12 Days of Christmas Activities

One thing I've recently noticed about myself, is how much I look forward to events and social activities, with Christmas being no exception. Since I'm married to an introvert and a man who works physically hard for a living, I don't participate in nearly as many social gatherings/activities as I'd like to. I know for me, I'm a happier and more spirited (and less panic attack prone) person when I have something fun to look forward to.

I then had the realisation *insert lightbulb moment here* that I could essentially 'create' my own events to look forward to. This would help make every moment, even the little ones, become an exciting event that I can prepare for, involve my kids with, countdown towards and ultimately enjoy the buzz that comes with celebrating the big day.

It was perfect timing then for me to read the Super Organiser Mum's latest blog entry: Our 12 Days of Christmas. As I read through it, I knew this was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to do with my kids. Spending quality time with the kids? Check. Keeping them entertained through the holidays? Check. Having fun? Check. Creating a new Christmas tradition we could all enjoy? Check.

To elaborate a little further on the Super Organiser Mum's 12 Days of Christmas blog, I've broken the process down and added some further hints to help you create your own fantastic Christmas activity list.

1. Write a list of 12 activities - Most of my activities (see below) were copied from the Super Organiser Mum's blog, but I did add a few new ones to fit in with our schedule. Some alternative activity ideas include: Make your own egg nog, Do a Christmas jigsaw puzzle, Make a gingerbread house, Make your own Christmas wreath, Work on a Holiday Scrapbook, Make your own Christmas cards, Do some Christmas crafts, Host a Christmas Themed Morning Tea and much more!

Here are my completed Christmas activities.

2. Mark your calendar - To make this idea work for you, it helps to co-ordinate your 12 activities with local events and your current schedule. We have several birthdays and parties to attend during this period, so I had to make some of our activities work around this.

First of all, I would suggest numbering each day on your calender with 1 to 12 (shown above). Writing in any set events like Carols by Candlelight on the appropiate day. I also matched up some of our activities to work in with the kid's last days of preschool and swimming lessons so we could present their teachers with a small homemade gift. I then added a little activity abbreviation for each day before finalising our list.

If you start your 12 days of Christmas activities today, it will end neatly on the 25th. You may want to start a day earlier (ending on Christmas eve) for future Christmases, but it's up to you. 

3. Get decorating - Once you've got your activities written down and matched up for each day, it's time to make them pretty! I wrote my numbers and activities out in Publisher, found a nice font and printed them off. Then I cut them out and glued them onto some spare scrapbooking paper.

4. Make an accompanying To Do List - This is your special mummy list to write down any additional notes or instructions for each of your planned activities. Mine includes addresses of Christmas lights to look at, supplies I need to buy beforehand and any prep work I might need to do the night before.

As an extra daily activity for my children, I've also printed off a colouring in page for each day. My daughter wants to send today's colouring in picture with her letter to Santa, but our other pictures will be proudly stuck up around the house. You could also use these pictures as part of your Holiday scrapbook, incorporate them into your gift wrapping, or frame them to make re-usable Christmas decorations.

If all of this appeals to you, but you need some time to plan, simply start today with Writing a Letter to Santa. You'll find a link above for the Australia Post website with Santa's address and letterheads you can print off. If you send your letter before the 17th, you'll get a reply from Santa! Alternatively, try these Loo Roll Christmas Fairies as a quick and easy Christmas craft to get you started.

Some of the fairies we created yesterday.  Gotta love no-mess crafts!

All credit for this fantastic idea (and many others) goes straight to Jade aka Super Organiser Mum. Please check out her blog for some terrific decorating and organising ideas suitable for all mums.

P.S. Have you got a fun Christmas activity to add? Or a cool craft idea? Let me know.