I love to hang my Advent calendar and fill it with lots of fun ideas for each day until Christmas! It was a tradition passed on from my mother, and it gets us in the Christmas spirit. Also I love that it is intentional, as December can be so BUSY. In my family, we do one special or festive thing each day, and we also read a Bible verse. Sometimes we read a prophecy related to the birth of Christ, or sometimes part of the actual Christmas story. This keeps us focused on the reason for the season: Christ! Lately, the budget has been tight so there isn’t as much money for extras. But, we can still plan lots of fun things to do this Advent season! Here are 21 things you can do for free this December:
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Make a garland for the tree
This year we’re planning to paint dried pasta with shiny gold paint and string it on a red ribbon. My son is having a blast (and making a big mess) with painting the noodles to get ready! If you don’t have ribbon or dried pasta, you can make a garland out of whatever you have on hand. Some years we have made a paper chain of colored paper. You could also string popcorn and dried fruit on thread.
Make paper snowflakes
My son is still in the toddler years, so anything he can do with scissors is a big hit. Making snowflakes is no exception! We like to use coffee filters so the snowflake is round. Fold 3-4 times, make a few cuts, and see what your snowflake looks like. Hang it on the fridge or in the window when you are done to get started with Christmas decorating! If you are more ambitious or your children are too old to appreciate this one, then try your hand at making this 3D snowflake on Instructables.com
Make Christmas pancakes
We like to get creative in our house, making specially shaped pancakes from time to time. Put pancake batter in a squeeze bottle and draw some Christmas trees, stars, candy canes, and wreaths. You can even add some food coloring or some special toppings. My son loves sprinkles on his pancake, but chocolate chips, blueberries, strawberries, or apple pieces are also yummy! If you don’t have a squeeze bottle available, you can also use metal cookie cutters. Grease the cookie cutter, put it in the pan, and fill with pancake batter. Wait until the edges of the pancake begin to brown, then remove the cookie cutter and flip.
Make cookie bowl sundaes
You don’t need to go to the ice cream shop to have a delicious and special sundae. Press chocolate chip cookie dough over the back of a muffin tin, bake, and you have a cookie bowl! Break out some fun toppings and the whipped cream. And maybe make a few extra cookie bowls in case a few get eaten!
Put up the Nativity
Look at Christmas Lights
Make Christmas Cookies
Pick a few favorite cookie recipes, turn on the Christmas music and have fun baking (and taste testing) together! Our favorite kind is gingerbread cookies. You can also invite others to join in your baking day to add to the fun. We like to bake with Grandma and Aunt A every Christmas. You could also do a cookie swap with friends or family. Each family can make a big batch of their favorite kind of cookie. Get together and trade cookies so you each have a variety without having to make them all yourself!
Make Painted Ornaments
This year we’re painting small canvases and using hot glue to add a ribbon to hang on the tree. You can get mini canvases at Amazon for about $1 a piece. They make a great gift for grandparents, or a cute keepsake for our Christmas tree. Of course, if that’s not in your budget this year either, you can easily make a colorful ornament with colored paper and coffee filters.
Cut an ornament shape out of the paper, and cut an opening 2 inches in diameter in the middle. Have your child color on the coffee filter with washable markers, then spray the coffee filter lightly with water so the colors bleed together a bit. Once it’s dry, cut and glue a piece of the coffee filter over the opening of the paper ornament. It will look a bit like stained glass or a suncatcher, as the coffee filter allows the light through. Hang it on your tree or at a window.
Watch a Christmas Movie
We got rid of cable a few years ago to save money, and now we only use streaming services. One of my husband’s favorite Christmas movies, Home Alone, is currently available on Disney+. My picks from Disney+ are The Santa Clause and Mickey’s Christmas Carol. On Netflix, we like to watch White Christmas and Klaus. Klaus is a different take on the story of Santa Claus that we really enjoy. Apple TV+ is offering free streaming without a subscription for A Charlie Brown Christmas again this year, on December 16, 2023, and December 17, 2023.
If you don’t have cable or streaming services, check out Pluto TV. It’s a free streaming app and right now they have several channels of Christmas movies and shows.
Read a Christmas book with a mug of hot chocolate
We like to read His Name is Jesus, a short book about the Christmas story that is easy to follow for our toddler. We have the actual physical book, but you can get a free download of the book here. Of course there are many other Christmas books you could read. If you don’t have a Christmas book and don’t want to buy any, check out your local library. Ours has lots of books related to seasons and holidays. Another book about the Christmas story that I love is The Crippled Lamb. It not only shares the Christmas story, but also how God’s plan is at work even in life’s struggles. If your family likes the Berenstain Bears books, look for The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving for Little Ones: The True Meaning of Christmas.
Make pipe cleaner candy canes
My favorite way to make candy cane ornaments is by putting white and red beads on a pipe cleaner. But if you don’t have beads, you can still make a great candy cane with just one red and one white pipe cleaner. My son loves to thread beads, so ours never stay together very long as he keeps taking them apart and redoing them. But, they are another ornament your child can make to hang on the tree or to decorate a table.
Make fudge and share with neighbors
It may not be a traditional Christmas dessert, but we love fudge! I think sharing a dessert or homemade goodies is a perfect way to include gift giving in our Advent. We like to make this fudge recipe from the makers of Marshmallow Fluff. It’s called Never Fail Fudge, and I would say that it lives up to its name. We’ve had struggles making other fudge recipes but this one always turns out right for us! I like to make fudge to share because it is fairly easy to make in large batches and to store. Leave some in the mailbox or on the front step for the delivery man. It will still be delicious no matter the temperatures outside!
