Saturday 17 November 2012

Advent Wishes Jar

(This post is part of my Frosty Festivities Blog Event)

Good morning, welcome to another day of Frosty Festivities. If you missed any of yesterday's posts, please go back and check them out!

We keep ending up with lots of chocolate advent calenders, as our parents buy them for Little Miss and Cheeky Boy. We also have two advent calenders that have little draws with tiny decorations in, and a wooden tree or mantelpiece above to hang the ornaments on. 

Whilst these are fun, I wanted something that would teach my kids to appreciate the things we have in our lives, so that the run up to Christmas isn't just about what presents they want or when they get the next chocolate! I've made this advent wishes jar, filled with things we can do each day, that will make us treasure our family life and the things we enjoy:


If you want to make an Advent Wishes Jar of your own:

Step 1: Find a jar approx 3½" tall and 2½" diameter, clean it thoroughly, and then use a foam brush to coat the jar with Sparkle Mod Podge:


Once it's dry it will give the jar a subtle glitter:


Step 2: Cut 24 Christmassy shapes from patterned paper. I used my Slice Design Cutter, with the Fa La La Design Card, and some My Mind's Eye All is Bright 6x6 papers. Most were cut on the 2½" setting:


Step 3: Write your 'wishes' on the back of the shapes, if the colour is too bold then write it onto white paper/card and stick that onto the shape:


Our wishes are:

* Make a yummy dessert together * Make an indoor tent with fairy lights * Explore somewhere new * Watch a Christmas movie * Make a cotton wool snow scene * Donate to charity * Collect some holly & ivy * Sing a Christmas carol * Have some hot chocolate with marshmallows * Make up a Christmas story for bedtime * Go to a Christmas shop * Send a letter to someone special * Make some gift tags for presents * Take a Christmas photo of all of us together * Go for a wintry walk * Bake some gingerbread biscuits * Look at the stars * Do a puppet show * Make a Christmas decoration * Go to the play park * Play a board game * Make some wrapping paper * Let's go to the beach * Draw a Christmas scene on the chalkboard wall *

There's a lot of things here that we might do normally, but for advent we'll make sure to do it as a family, and to make a proper 'occasion' out of it. I'm not sure if we'll manage them all, but I'm looking forward to trying, and spending some quality family time together this December!

Step 4: To finish your jar, cut out a tag and stamp 'Advent Wishes' onto it, then tie around the top of your jar with twine. I also stuffed the jar a bit with wadding (cotton wool would work too), to help bend some of the shapes around the edges of the jar, and allow some to peek out of the top - just to make it look a little better on display:


Be Inspired:
  • Decorate a jar for display - it doesn't have to be filled with advent wishes
  • Cut lots of Christmas shapes to use on a project
  • Do a Christmas family activity to give you the festive spirit 

Don't forget that a comment on this post, or on any of my posts from this weekend, will count as an entry into the Grand Giveaway {NOW CLOSED} but only if you've registered your interest in winning that here!

Do you have any kind of advent calenders in your household? Since writing this post I learnt about a few ideas that Fay (aka Beautifulliy) has done in the past - one activity calender a bit like mine here (or I should say mine's like hers, as Fay's came first!), she wrapped up a different Christmas book to read each day here, and this year she's planning on a treasure hunt each day. I love that each year is different and special!

See you again at 11am! x

36 comments:

Jackie said...

What a lovely idea!! Might have to steal this one!! LOL I did a 'Scrapbookers' jar for my friend one year...just words/ideas to jump start mojo!! She loved it!

Nikki D said...

what a lovely idea - there are a few veriations of this around but it is always useful to have another 'list' of ideasso I can compile a list that is practical for our family

Annie Claxton said...

Such a lovely idea - my kids are all grown up now, but I wonder if I cold do a grown-up version for me and my husband ... could use lots of the same wishes ... hmmmm :o)

K said...

Nice wishes, and I think its great that you've put them on pretty shapes rather than the usual strips of white paper

Julie H said...

Lovely take on an advent calendar.

Lisa-Jane said...

We have advent envelopes strung up and the Advent fairies pop something into them each day, a bit like the things you've suggested but we also include things that are planned in like nativity plays etc. This year I want to change things up and gives thanks each day for something new, a bit like I've seen American's do through November as part of Thanksgiving.

