{"id":7083,"date":"2011-11-30T22:08:53","date_gmt":"2011-12-01T04:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/?p=7083"},"modified":"2011-11-30T22:08:53","modified_gmt":"2011-12-01T04:08:53","slug":"activity-advent-calendar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/30\/activity-advent-calendar\/","title":{"rendered":"Activity Advent Calendar"},"content":{"rendered":"

I just barely<\/em> finished our Activity Advent Calendar in time for December 1. \u00c2\u00a0I’ve been reading blog posts about Advent Calendars and seeing Advent Calendars all over Pinterest since September, so I know many of you are way ahead of me. \u00c2\u00a0I’m just proud to have this project completed. \u00c2\u00a0We still have to hang it on the wall, but let’s go ahead and call this project “done”, okay?<\/p>\n

Here’s my version:<\/p>\n

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I was originally going to use some scrap plywood we’ve got in our garage, but that stuff is HEAVY! \u00c2\u00a0So I went with a canvas (24″x36″?) instead. \u00c2\u00a0Canvases are frequently on sale for 50% off at Hobby Lobby and Michael’s. \u00c2\u00a0I covered the canvas with burlap. \u00c2\u00a0Then I hot glued the red envelopes to the \u00c2\u00a0board. \u00c2\u00a0(The envelopes got trimmed to 4 1\/2″ x 4 1\/2″- it was a happy accident that they wound up perfectly square!). \u00c2\u00a0I dipped in to my stash of Christmas scrapbook paper and fun scissors to decorate the envelopes. \u00c2\u00a0The numbers are glittery chipboard stickers. \u00c2\u00a0I would have preferred another color besides white, but they were the best I could find. \u00c2\u00a0I purchased lots of embellishments to use, but once I got started, I didn’t really like the way they looked. \u00c2\u00a0I may jazz up my board further for next year (add some trim, words, other embellishments), but I’m pleased with it for now.<\/p>\n

So what’s in each pocket? \u00c2\u00a0Well, there is a little slip of cardstock with a Christmas activity printed on it. \u00c2\u00a0Each slip has a green ribbon to make it easy to pull out of the envelope. \u00c2\u00a0The ribbons in the picture look a little wonky to me…I might need to trim those.<\/p>\n

Here is a list of the activities I’ve included for this year with our 4 year old (and I haven’t discussed them yet with my husband, so he may be raising his eyebrows at a few of these!) \u00c2\u00a0I tried to include a nice balance of crafts, baking, doing things for others, fun traditions, movies, Santa, and celebrating the birth of Jesus. \u00c2\u00a0Easier said than done, if you ask me!<\/p>\n

Our Advent Activities: (not in order!)<\/p>\n