Advent"urous" Box

I remember the Advent calendars of my childhood- sometimes we did the little chocolate in the cardboard window ones, sometimes they were more intricate. One year in particular my mom wrote a poem that included the name of the surprise for that day in some clever way. So talented! Anyway, I knew I wanted an Advent count-down for Josie and Carson. I wanted one that had a fun surprise for each day, but also helped them to see how many days were left. I picked up the box at Hobby Lobby for $3. I knew it would be a good size to fit the variety of things I wanted to give the kids.

I picked up the "Countdown to Christmas" tree kit at Hobby Lobby for 90% off last year. It is really cute- you put a different ornament on for each day. I glued it to the front of the box. It is great because the extra pieces can easily be stored in the box.

The first day's activity was cinnamon ornaments. I put all in the ingredients for them in the box. The kids were a little confused about what the things were for, but that was part of the fun!

The kids were anxious to make their ornaments. We used this easy recipe-it worked perfectly! The dough was a little dry, but the more that we kneaded it, the easier it was to work with.

Carson did not really grasp that he was supposed to be using the cookie cutters. However, he really enjoyed crumbling up the dough.

Josie did a great job! She told me she wanted a "real ornament". I finally deciphered that she wanted a circle.

She also informed that her candy cane needed stripes. We discovered that tooth picks make great detailing tools.

Josie's finished ornament. She even made me add the little box at the top so it would look "real". The design is entirely of her own making. She is so creative!

This one is "Carson's" or mostly mine. He pushed the cookie cutter into the dough. Mostly he was just interested in crumbling the dough between his fingers.
Our collection of ornaments. Now we just need a tree to put them on! We are really enjoying the wonderful smell for now. I do think the kids' will enjoy making real cookies, so that activity will probably find its way into the box. They already have started looking for it first thing when they wake up. I am on the lookout for more fun activities and surprises- 22 more days to go!