Alternative Ideas For An Advent Calendar

With December just a couple of weeks away, it’s time to start thinking about how you can have some festive fun with the children you’re caring for.

All too often, advent calendars mean that kids are simply given a piece of chocolate each day, which is a shame given how many creative options there are out there. If you’re working in au pair jobs over the festive period, why not try some of our suggestions for a more creative advent calendar?

One that we love is giving children advent calendars made up of small drawers, rather than the classic doors. The great thing about these is that you can put whatever you want in each drawer. A particularly fun option is to come up with a Christmas-themed activity for each day of advent to help you all get in the holiday spirit.

That could be anything from baking gingerbread after school to going for a walk to see your local Christmas lights – get creative and think outside the box.

The Guardian also recently noted that Hobbycraft has seen an increase in sales of its make your own advent calendar kits.

This could be another great thing to do with the kids you’re looking after, and make them appreciate their countdown to Christmas that little bit more.

Katherine Paterson, customer development director at the firm, said that it’s being able to personalise the advent calendars that makes this approach so popular.

If you’re an au pair who’s come to the UK from another country, why not introduce the family you’re staying with to some of your country’s festive traditions? The Danish pakkekalender, for instance, involves wrapping and displaying 24 individual presents and is a tradition that’s growing in popularity in the UK.