Advent Calendar Activity Ideas: 24 Days of Family Fun

An activity advent calendar puts something to do together behind each door instead of a chocolate: one small plan a day from December 1 to 24. Below are 24 advent calendar activity ideas mapped onto December 2026, with quick ones on school nights and bigger ones on weekends, plus a 30-minute setup and ways to adjust it by age.

The short version

• Most activity calendars run December 1 to 24. In 2026, December 1 is a Tuesday and Christmas Eve is a Thursday.
• Give school nights the 10 to 20 minute activities. Save baking, decorating and outings for the weekends of December 5 and 6, 12 and 13, and 19 and 20.
• Write each activity on a slip, an envelope or a paper chain link. Setup takes about 30 minutes and costs $0 to $10.
• Mix four kinds of days: make something, play something, give something and get cozy. A game night with our Christmas games counts as much as a craft.
• Keep three spare slips for sick days and late nights, and allow swaps.

What is an activity advent calendar?

An activity advent calendar keeps the countdown to Christmas but swaps the treat behind each door for something you do together, like baking cookies, playing a game or dropping a card at a neighbor's door. Plenty of families still pair each activity with a small treat.

Most run from December 1 to December 24. The church season of Advent starts earlier, on the first Sunday of Advent, which is November 29 in 2026. Families who keep an Advent wreath light one candle that Sunday and one more each Sunday after, so all four are lit on December 20.

These are the dates worth knowing before you write the slips:

How to set up an activity advent calendar in 30 minutes

1. Open your December calendar first. Mark concerts, work parties, travel and late nights. Those days get the shortest activities.
2. Write 24 activities on slips of paper, filling the busy days first and the weekends last.
3. Pick a container: 24 envelopes clipped to a string, a paper chain with an activity inside each link, numbered paper bags, or a jar you pull from each morning.
4. Gather supplies for the first week only, and keep a running list for the rest.
5. Write three extra slips marked "swap" for the nights when the plan doesn't fit.

Most of what you need is already in the house: paper, tape, markers, baking basics, a flashlight and a blanket. Leave the slips unsealed until the night before. December plans change, and an unsealed slip is easy to trade.

24 advent calendar activity ideas for December 2026

Here are all 24 days, with short ideas on school nights and bigger ones on weekends. Each lists about how long it takes, so move them around to fit your family.

Week 1: December 1 to 6

• Dec 1 (Tue): Make a family list of holiday things you want to do this month. 10 minutes.
• Dec 2 (Wed): Read Christmas would you rather questions at dinner. Everyone picks a side, and the smaller side explains. 10 minutes.
• Dec 3 (Thu): Cut paper snowflakes and tape them to a window. 20 minutes.
• Dec 4 (Fri): Charades night, kids against adults, with the Christmas deck. One prompt is even "Opening an advent calendar door." 30 minutes.
• Dec 5 (Sat): Put up the tree or the decorations with music on. Before bed, set out a shoe for St. Nicholas. 1 to 2 hours.
• Dec 6 (Sun): St. Nicholas Day. In Germany and other parts of Europe, children put out a shoe or boot the night before and wake up to small treats like nuts, oranges or chocolate. Check yours, then bake one batch of cookies together. 1 hour.

Week 2: December 7 to 13

• Dec 7 (Mon): Walk or drive past the best holiday lights nearby. 30 minutes.
• Dec 8 (Tue): Read a holiday book together by flashlight. 15 minutes.
• Dec 9 (Wed): Play Draw & Guess with the Christmas words. Snow globes and gingerbread houses are easy to sketch and funny to get wrong. To play on paper, print our Christmas words to draw. 15 minutes.
• Dec 10 (Thu): Make cards for a teacher, bus driver, mail carrier or grandparent. 20 minutes.
• Dec 11 (Fri): Family trivia night with Christmas trivia questions, in teams that mix ages. 30 minutes.
• Dec 12 (Sat): Choose toys, books or coats to donate, and drop them off together. 1 hour.
• Dec 13 (Sun): Build a gingerbread or graham cracker house. 1 hour.

Week 3: December 14 to 20

• Dec 14 (Mon): Cocoa in pajamas and one chapter of a story. 20 minutes.
• Dec 15 (Tue): Sing three carols or holiday songs, as loudly as the neighbors allow. 10 minutes.
• Dec 16 (Wed): Run a Christmas scavenger hunt around the house, with 30 finds from a candy cane to fuzzy socks. 20 minutes.
• Dec 17 (Thu): Make a paper chain or a homemade ornament. 20 minutes.
• Dec 18 (Fri): Holiday movie night with popcorn and blankets on the floor. Print Christmas movie bingo and mark the clichés as they happen. 2 hours.
• Dec 19 (Sat): Bake treats and deliver them to a neighbor, with a note listing what's in them. 1 to 2 hours.
• Dec 20 (Sun): Family bingo with Christmas bingo cards. The winner gets first pick of dessert. 30 minutes.