Cut pine branches for decorating
I love the smell of pine in our home. It is a scent that always reminds me of the Christmas season. There are many ways you can use pine branches to decorate in your home. Long needled pines like white pine will hold up better for use indoors, but in a wreath or arrangement without water they probably won’t last more than 2 weeks. I like to fill a vase with pine boughs, so that they look great for longer and don’t drop so many needles. Use some ribbon, candy, Christmas ornaments or glittery floral picks to fill out the arrangement.
Live Nativity
There are many churches who will put on a Live Nativity display in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and generally they are free! Check Facebook or your local news listings for events in your area. If you have younger children like my son, they’ll be most impressed by the live animals! This also gives another chance to talk with your children about the real reason for the season. And of course, sometimes we adults need the reminder too, in the midst of the holiday hustle and bustle.
Chocolate Fondue
Chocolate fondue is so much fun! But we rarely set it up at our house because, well, with a toddler it’s messy. Chocolate fondue has, however, become another one of our Christmas traditions. I like to make a few chocolate covered pretzels and animal crackers each Christmas to put on dessert trays. So one day when I’m dipping chocolate, we will melt some extra to have after supper. There’s just something extra yummy about eating a vanilla wafer dipped in warm, melted chocolate.
If you don’t have a double boiler or melting pot, you can still keep the chocolate melted using everyday dishes. Just take a small pot, fill with an inch or two of water, and heat to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat so the water stops boiling. Put a heat-safe mixing bowl on top, like a pyrex bowl. The bowl should be wide enough to fully cover the top of the pot, and it should also ideally sit above the level of the water. Add your chocolate to melt in the mixing bowl. Stir occasionally, and if needed take the mixing bowl off the top and reheat the water in the pot. When your chocolate is melted, serve it in the mixing bowl still stacked on the pot. This will keep your chocolate warm and melted while you enjoy it!
Paint your windows
My son loves to paint our windows, and I love that it’s another way to decorate and get our house looking festive. I’m actually not very good at getting the outside of our home decorated. But when my son paints snowmen and snowflakes on the windows, it makes the outside of my house look fun and festive! We use a homemade window paint, made of 1 part flour, 1 part water, and 1 part dish soap. Then we add food coloring to make the colors we want. I always have him paint the outside of the windows, so I don’t have to worry about a mess. If you have older children, you could use this paint inside if you wanted. And since it’s 1/3 soap, it washes off pretty easily with water when you’re ready to clean it off.
Sing Christmas carols and have a dance party
Break out that Mariah Carey CD, or whatever else gets your toes tapping and dance together. Or if dancing isn’t your thing, gather around the piano or the speaker and sing some old, familiar Christmas carols. Caroling to older neighbors or friends who can’t get out much would definitely brighten their day. And any nursing home would be happy to have you sing carols for their residents. I’ve worked in several nursing homes. There are few places where caroling would bring more joy than to these residents, trust me.
Paint a salt star
Have you ever tried painting a salt picture before? It’s pretty cool. You will need a piece of paper, white school glue, salt, and watercolor paints. If you don’t have watercolor paints, use food coloring mixed with a small amount of water. First, draw out a picture with the school glue on the paper. It could be a star, a Christmas tree, an ornament or a poinsettia, whatever you like. Next, sprinkle salt over the glue, then let it dry. Once it’s dried, shake off the extra salt. Finally, use your watercolor paints to paint over the salt. The paint will absorb into the salt and spread, and your colors will mix together and blend where they meet. Let it lay flat until it’s fully dry.
Make a gingerbread house
Confession time: in my house we cheat. It’s too much work for me to make the gingerbread pieces, and I don’t want to spend money on a kit. We use graham crackers! I have Wilton meringue powder and I use their recipe for royal icing because it’s easy. You don’t need to buy meringue powder if it’s not something you use often. You can make royal icing with just egg whites, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and a mixer. Use whatever candies you have on hand or color the royal icing with gel paste food coloring. Decorate with your houses or eat them, the choice is up to you!
Bethlehem Meal
A new tradition our family is starting is the Bethlehem meal. This is another way to focus your family on the true reason for the season: Christ’s birth. The idea is to create a meal and setting similar to what Mary and Joseph would have experienced. First, set the mood by turning out the lights and use candle light or oil lamps. Set up for your meal on the floor or around a low table, sitting on cushions, blankets, or pillows. Serve your food in communal dishes to share, and eat with your hands. Maybe even play a little traditional Jewish lyre music in the background (check out Youtube for some ideas).
Serve food that would have been eaten by Mary and Joseph. Keep in mind that they would have follow Old Testament dietary rules. This means that they would not have eaten foods like pork or shellfish. Here are some food ideas that they could have eaten: fish, eggs, poultry, pomegranate, cucumber, nuts, goat cheese, olive oil with rosemary, honey, flat bread, figs, olives, chickpeas or hummus, lentils, and grapes and grape juice.
Read the Christmas story and reenact it with your Nativity
My son is curious, and he likes to play with our Nativity set. I think it brings the Christmas story to life for him as he’s moving the people and animals. If your Nativity set is too breakable for play, you could try your hand at making a felt board. Or simply print out a picture of the stable and of each of the people and animals from the Christmas story. Cut out each person or animal, allow your children to color them, and then use them to tell the story. We like to read from the book of Luke, but you could also read from a storybook. This is a great activity for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to refocus on Christ amidst all the festivities.
And that’s how we prepare for Christmas, having a lot of fun without spending much money! I hope this has given you some ideas to celebrate Advent with your family! Do you have any comments, or favorite Advent traditions that you would like to share? Did you try out one of these suggestions for the first time? Comment below or email me at [email protected] and let me know how it went. I would love to hear from you!
