The Christmas Jar

i found this fun idea online...i hope you like it. this seems like a fun tradition & a good way to get in all those fun activities on your list (plus it is economical). you can incorporate the nativity story & church plays & all sorts of other ideas as well...get creative & have fun. you could even put these slips of paper in an advent box or house or wall hanging- whatever you have. please feel free to leave me a comment if you have done something similar or have your own ideas.

for more ideas like this go to momadvice.com...enjoy our countdown to christmas!

xoxo - *laura*

The Christmas Jar
By Amy Clark

Creating memories for Christmas can be an amazing experience for your child. Buying presents is easy, but creating a memory that will last a lifetime is more difficult and more rewarding for parents.

This year we are creating a Christmas Jar and we are filling it with twenty-five activities to do with them starting on December 1st. Each day we will draw an activity and complete it. Not only will the activity be fun, but it will also be a great way to mark down the days until Christmas.

Find any Mason jar and decorate it any way that you would like. On pieces of wrapping paper, create an activity to do each day and tuck it inside of the jar. On December 1st, begin the ritual of drawing from the jar and completing the activity for the day.

Here is a list of ideas to be included in your jar. You can change the activities as your child ages and as their interests change. The important thing is to be creative and have fun making memories with your children. They will remember these activities more than the latest gizmo you tucked under the tree for them. This may even be something that they do with their own children someday! Holiday Activities for Your Christmas Jar

1. Watch a Christmas movie or holiday show on television. Get a complete list of Christmas shows and record them to watch together.
2. Go see the Christmas lights in the neighborhoods in your pajamas.
3. Drink a mug of hot cocoa under your Christmas tree.
4. Read the true story of Christmas.
5. Open one gift early.
6. Bake cookies and take a plate to the firefighters. See if you can get a tour of the fire station and the engines!
7. Write a letter to Santa to leave on Christmas Eve.
8. Make a snowman.
9. Make a snow angel.
10. Pop popcorn and play a board game together, while listening to holiday music.
11. Go to the dollar theatre and see a movie. Sneak in a snack.
12. Go to the library and pick out books about Christmas. Read them together.
13. Give the kids a bath while Christmas carols blare into the bathroom. See who can sing the loudest.
14. Get or make stocking stuffers for Dad.
15. Write a note to each member in the family to tell them how special they are and what you love about them. Leave them in their stockings.
16. Draw a holiday picture and send it to a relative (of the child’s choice).
17. Take a tour of lights in another neighborhood. Pop popcorn to take with you and blast Christmas carols in the car.
18. Make an ornament together for the tree. Try to incorporate a picture of your child and have them choose the decorating. Write the year on the back and try to add one of these each year.
19. Bake cookies for yourselves.
20. Visit Santa at the mall (even if you already did this once).
21. Start a holiday memory book. Quote your child and ask them what their favorite thing they had done (so far) was for the holidays. Record what they asked for from Santa. Take a picture of them for that year with their Santa gift.
22. Print out a Holiday Coloring Page and color it.
23. Make Christmas Crackers to put in each stocking. Take tissue paper and cover each toilet paper roll with it. Take ribbon and tie to close one end of the roll. Fill it with candies and confetti (if you wish). Tie the other end with ribbon and place these in each family member’s stocking. These can be opened on Christmas morning. To make them extra special, have your child write a note to each family member and tuck them inside. It will be a special surprise for everyone!
24. Go to the library and pick out a movie to watch together as a family. Make homemade pizza and curl up together on the couch.
25. Put together a box of items to donate and take your child with you to donate them. Ask them if they would like to contribute something that they have outgrown.

I hope that these ideas are a good start towards your Christmas Jar. Remember that these are the types of things that your child will remember and nothing in your jar necessarily has to cost you any money at all. Your child will long remember these times together and you will have created a memorable Christmas for the entire family. Happy Holidays!