When you think of Advent calendars, an image immediately comes to mind: a large picture that evokes Christmas, with small numbered windows.

The purpose of the Advent calendar is to help the children wait until the arrival of Christmas. Originally, the Advent calendar had 24 small windows behind which were hidden small images. Each day the child opens a window to discover a new image. The first Advent calendar with chocolates appeared on the market in 1958.

But not the usual

Another way to help children wait until Christmas is to make them create their own  Advent calendar with small pockets, one for each day. In each pocket, the child place a message for a something nice he or she could do to help their parents.

This project empowers children and develops self-esteem as they feel useful to their family. If the child can not write, they can draw the activities that they propose to do or even cut out pictures from a magazine.

The free document contains step-by-step instructions, patterns, suggestions for messages as well as suggestions for drawings.

This is a great activity to do at school or daycare, at home or in Sunday school.