24 advent calendar activities for kids (no sugar, no plastic, nothing that takes more than 10 minutes to set up)
Chocolate calendars last eleven seconds a day. An activity calendar gives you 24 small things to do together, which is what the kids will actually remember, and which is what December is supposed to be.
The trap is ambition. A 24-day calendar of gingerbread houses and craft projects dies on the 6th. So this list is sorted by how much energy the grown-up has. Mix them: a low-energy door on a school night, a big one on a Saturday. Nothing here takes more than ten minutes to set up, and half of them need nothing at all.
Low energy (school nights, 10 minutes, no shopping)
- Snowflakes. Paper, scissors, fold, cut. Tape them to the window.
- Torch walk. Round the block after dark to count the houses with lights up.
- Hot chocolate with everything. Marshmallows, sprinkles, the lot. Ten minutes.
- Christmas film night, they pick. Blanket fort optional.
- Write a letter to Santa. Or to next-year them.
- Pyjamas on at 5pm, dinner on the floor. Picnic rules.
- Draw the family as reindeer.
- Read a Christmas book in a silly voice. They choose the voice.
- Dance to three Christmas songs, full volume.
- Sleep under the tree. Sleeping bags in the living room.
- Make paper chains for the hallway.
- Everyone says one nice thing about everyone else at dinner.
Medium (an hour, a little prep)
- Bake anything. A packet mix counts. Decorating is the activity.
- Make a bird feeder. Pine cone, peanut butter, seeds, string.
- Card factory. Make cards for grandparents and neighbours.
- Photo booth. Tinsel, hats, timer on the phone, print the best one.
- Wrap a present for someone else. They choose what; you help.
- Salt-dough ornaments. Flour, salt, water. Bake, paint, hang.
- Christmas scavenger hunt in the house. Ten clues, one small thing at the end.
- Cook dinner from another country's Christmas. Look one up together.
Big (a weekend door)
- Choose a charity together and do one thing for it. Food bank drop, toy donation, a card to a care home.
- Go and see the lights. The big display, the town square, the street everyone talks about.
- Gingerbread house. Kit is fine. Structural failure is part of it.
- Christmas Eve box. New pyjamas, a book, a film, the good hot chocolate. The last door opens the box.
Running it
Two ways. The paper version: 24 numbered pockets or envelopes on the wall, one card in each, and they take turns opening. The simplest pockets are folded card stapled to a length of ribbon.
Put big doors on Saturdays, low-energy doors on school nights, and do not commit to anything on the 23rd. You'll be wrapping.
Running it without 24 bits of paper
The paper-pocket calendar is lovely and takes an evening to make. If you'd rather not, or the kids are old enough to have a phone, Tailii does the same job: 24 locked doors, one opening each morning, with the activity written inside, plus a photo or a little video from you. It works well for grandparents too: they can build one for the grandchildren from anywhere, and the kids open it at breakfast.
What works especially well in the digital doors for kids:
- A video of you announcing the day's activity in a silly voice.
- A photo clue. "Today's thing is hidden where this was taken."
- A drawing they have to copy, done with your finger.
- A voice note from Grandma reading the day's card.
What building one looks like, in 40 seconds:
They can't open tomorrow's. Every door stays locked until its morning, on the server, so there's no scrolling ahead on the 1st and no arguments on the 2nd.
Questions people ask
What age is an activity advent calendar good for?
Three and up. For toddlers, keep it to the low-energy list and let the activity be five minutes long. Older kids can run it themselves and take turns choosing the day.
Do I need to do all 24?
No. Skip a day and nobody dies. Or make a 12-day version from the 13th, which is the last two weeks of term anyway.
What if I don't want to make the paper pockets?
Use a digital calendar. Tailii lets you write each day's activity behind a locked door, add a photo or a video, and the kids open it at breakfast.
Can grandparents do this from a distance?
Yes, that's one of the best uses. A grandparent builds the calendar in Tailii, adds a voice note or a video to each day, and the grandchildren open it at home every morning.
Set up December in one evening
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