Advent: CHRISTmas Countdown {Free Printables}

Believe it or not, we have never “officially” celebrated Advent. We usually do fun, family things throughout the month of December, but I have never purposefully had an Advent celebration! I have always had good intentions, but frankly, I just ran out of time and didn’t get things together by December 1st!

Well, I vowed that this year would be different! Just when it looked like I was going to fall into the same old tradition of “too little…too late,” I found out about the Advent eBook Truth in the Tinsel…which TOTALLY saved the day! You can read my review all about it here! We/I am so excited to get started with our Advent celebration this year (thanks to Amanda from Impress Your Kids, author of Truth in the Tinsel, who has done virtually ALL of the work for me)!

I was so inspired by this super cute, super easy to implement eBook, that I actually came up with a CHRISTmas Countdown {Advent Countdown} cards to go along with it. But don’t be fooled, these are not just numbered cards!

They actually have clues (riddles) FOR the Truth in Tinsel clues! This will add a fun spin on an already great idea! Plus, it will get my older kids a little more engaged in our activities (though they are already all thrilled about the idea of doing a simple craft each day already)! So, here is how it all works:

1) Set up the countdown calendar. Print and laminate the Advent Countdown cards on cardstock. I have formatted them so that you can print them back to back so that the riddles actually appear on the back of each card. Once I printed, laminated, and cut my cards, I slid them into a Classroom Card Scheduler that I found in the dollar section at Target a few months ago. (When I saw them, I stocked up!) Here is a similar one, though mine measures 21”x14.5'” and has 8 pockets. I arranged the cards so that they resemble a Christmas tree and hung it with thumbtacks on the bottom of a peg board.

2) Gather and prep supplies. Once the calendar is made, gather your supplies so that you don’t have to frantically search the house for them each day. (Many of the required items can be found around your home!) I also printed, laminated, and cut the Truth in Tinsel clue cards, which are an integral part of the plan!  ;-)

3) Prepare to have fun! Here is what we will do each day. The kids will go over to our CHRISTmas/Advent Countdown board and read the riddle on the back of the appropriate card. The answer is the Truth in Tinsel clue. For example, Day 1’s card says “I am  bright and give off light. What am I?”

Once the kids guess, candle, which is the Truth in the Tinsel clue, we will have a scavenger hunt of sorts. The kids will run around the house and find the Truth in the Tinsel clue card with the candle on it, which will be hidden near a candle. (Each day before we start, I will hide the Truth in the Tinsel clue card in a place related to the clue for the kids to find.) I’m not sure how tough I will made it for the kids to find the clue cards, but here are some ideas for Day 1:

Once they have found the clue card, we will begin the Truth in Tinsel activities! After we have completed the activities for the day, we will place the countdown/riddle card back on the tree, turned backwards, so that my little guys have another visual of how many days there are until Christmas…so they will will stop asking me!  LOL!

You can download the Advent Countdown cards from my Advent Activities page.

Can you tell I am excited to get started? I can’t wait!!! I will also be using The ADVENTure of Christmas by Lisa Whelchel. I would recommend adding this book to your Christmas collection regardless of how you decide to celebrate Advent! Not only is it filled with activities, but it provides "Teachable Moments" where you can expound on some of the Christmas traditions and answer questions like...why do we hang ornaments on a tree at Christmastime?

Oh, I just love this time of the year!!!

More Truth in the Tinsel:

• Buy Truth in the Tinsel eBook
• Read my Truth in the Tinsel review
• Download my (free) coordinating Advent Countdown printable
• Read my Truth in the Tinsel {in action} post
• Our Truth in the Tinsel ornaments from Day 1-6
• Our Truth in the Tinsel ornaments from Day 7-12
• Our Truth in the Tinsel ornaments from Day 13-18
• Our Truth in the Tinsel ornaments from Day 19-24

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