Okay, okay. I know Ellis is only 10 months old (his monthly update is coming soon!), and he won't remember any of this. But I will and he will enjoy the moments as they happen, so doesn't it sound fun to have a Advent calendar to celebrate the entire season? Of course, as much as I love those little chocolates.... activities sound even better. Activities that were baby-geared were a little harder to come up with, especially since he's already met Santa at a craft fair (it went swimmingly, as you can see).  There's always a lot going on in December, but I also wanted a mix of more low-key activities because he can get overwhelmed in crowds.  What do you do to celebrate the season with your family?

1)  Read Christmas books (See my picks here, here, here and here)
2) Get a tree (We are thinking a smaller one, on a stand, out of reach of baby hands.)
3) Decorate tree
4) Mom wrap presents while baby practices unwrapping presents
5) "Help" make cookies with grandma
6) Give cookies to our moms' group babysitters
7) Nativity Scene sensory box
8) Play the "Stocking Game" where you put items in the stocking for the baby to fish out
9) Make a footprint ornament for your own tree and grandparents' trees
10) Set up a toy train around the tree (aaaaaand likely take it back down when done playing because- baby hands.)
11) Play with "Snow" Dough
12) Give cookies to children librarians and check out christmas books (Yes, new and soon-to-be moms! Your library likely has board books you can check out!)
13) Make and eat St. Lucia Buns
14) Get a Christmas-themed Balloon (This works for even very young babies. See here)
15) Visit Grandma at work and say "hi" to the nursing home residents
16) shop for Toys for Tots
17) take a baby photo with a Santa Hat and tree
18)Play with Jingle Bells
19) Sledding at Grandma's house
20)Visit Daddy at Work (bring some treats!)
21) No-Mess painting with red and green paint
22) Play with Lights in a Jar
23) Look at Christmas Lights with the family
24) Christmas Eve with the family!
25) Christmas Day!


Some alternative ideas for other moms to consider would be dying some cooked pasta noodles red and green for an exploratory bin, or making a "photo tree."


ETA: What we actually did; what worked; and what didn't:
1)  Read Christmas books - loved 'em and reread Every. Single. Day.
2) Get a tree - We got a fake tree since we didn't want to mess with sap and baby hands. 
3) NONE (We attempted to decorate but unsure how to do it with a baby.) 
4) Mom wrap presents while baby practices unwrapping presents Amusing to do, and good for parents to see how long it takes baby to unwrap things. Not an activity to do over and over though. 
5) "Help" make cookies with grandma- Ellis mostly zoomed about in his walker while we made cookies, but it was fun to have a project with my mom and we made cookies for so many people. I loved being able to hand them out. 
6) Give cookies to our moms' group babysitters- Group one that got cookies. 
7) Visit Grandma at work and say "hi" to the nursing home residents- This is my mother-in-law. She got cookies too. 
8) Give cookies to children librarians - They also got cookies, plus a plate for my husband to take to work. It was especially nice to give these because it was unexpected and appreciated! 
9) Decorate tree - A week later, but it was fun. Amos held Ellis mostly, but he put up a few and I got the idea for what type of jingle bells he could play with.
10) Set up a toy train around the tree - Next year, I would set it up myself, as it was a pain to do. BUT He loved to watch the train several times a day. I drew houses on the wrapping paper to make a "city."
11) Play with "Snow" Dough- I was excited for this and it was disappointing. Not sure if it was teh recipe or if he's just not into play dough. 
12) Play the "Stocking Game" - He loved it the first time. Tried to play it a few days later and he was over it. Might be his age and a younger baby would be more into it. 
13) NONE
14) take a baby photo with a Santa Hat and tree. I took it with the toy train instead. Ellis hates hats. 
15) Make a footprint ornament for your own tree and grandparents' trees- They are made. Not as good looking as hoped for but.... 
16) Get a Christmas-themed Balloon Surprisingly hard to find one, but he loved it.
17) Play with Jingle Bells We used these big, single bells and he loved chasing them across the floor. 
18) Shopped for  for Toys for Tots  a Local Bookstore's Book Bank. Nowhere did Toys for Tots, so we had to hunt around for alternatives. However, the importance of books at home can't be underestimated so it worked out.
19)  No-Mess painting with red and green paint I tried this when he was 5 months and 7 months old too. He's just not that into it. Your mileage may vary. 
20)Visit Daddy at Work Daddy loved it. Ellis put up with it. It's nice to make someone's day. 
21) NONE- 
22) NONE 
23) NONE (Attempted to see Family, but bad roads)
24) Christmas Eve with the family!
25) Christmas Day!

We didn't get to: go sledding at Grandma's house. First there was no snow, then too-wet snow and then I realized we lacked a good set of warm enough baby pants.No Lights in a jar either- too much extra stuff to buy. Also, this might be fun to do for a younger baby, but with the developments Ellis had this month, I suspect it would have been boring for him.  We forgot to make St. Lucia buns; Ellis had the worst of his cold on the 13th.  Also, no Nativity Scene sensory box. I really wanted something connected to the Christmas story, but had trouble finding big enough wooden people/parts that weren't choking hazards. Next year, I'm going to try this, if there's time!