As the days grow shorter and cooler, this time of year invites families to gather together, slow down, and create rituals that bring meaning and joy to the holiday season. Advent begins on the first Sunday in December and lasts through Christmas Eve. While its origins are rooted in Christian tradition, families of all backgrounds embrace Advent for its universal themes; anticipation, generosity, togetherness, and the return of light during the darkest days of the year.
Advent for kids is especially magical. It offers daily moments to mark the passage of time, to savor the season of light, and to look forward to Christmas Day. Whether your family is deeply steeped in tradition or simply looking for cozy new rituals, Advent for kids is an opportunity to blend creativity, reflection, and play.
Advent Crafts to Bring the Season to Life
Advent Wreath
Create an Advent wreath with evergreen branches, pinecones, and berries, placing four candles inside. Light one each Sunday leading up to Christmas. This simple ritual brings warmth to winter evenings while providing a lovely centerpiece throughout the month.
DIY Advent Calendar
If your family loves crafting, consider creating your own Advent countdown. Decorate muslin bags, wooden boxes, or envelopes and fill them with small treasures: handwritten notes, craft supplies, or a piece of candy. Children love the daily ritual of opening something new.
Ornaments & Paper Crafts
Handmade ornaments, whether it’s cinnamon salt dough shapes, strung popcorn and cranberries, or dried orange slices, are both festive and fragrant. Paper crafts like snowflakes or folded stars add simple beauty to windows and mantels. Crafting together helps children feel a sense of ownership over the season and gives families meaningful ways to spend time together away from screens and holiday bustle.
Simple Ways to Celebrate Each Day
Advent doesn’t need to be elaborate to be memorable. Some of the most meaningful activities are the simplest:
- Spread Kindness: Encourage children to do small acts of kindness—leave cookies for a neighbor, shovel a walkway, or donate a gently loved toy.
- Bake Together: Baking cookies, caramel popcorn, or bread to share with others fills the house with warmth and sweet smells while teaching the joy of giving.
- Go Outdoors: Bundle up for a winter walk, go ice skating, or take a drive to see holiday lights. Fresh air adds magic to the season.
- Storytime & Music: Read a holiday story by the glow of the tree, attend a library reading, or sing carols together. These traditions create cozy moments children will remember.
- Reverse Advent Calendar: Each day, add a nonperishable item to a box for donation to a local food bank. This activity helps children learn about generosity and the importance of caring for others.
These little rituals become memory markers to anchor your family’s holiday season with rhythm and meaning.
Counting Down the Days: Advent Calendars for Kids
One of the most beloved Advent traditions is the Advent calendar. For young children, who often find it hard to grasp the idea of “how many more days until Christmas,” an Advent calendar for kids offers a joyful, tangible way to see time passing. At HABA, we love how Advent calendars bring together play, anticipation, and daily ritual. Our My Very First Advent Calendar is designed especially for toddlers and preschoolers.
Each day leading up to Christmas, little ones discover a beautifully crafted wooden animal to add to a growing play scene. It’s more than just a countdown - it’s a story unfolding piece by piece, inviting children into imaginative play while helping them mark the days of December. And because the calendar is reusable year after year, it quickly becomes a cherished family tradition.
Play Tip: Pair each day’s wooden animal with a story or activity. For example, when the cow is revealed, read a farmyard story together or bake cookies shaped like stars and animals. These little connections weave play and tradition seamlessly.
The Gift of Presence with Advent for Kids
More than anything, Advent is about being present; with our families, with our communities, and with the season itself. Lighting candles, baking, crafting, singing, and playing together are all ways to help children experience the season not as a rush toward Christmas morning, but as a month full of small joys. Advent for kids offers a chance to slow down, celebrate light in the darkness, and create memories that will last far beyond December.
From our family to yours, we wish you a joyful, playful, and meaningful Advent season.
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