Zero waste Advent
I love advent. I love the anticipation and the preparation and I’m not even gonna pretend that I’ve not peaked too soon this year? Anyone with me?
Before I had my own kids I was a live-in nanny and I remember each year their mum would put slips of paper into each pocket of their calendar and they would run down the stairs each morning with squeals of delight, fending each other off to be the first to see what the activity for the day was and I remember my own delight as a kid as my mum handed me the dairy milk calendar. I’d always dreamed of the rituals and traditions I could bring into our home when we had children and have loved hearing of others, especially traditions from different cultures like Parols, bright and colourful lanterns placed inside the home in the Philippines, and those in Poland cleaning their homes from top to bottom to make it perfect for the arrival of Jesus.
I set myself a task of making Heppy an advent calendar last year… my hope was to create a few to sell them in my Etsy shop but after it took me two weeks to make this one and a shoddier than average job I decided otherwise..haha.
You’re most probably all set, and I’m writing this blog far later than anticipated but if you’re in the market for a plastic free calendar or even for future years, I love this fabric one by Agnes which would make a great investment piece for year after year, or this calendar from Oxfam with the sweetest finger puppets inspired by Oxfam’s work across the world and the Kind Calender by Perry-May. There’s some awesome creative ideas that I’ve seen on pinterest too if you fancy making one of your own: I love this one and this one!
I decided that on each little slot of our calendar there would be a figurine from the nativity story- I love this little set (pictured) that came all the way from Bethlehem many years ago when my Grandparents made a visit. All the characters congregate under a little wooden stable and we love being able to act the Christmas story out with them. As well as the figure, in each slot there is an activity written on a piece of paper and I’ve shared those below, and, depending on the activity there may be something in the slot that signals to that that we already have in the house eg. her library card in the slot for the library or a cookie cutter for the baking day. They’re intended to be activities that can mostly be achieved with things you can either find outside or laying around your home. The idea is not to create added waste or for them to be of any cost. We won’t be sticking to these religiously, and I’m sure they’l change and shift as things happen in the day and I realise just how unattainable it is to make bathbombs with Moses strapped to me haha. But take these as some ideas that might inspire you! I’l be posting a few DIY’s over on my instagram in the coming weeks about how you can make some of these happen so keep your eyes peeled.
Happy advent everyone! Please share some of your traditions or what you’l be doing to celebrate this time of year- I’d love to hear!
Homemade decorations for the tree
Make gingerbread and save some for a friend
Borrow Christmas books from the library
Christmas toy tea party
Christmas Movie and Popcorn
Make homemade wrapping paper
Put an encouraging letter through a random person’s door
Homemade Christmas puppet show
Light Trails (If you’re based in West Sussex you can check it out here)
Choose and donate food to the food bank
Make a door Wreath
Make Christmas gifts for milkman/postman and bin men.
Homemade bath bombs and Christmas music
Car ride in pajamas to look for Christmas lights
Make a den kitted out with fairy lights and blankets for late night stories
Surprise someone with a gift
Christmas Scavenger hunt (Hide pictures of something festive all round the house/garden and encourage them to track them down)
Hot chocolate and toasting marshmallows on the fire
Take carrots to the horses
Christmas carols over Zoom with family
Decorate the dolls house
Make candles and eat dinner by candlelight
Late night walk with torches
Christmas Pj’s and making cinnamon rolls for Jesus’ birthday (an every year tradition for us here)!
CELEBRATE- Happy Birthday Jesus!!!