it up and didn’t use any ornaments. This year I decided to just show our boys the ornaments and just hang the cards on the outside of the tree and tuck the ornaments inside the pockets.

Display the cards however you wish! Do what works best for your family. As you can see I have tweaked our calendar through out the years to coincide with where they are developmentally and to keep the focus on Christ. Some days we only sang the song or read the verse due to our schedule. Other days we had time for all 3 things–the verse, song and activity.

You can hang the cards up on the wall like a banner, you can keep them in a jar.

I tried to keep the printable below simple so you can tweak it and make it fit for your family. If you noticed I left the “day” blank. In the case that you want to change days around to fit your family schedule.

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12 Days of Christmas: Advent Calendar

How it works:

update: I’ve come up with two sets a 12 Days of Christmas Adventures and 24 Days of Christmas Adventures.

There are 2 or 3 activities on each card:

1. A reading plan– Goes through different verses in the Bible that talk about why Jesus needed to be come.  When I first started an advent calendar this was my goal for my kids to realize not only that we are celebrating the birth of Jesus but why it’s so significant. So before we read each card we say:  Jesus Needed to Come because…
2. A song:  A lot of the cards but not all have a song for you to sing.  Most are carols that have been forgotten others are Christmas songs that you can just look up online. A few are non-Christmas related songs. As I mentioned above some days we don’t have time for an activity so we just look up the song on YouTube and sing it with the kids.  They LOVE this, maybe because the video provides a visual. I like it because I can’t hold a tune and I’m horrible at remembering the words.
3. An activity:  After doing this for 4 years my kids have their favorite activities that they can’t wait to do.  These activities are varied from craft, game, activity or just some act of kindness. We love that they are not all focused on them and what they get to do but some are focused on thinking and praying for others.

Feel free to do all three or just focus on the bible reading for that day.

Some days we just did the Bible reading and then doubled up on the activity over the weekend.  Our life is really busy so don’t feel bad if you missed a day or if you’re getting started on the 9th of December.  The purpose of this advent calendar is to get us and our kids celebrating our Savior as a family, so don’t fret if you’re behind.  Just jump in when you’re ready.

How to Get Your Own 12 Days of Christmas ADVENTures

You can find it in my shop over HERE!

 

 24 Days of Christmas Adventures

 

I recently extended our fun and came up with a 24 Days of Christmas Adventures for those families who want to do all 24 days leading to Christmas.
Christmas Adventures 24 days plus extra activity cards can be downloaded today! Just click HERE and you can have these Adventure cards printed and ready to go in minutes.