If your family keeps Las Posadas, the nine nights run from December 16 to 24, and a posada can take the place of any slip that week. Our guide to Las Posadas at home explains what happens each night.

Week 4: December 21 to 24

• Dec 21 (Mon): The winter solstice falls on December 21 this year, the longest night in the Northern Hemisphere. Turn the lights off and eat dinner by flashlight or battery candles. 30 minutes.
• Dec 22 (Tue): Wrap a gift together, or let kids wrap one for a sibling. 20 minutes.
• Dec 23 (Wed): Everyone writes a favorite memory from this year on a slip, and you read them aloud. 15 minutes.
• Dec 24 (Thu): Christmas Eve. New pajamas, one last story, and if Santa visits your house, a plate of cookies by the door. For more, see these Christmas Eve traditions from around the world. 30 minutes.

Swap-in ideas for busy nights

When a slip doesn't fit the evening, pull one of these instead. Each takes 10 minutes or less.

• Video call a grandparent or a cousin.
• Ask one Christmas would you rather question at bedtime.
• Hold a two-song kitchen dance party.
• Look through holiday photos from past years.
• Write one thank-you note together.
• Play I Spy using only holiday colors.
• Tell a joke each at dinner, and let the youngest pick the winner.

Advent activities by age

The younger the child, the shorter and more hands-on the slip. Older kids stay interested when they help plan.

Toddlers and preschoolers, ages 2 to 5

Keep it short, hands-on and repeatable: sticker scenes, a jingle bell dance, decorating cookies with ready-made icing, or finding one ornament you've hidden. A parent reads the slip, and the child opens it. Repeating a favorite is fine, since little kids love doing the same thing twice.

Kids ages 6 to 9

This is the sweet spot for crafts, baking jobs, scavenger hunts and charades. Most can read their own slips by now, and many love being in charge of the calendar.

Tweens and teens

Hand over part of the planning. Let them write a week of slips, host trivia night or cook one dinner. Teens tend to skip anything that feels babyish, so lean on games, baking projects, a movie they pick and nights they can invite a friend.

Mixed ages

Let the oldest read the slip and the youngest open the door, and take turns choosing the swaps. In games, put different ages on the same team.

What to do when the plan falls apart

Missed days are normal in December, so plan for flexibility instead of catching up.

• If you miss a day, double up the next day or skip it. Nobody is keeping score.
• If tonight's activity is too big, use a swap slip and move the big one to the weekend.
• If siblings fight over who opens it, give one child odd days and the other even days. With three kids, rotate in order.
• If kids split their time between two homes, let the calendar travel with them, or make a set of slips for each home.
• If the weather cancels an outdoor plan, trade it for an indoor slip and try again on a weekend.
• If kids expect a present every day, explain on December 1 that this calendar is about doing, not getting. A small treat on Sundays helps younger kids.
• If you're worn out by the third week, let older kids plan and run December 14 to 20.

FAQ

How many days does an advent calendar have?

Most have 24 doors, December 1 to 24, and some add a 25th for Christmas Day. A calendar that follows the church season of Advent runs anywhere from 22 to 28 days, since the first Sunday of Advent moves each year.

What can I put in an advent calendar instead of candy?

Activity slips, short notes, stickers, jokes, a small toy, a coupon for a later bedtime or a question to answer at dinner. Activity slips cost almost nothing and are often remembered longer than the candy.

Is it too late to start an advent calendar after December 1?

No. Start on the day you're ready and either double up on a few days or skip the ones you missed. A countdown that starts on December 8 still works.

Can you reuse an activity advent calendar every year?

Yes. Keep the envelopes, bags or jar, and rewrite the slips each November, since the weekdays shift every year and your kids' interests will too.

What if our family doesn't celebrate Christmas?

Make it a winter countdown to the first day of winter break or to New Year's Day. Use snow, cocoa, games and acts of kindness in place of Christmas themes.

Write the first week tonight

You don't need all 24 slips at once. Write the first week, tuck in a swap slip, and mark December 4 on the fridge as charades night. When it comes, open charades, pick the Christmas deck and split the room into kids and adults.