Chocolate Free Advent Calendar

I love holiday traditions. I am the mom trying to squeeze every single possible holiday activity into our already packed schedule – the more the merrier in my book! It just so happens that many of our holidays happen one on top of another. As a nod to my husband’s Dutch heritage, we celebrate Sinterklaas in our house on December 5th, klompen and all. My daughter’s birthday party with her friends is usually somewhere around December 20th, and Obviously Christmas on the 25th. Her actual birthday on December 28th is celebrated with family of course, and we top it all off with New Years Eve. This long list doesn’t even include the countless other birthday and holiday celebrations that happen throughout the month. All of this to say that December is a very sugar laden month for us, so when I was thinking of what to do for our advent calendar this year, my only one thought was ‘no chocolate for you’!

I put a shout out on Facebook for ideas and got the tip about these super cute felt Christmas Trees at the Superstore. I grabbed one that same day and got to work (seeing as it was already December 1st). The idea is simple. I create a scavenger hunt around our house with clues on little scraps of paper. I made them simple sight and phonetic words such as “By the mug” or “In the box” (to get in some English ready practice as she’s in a French Immersion School). At the end of the trail, she finds the felt ornament with the number on it and hangs it on the tree. Simple. Educational. Quality time infused and not a single speck of sugar in sight!

Seeing as how we’re crazy busy around the holidays – and everyday really – it seems that we actually get around to doing the advent activity about every 4 or 5 days. Adri seems to prefer it this way as the hunt is longer with more ornaments to find. I love this new tradition spending the time reading and learning with her and watching her excitement grow with each clue and ornament she finds. I can’t wait until Aven is old enough to participate!

What does advent look like at your house?

This blog is part of a great Link Party Palooza over at IHeartNap.net – check the other amazing festive ideas here: