What is December without a Christmas calendar - a long tradition in Finland

December is almost here, and so are the Christmas or Advent calendars. In Finland, children usually have their own calendar at home and the preschool has one as well. Therefore, here is a nice 24-day activity calendar for everyone who wants to get some "winter spirit" inspired by the North Pole.

The aim of Advent calendars is simply to bring joy. The advent calendar traditionally has 24 little surprises, so from the 1st to the 24th of December you get to open one little surprise. The surprise can be anything from a cute picture, a piece of chocolate, a small toy, or a suggestion for an activity as in this one.

Follow this post and get the 6+6 activity ideas for your own Finnish-style Christmas calendar with children! The second half of the calendar is coming out soon too.

PART 1

Christmas calendar with activities inspired by the North Pole

The calendar is divided into four parts (6+6+6+6), and all together you will get 24 little pictures with an activity in it. In this post, you will get the first half of the activities (6+6) and the rest come out soon.

There is a list of ideas on how to prepare or how to modify the activity according to weather conditions and the age of the children.

Here is what to do:

1. Copy the pictures from this blog and print them out.
2. After printing, cut the little pictures apart, so that you finally have 24 little pictures.
3. Put all the little pictures in a Christmas stocking, box, or bag.
4. When December starts, take one little picture each day and follow the instructions given.
5. Enjoy the North Pole-inspired activities and get the holiday spirit!

1. Bake/decorate gingerbread. Either bake real gingerbread cookies, decorate another type of cookie with frosting, or make gingerbread man crafts from brown cardboard.
2. Make a snowman. Either make a real snowman if you have snow, make a snowman out of play dough, or make a snowman craft. You can also make some DIY snow!
3. Read a Christmas story. For example The Very Hungry Caterpillars Christmas Eve
4. Eat something sweet. Have a little festive picnic with the children!
5. Listen to a Christmas song. For example, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
6. Read a Christmas Poem. Look for your favorite one to share!
7. Play with ice. Make ice cubes in a freezer and let children enjoy some chilly sensory play!
8. Decorate a Christmas tree. You can decorate a real Christmas tree or alternatively make a craft with some glittery decorations!
9. Paint with red. The color of the season is surely red.
10. Join an elf exercise. Go to the gym, put on some Christmas music, and make some jolly moves!
11. Sing twinkle twinkle little star. Classic.
12. Come up with a Christmas story. Have a small group of children (4-6 kids) and let each tell 2-3 sentences to the story during their turn. You can start with "Once upon a time at Christmas..." It is also possible to do this activity with children one by one or in pairs. Write the stories down and read them aloud later on. You may expand this activity even further by compiling a Christmas storybook out of the stories.

 

Second half, the rest 12 activities are coming out soon, in the next blog! Stay tuned!