32 Advent Calendar Activity Ideas for Families
Updated : 2026-10-24
An activity advent calendar replaces (or complements) chocolate with a small thing to do together every day. Each idea below takes between 10 minutes and an afternoon. Pick the long ones for weekends.
The 32 ideas
- Write a letter to Santa
- Bake Christmas cookies
- Watch a Christmas movie in pyjamas
- Make paper snowflakes
- Decorate the tree together
- Drink hot chocolate with marshmallows
- Go see the Christmas lights
- Make a homemade card for a grandparent
- Read a Christmas story by candlelight
- Build a blanket fort and tell stories
- Donate a toy you no longer use
- Make a bird feeder
- Sing carols at home
- Make a paper chain countdown
- Have a winter picnic on the living room floor
- Do a Christmas colouring page
- Call a family member far away
- Make salt-dough ornaments
- Have a family board-game night
- Go for a frosty nature walk
- Make a gingerbread house
- Wrap a gift for someone special
- Leave a kind note for a neighbour
- Put out cookies & milk for Santa
- Play Christmas charades
- Make reindeer food (oats & glitter-free sprinkles)
- Visit a Christmas market
- Dance to Christmas music
- Make a thank-you list for this year
- Take a family Christmas photo
- Make pinecone decorations
- Write next year's wishes
How to set it up
- Write each activity on a card and put it in an envelope, pocket or matchbox numbered 1–24.
- Plan the calendar backwards from your diary: put outings on free weekends and quick activities on school nights.
- Keep a few blank cards for invitations you get during the month.
- Mix categories: making, giving, moving, cosy.
Make it meaningful
Add a kindness element every few days (a note for a neighbour, a donated toy). Children remember those surprisingly well, and they balance the “what am I getting?” mood of December.
Ready-made cards with icons and numbered tags: Advent Activity Calendar printable.
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Text written with AI assistance and reviewed by a human; illustrations generated with code.