Miriam Prantner said...

I love advent activities, and this is a fun one! Great idea!

humel said...

This is such a good idea! We always have chocolate Advent calendars (The Doctor's birthday is 1st December, so ever since I've known him I've given him a choc calendar on his birthday - and if he's having one, we all sure are!!) One year we made a paperchain, on the inside of which was written a way of donating a few pennies to charity. For example, on one day it might say 'Donate 5p for each bedroom in your house'. We kept the amounts small because we wanted the kids to donate some of the money from their pocket money, though we helped out of course! I'd like to do something similar this year, but hadn't thought it through yet; a jar like this might be the answer :)

Jane said...

we have all the family here on Boxing Day, I might adapt this idea for then to keep everyone happy!

Julie Baswell said...

That's so much better (healthier that is) than chocolate. The jar is gorgeous and the patterned shapes just set it off.

scrappyjacky said...

What a lovely idea to do with children.

Margie said...

What a sweet idea for making your holiday special!

Karen said...

I didn't know about Sparkle Mod Podge---have to take a look for it.

Scrapdolly said...

I really really like this idea and I may put advent wishes inside my drawer advent calendar this year - great inspiration

MiniOwner said...

What a fab idea. TFS.
Sue x

Lesley G said...

I've made the one using Wilton favour tins and the one I'm looking forward to the most is camping around the Christmas Tree.
Love you jar idea, maybe next year though!

dogmatix said...

Every year I say I will make myself an advent calendar! Every year, I fail miserably. I think I should start it in January while the idea is fresh in my mind lol.
I always had chocolate calendars up until a few years ago because for me it was always about the picture on the front and nowadays I can never find one I like :-(

MiniOwner said...

Oh I just love this! When can I start? LOL
Sue x

furrypig said...

we do Advent Activities every year so some might be as simple as going to see all the neighbourhood christmas lights or watching a christmas film or it might be going to a pantomime or having a christmas meal out with friends. The jar is a very lovely idea and I have never seen sparkly modge podge so looking out for that now!

Missus Wookie said...

We've been making a list of family advent activities - we do things together every year but this is the last one before DD goes off to Uni so I wanted to make sure we did something every day.

I have some sparkly mod podge and have never used it.... :blush:

vixen said...

Oh how I love this idea, I try to xmas activities with my boys every day starting on the 1st December right up to Christmas eve, You have some fab ideas there. x

Zahra said...

What a lovely idea! May have to try that! And I hadn't heard of sparkle modge podge before, but I love it!

Sandie said...

That's a lovely idea! I might make one of those for my granddaughters. They usually have a chocolate advent calender so this would be something different.

Margie Higuchi said...

I have never heard about this kind of advent project - great idea! Will have to give this one a try - thanks!

Sally said...

what a lovely idea. May have to steal some of these!

Tracy said...

This is such a great idea :)
And nicely displayed as well :)

Lou said...

this is a fantastic idea..and it all looks so pretty in your sparkly jar!

Mary Pat Siehl said...

ok this is soooooo cool- i love it!!

li-bee-ti said...

So lovely!

To boldly polish said...

I've had an activity calendar before, I think I should make one this year too!

furrypig said...

I have finally got back to your festivities! We do an advent activity every day which is always great fun but they can be adapted to be age appropriate (don't know if anyone will be up for santa letter writing this year!) sometimes it is a really simple idea like visiting all the lights in the neighbourhood or it could be going to a panto! Love all the shapes you have used really effective xxx

Lizzie said...

What a lovely idea! I've seen something a little bit like this before, but not with the shapes. I think it's great.
I do remember Faye's books from a couple of years (?) ago. Good idea too!

Fay aka Beautifullily said...

Thanks for linking me up! Love all the shapes you've used, you and the kids will have great fun on this.

Marilize said...

This is a brilliant idea! Love it! I am really wanting an advent calendar this year and making a complicated one at this stage is a pipe dream. This one is perfect :)

Katie said...

Love this idea and the sparkly jar looks lovely too :-)

MiniOwner said...

Thanks so much for the idea. I have made one here http://miniowner.blogspot.co.uk/
Sue x

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