{Teacher Moment} Advent Picture-Calendar

It's no secret that I love to celebrate, well, EVERYTHING! I'm so grateful for the gift of life, that I find myself constantly looking for an excuse to get together and celebrate.

On Sunday, my Pastor spoke about being thankful and celebrating life (click here to watch). This morning, the title of my son's daily devotional was "It's a Great Day to Celebrate Life!" I've been so pumped about this season, and I hope you are too. Even if your life's circumstances aren't ideal at the moment, choose to concentrate on something positive, your joy won't be far behind.

Today, I want to share my family's version of the Advent Calendar. Near the end of last year's Christmas season, I stumbled upon the idea of writing activities in the calendar rather than just filling it up with candy. Duh! Genius!

So, this year, when it came time to prepare my calendar, I knew what I wanted to do. First, I downloaded my free printable number cards from Lauren McKinsey. Then, I went on www.fun4gatorkids.com, a local website which lists activities and events in my city. Later, I browsed my beloved Pinterest for more ideas.

(Between me and you...I still plan on making the pins cute with some scrapbooking paper and gluing the numbers to the envelopes. It's next on the list, promise!)

Finally, I created a schedule for our family which included a little bit of everything. It is very important to my husband and I to give our children ample exposure to a wide range of activities - AND to not break the bank.

So here's what our weeks look like until Christmas:

Sunday - Go look at Christmas lights

Monday - Snuggle on the couch as a family for Christmas movie night

Tuesday - Find a candy treat and read a Christmas book together

Wednesday - Prepare an edible craft as a family

Thursday - Prepare a non-edible craft as a family

Friday - Attend a Christmas Concert (local middle schools have free ones!)

Saturday - Some type of outing

Since my children are too small to read, I opted for printing out photos of these activities and sticking them inside 4x6 white envelopes with Lauren McKinsey's label on top. Each day, when Daddy gets home from work (the suspense throughout the day is a killer!), we open an envelope and find out what our activity is for that evening.

So far, it's been a hit! So, we're almost half way there, but you know what, if you have toddlers and start today - THEY WON'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!! Creating memories for 16 days is still awesome! Who cares if you didn't start December 1st?

If you're feeling motivated, check out my Pinterest board titled Family Holidays for some of the photos I used. Just print, cut and you're set to go!

Now go and make some memories!!

Thanks for reading,

Debra