I made a Summer Bucket List for myself and Kort last summer, and it was honestly one of the best things I have EVER done. We made so many incredible, special, FUN memories that summer... It was a great motivator to get out there and be an active, "fun mom" instead of the mom that's pushing her kid in front of the t.v. for hours on end to get through the summer! (I mean...not that I've ever done that...of course not. No, not me. Not ever...nope, wouldn't dream of it! ;)
The Christmas Season comes and goes SO QUICKLY and it's easy to lose track of time. It seems like the holidays always end well before I get the chance to do all of the Christmas-y things that I had "good intentions" of doing. Well, NOT THIS YEAR! I've put together a Christmas Bucket List to keep us on track.
If it is a big activity that needs extra planning, we do it within 3 days of drawing it out. For instance, Kort drew out "Have a cookie decorating party." We needed time to make invitations and get them out to friends, so it is scheduled for this Wednesday. We're going to decorate cookies and make Christmas puppets. I'm really excited! This is exactly the sort of thing I would have put off until it was too late. I LOVE bucket lists!
Another fun approach is to slide a slip of paper into the slots in your advent calendar instead of using a bucket. This gives you a two in one. Each day, when kids mark the countdown, they can also get a bucket list assignment.
My good friend, Natasha, came by for a visit last week and was lovely enough to brainstorm with me. Here are some ideas we came up with:
1. Straw for Baby Jesus (At the very start of the month, set out an empty nativity and challenge your children to fill it with straw for Jesus' bed by Christmas Eve. They earn a piece of straw {raffia or cut up yellow paper} by doing a good deed. The more good deeds that go on in your home, the softer Baby Jesus' bed will be when you lay him in the manger on Christmas Eve.) *I LOVED this one.
2. Build a snowman, and make a snowman kit.
3. Wrap up a bunch of your Christmas books and put them under the tree. Have a few of the bucket list days say "Unwrap and read a Christmas book together"
4. Pop popcorn and watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
5. Pop popcorn and watch "A Christmas Story"
6. Make reindeer food (Granola and magic glitter and anything else you want to put in it) then put it in individual bags for all of your children, {labeled "reindeer food" of course} save it, and then sprinkle it all over the yard on Christmas Eve. {Make sure the kiddos understand that it won't ALL be gone in the morning because reindeer just nibble a little at each house!}That oughtta save you some clean up!
7. Have a family snowball fight.
8. Go sledding.
9. Do a family "secret service santa" day. Draw names in the morning and do good deeds anonymously throughout the day.
10. Go caroling with friends. Come home and have chili and hot chocolate.
11. Assemble and deliver neighbor gifts.
12. Have a Christmas Cookie Party!
13. Decorate a fun cake (have everyone help) and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Then have everyone in the family give a gift (of service/love to others) to Jesus.
14. Have an elf treasure hunt. At the end of it, kids can find their new Christmas pajamas.
15. Drive around and look at Christmas lights, or go to a fun light festival in your area.
16. Make gingerbread houses.
P.S. How exciting is it that you can make a stinkin' cute Christmas tree card with strips of brown paper, and green polka dot paper cut into simple triangles? I love how these turned out and they only took about an hour from beginning to end. {This includes a LOT of time spent designing the font and layout of the info in Word.
Do you have any awesome Christmas Activities your family loves? I'm all ears. My bucket list could stand to have a few additions!
7 comments:
What a great idea!! I think I am going to try it. I think I am just going to do 12 days before Christmas and do something with the kids everynight. I probably will make some of mine a little more simple and less time consuming. But what a great tradition to start up!!
Jill - That's a great idea!
How fun to do a "12 days" thing! I agree, you should totally simplify anything that you can - that way you won't get overwhelmed, and you'll be more likely to follow through.
On days when I have way too much going on, we just don't draw an item out. Which is a nice way of modifying too!
You should add: go see the lights at Temple Square and then go have hot chocolate with Lisa and Andrew, to it. Just an idea ;)
what an AWESOME idea !!!
Very cute. I need a little push too. Maybe I'll have to make a bucket list. Fun.
That is such a great idea!! We have an elf treasure hunt that always ends up with new christmas pajamas, my kids love it. I
haha, I read your christmas bucket list a year later than you posted this ; but yea, it's great :)
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