Advent Pockets

Several years ago {maybe four or five?} I stumbled across Jenny's blog and fell in love with her Advent pockets.  I adapted the colors to suit my decor and love them.  I'm ready to make a new set with updated colors and freshen things up a little although I'm uncertain what colors I'll use.

 In years past the pockets have held a new nativity set, one piece for each day so the nativity scene slowly unfolded, with Baby Jesus appearing last.

 This year I decided to join the trend of doing activities during Advent.  So each pouch holds a slip of paper with an activity and a chocolate.  There are gobs of lists of activities all over the Internet, I meshed several suggestions together and came up with what worked for our family.  I wanted a good mix of serving and blessing others along with fun, quiet at-home activities. 

Some of the activities are things we try to do every year anyways, like caroling, baking or driving around looking at lights.  This way it prevents the "when are we going to...." and also ensures we don't forget to do these favorite things.  It helps to keep a master list of what you put in each pouch so you're not caught off-guard and unprepared.

When an activity requires giving money, try to put the money in the pouch, that way the child feels more a part of it.

Here's some of our list.

~Put up & decorate Christmas tree, have our annual waffle & "rolly" sausage dinner

~Write letters to a few friends, mail them stickers & small treats
~Write a letter to Grandma & Grandpa telling them 10 reasons you love them
~Make paper snowflakes
~Tape $1 to a vending machine with a nice note

~Tape quarters to a bubble gum machine with a nice note
~Family board game night
~Ask a cashier what his/her favorite candy bar is then buy it for them
~Write letters to Grandma and your great-aunt
~Candlelight bubble bath (Grab every candle you have, place them in the bathroom and light, then turn off any electric lights.  If you don't feel comfortable leaving your children with lit candles, try a small string of Christmas lights in the bathroom.  I let them each have a bath on different nights)
~Go Christmas caroling
~Make cards for your Sunday School teachers
~Leave a treat and a nice note on top of the garbage can for the trash man
~Make & mail cards for our minister who lives out of town now
~Go out for dinner, leave a huge tip for the waitress, then drive around looking at Christmas lights
~Bake Christmas cookies
~Have a Hot Cocoa party

~Write a nice note and take a treat to each of the ministers
~Family Minute-to-Win-It party
~Have a pizza party in the living room while watching a Christmas movie
~Go to the donut shop, leave an extra $20 for the customers behind you