“Don’t take away their joy.”

That is what God spoke to my heart this year about Christmas. With that, He dissipated my guilt. Guilt that we weren’t giving enough, we were buying too much, didn’t keep up with Advent readings well enough.

Joy isn’t just stolen when we cannot find the good in our circumstances, joy is also stolen when we try so hard to be good — choosing legalism and relinquishing grace.

What do you do when God is asking you to enjoy your Christmas, and allow your children and husband to, also? Choose joy.

So I did. This year, for the first time ever, I decided to choose and activity to do for each day of Advent, one that would bond us closer as a family, and help us to enjoy each other more. This, in addition to our attempts at daily devotional readings, which isn’t included on the list.

Before I could share it with you, I needed to see how this little experiment would work. As in, would it actually be en-joy-able? It has been! That’s why I am sharing it so late in December. If you like some of the ideas, bookmark or pin this post to save for next year.

Having the activities be Christ honoring and focused on giving was immensely important to me. I chose the activities to be achievable, not stressful, fluid and not rigid, and to flow with the natural rhythms of our family, considering each person’s likes and dislikes. And, I added a bit of baking and crafts in the mix. If we already had an event on the calendar, I counted that as that day’s Advent activity.

And, this is really more about being intentional with how we spend our Christmas season. Christmas should not ever be a stressful time. Why has it become that? We haven’t done everything, but we’ve kept up pretty well, and in everything we’ve done, I’ve kept this in mind…“Don’t take their joy away.”

Below is the random list of activities I jotted down, and chose from. I picked one for each day of December leading to Christmas day, wrote it in my own planner, and wrote each one on the back of the Advent Calendar, pictured above, I purchased from Naptime Diaries Shop. Each day the kids flip over the day, and the activity is a surprise for them. I’ve got children from preschool to adult, so the list spans their ages.

Advent Activities in no certain order.

1. Decorate the Christmas tree (that had to make the list, of course).
2. Write a sweet note to someone telling them 10 things you love about them.
3. Bake something for a neighbor.
4. Draw names for gifts for each other.
5. Watch a movie about the story of Jesus.
6. Choose Gifts of Hope together.
7. String popcorn and cranberry garland.
8. Make a peppermint wreathe. (See super-easy tutorial, here)
9. Read the Christmas story.
10. Go look at Christmas lights
11. Make gingerbread ornaments.
12. Make paper snowflakes.
13. Make peppermint hot chocolate to drink together.
14. Pray for someone who has hurt you.
15. Make felt balls to string for garland. (See tutorial here)
16. Decorate sugar cookies.
17. Buy a gift for someone in need.
18. Go ice-skating.
19. Camp out and have a slumber party as a family outside or in the living room.
20. Play a game as a family.
21. Order pizza and have a picnic dinner in front of the Christmas tree, with only the tree lights on.
22. Have a bonfire and make s’mores as a family.
23. Make gift bags to hand out to homeless people we see on street corners.
24. Write a letter to Jesus thanking Him for the gifts He’s given, especially the gift of Himself.
25. Sing your favorite Christmas carols.
26. Have a scavenger hunt.
27. Look at old family photos and family movies together.
28. Watch a Christmas movie as a family.
29. Go see a Christmas play.
30. Have a Christmas party.
31. Make hot cocoa mix ornaments. (See tutorial here.)
32. Choose JOY

33. To be continued…as I find more ideas. 🙂

See all posts in the series: Making of a Home [Unveiled]