(BPT) - The holiday season is full of activity, excitement - and impatience! One way for kids and families to savor each moment and actually enjoy the anticipation is by counting down the days to Christmas, with the help of special traditions like advent calendars. This year, you can establish new traditions with your kids or grandkids by celebrating the season through family-friendly countdown activities that provide focus and fun, keeping everyone happily engaged and excited about all the coming festivities.
The celebration experts at American Greetings offer these tips for helping your family make the most of holiday anticipation together.
Create a holiday music playlist
Include the whole family in creating a shared family playlist to get everyone in a holiday mood. Ask a family member to add one of their favorite Christmas carols or holiday-themed pop songs each day, and by the end of the month, you'll have a whole album put together collaboratively by the family. Have fun blending nostalgic songs with modern classics. You'll end up with the perfect playlist that can serve as the background for your holiday parties, or that you can sing along with as a family.
Need a way to send holiday cheer to loved ones far away? You could record the family singing together and send it to relatives as a holiday greeting!
Put a modern twist on holiday tradition with the new Peanuts® Digital Advent Calendar 2025
You loved Peanuts as a kid, and now you can share 25 days of new surprises inspired by the world of Peanuts. Create a whole new family tradition that can span miles and generations with this interactive digital advent calendar celebrating the 75th anniversary of the adored Peanuts® comics. American Greetings partnered with the iconic brand to provide fans of all ages with playful daily immersive experiences featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the whole Peanuts gang.
The Peanuts Digital Advent Calendar 2025 is a fun, interactive and affordable way to make holiday memories for the entire family. The calendar honors the timeless charm of Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts while adapting his beloved characters and their world for the digital age. Unlike passive advent calendars, this digital calendar is jam-packed with hours of themed fun, including interactive games, puzzles, Peanuts trivia, digital holiday greeting cards and creative activities including:
- Christmas tree decorator
- Build a snowman
- Stocking decorator
- Music sequencer
- Coloring comics
- Dress up Snoopy
- and much more, totaling over 30 activities your kids can enjoy. Best of all, fans who order the calendar before Dec. 1 will be granted early access to exclusive Homebase holiday activities in the days leading up to the official Christmas countdown.
Offering so much more than a traditional advent calendar, this option is perfect for today's digitally savvy kids. They can even open each day's event together with grandparents and family members near and far creating a whole new holiday tradition. Visit the AmericanGreetings.com website to get started today!
Make a card a day
Get everyone feeling crafty by opening up an art station with art supplies and card stock so kids can create a holiday card for someone new each day, including family, friends, your child's teacher and neighbors.
Want to send holiday greetings to someone far away? Customize this Bing Crosby Christmas SmashUp to create a fun and festive greeting that takes a nostalgic trip back in time to hear the holiday classic. Or use any one of the other holiday Christmas ecards that can be personalized and sent virtually to brighten someone's spirits.
Neighborhood night walk or scavenger hunt
Depending on the weather, go for a walk or drive together to discover neighborhood lights and decorations. You can create a scavenger hunt where kids get points for locating Rudolph, Santa or snowmen - along with bonus points for spotting unique, funny or memorable decorations.
Using these ideas, you'll be spreading holiday joy and fun through the entire month, creating your own unique holiday traditions and memories that will last well beyond the season.