Countdown to Christmas

You've seen the Advent Calendars in all the stores, you walk straight past them thinking to yourself what a waste of money, and if you got one how would you share it between the kids anyway, and why on earth would you want them to be eating chocolates or lollies first thing in the morning anyway?

Well, this is one of the best ideas I've seen around recently (it's not my idea, but I love it so much I want to share it with you!).

It takes no creativity, you barely need any materials or any craft skills, it's not messy, it won't up your dentist bill, it can be shared among all of your kids no matter how many you have, and best of all....it's Learning that's FUN!

So what do you need?

* 24 Books  - they can be Christmas themed or just your kids favourite stories. They can be new, used, borrowed, long, short, pictures, no pictures, whatever suits your family.

* Christmas wrapping paper - left overs from last year perhaps, add bows, ribbons, decals, whatever your heart desires to decorate the wrapping or just leave it plain.

* Sticky Tape

* Labels and a pen

All you need to do is wrap each book individually, label them and number each one counting down from 24 to 1.

To finish off you could pile them up in the shape of a Christmas Tree, hide them around the house with clues, line them up on your mantel or arrange them however you please.

Then each morning starting on December 1st let the kids unwrap one book and spend time with them reading it together. When there are no more books left the kids will know that when they wake up the next day it will be the big day, and in the mean time you will have spent some really special time doing a fun learning activity with them that will create lasting memories in your family.

If you are really keen you could slip in a party favour or a treate into each or some of the books as an extra surprise, but the simple joy of unwrapping and reading with you will plenty.

Let us know your favourite Christmas books that other parents could include?

Let the countdown begin!

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