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Summer Advent Calendar



I found this great idea from my friend, Rachel: Make a summertime advent calendar. I loved the idea, and decided to make my own now so I can entertain the girls this year and use it year after year for my own kids someday (when Harvey can actually say "I'm bored...").

For a novice seamstress like me - it was a pretty involved project to say the least. If you really want to make you own, you can follow a tutorial here. However - I'd like to add one thing: Buy Heat N' Bond LITE! The tutorial didn't specify, and I didn't know there was a difference, but if you use the regular Heat N' Bond your sewing machine needle gets all sticky every few seconds and skips stitches unless you clean it off. Let's just say that this project took WAY longer (and was more frustrating) than it should have!



Each cone is labeled with the numbers of the month (I used glitter puffy paint), and is a pocket. You write a surprise activity that is planned for the day and slip it in the pocket. Then each day of their summer vacation your kids get to do something fun. I wanted to leave my calendar at the girls' house, so I coded all the activities (letters into numbers) so they couldn't sneak and find out what we were doing ahead of time.

Here are the activities I have planned:
  • glamor shots / makeovers / nails
  • make your own puzzle
  • make slime
  • go to the Natural History Museum and see Toadally Frogs
  • bubble day
  • fingerpaint with pudding
  • Mom's Birthday prep (make cake, gifts, etc)
  • go to the Gale Center of History
  • make a pinata
  • break the pinata
  • host the Neighborhood Olympics (hopscotch, hoolahoop, relay racing, throw into buckets...)
  • go Letterboxing
  • make a rocket
  • make chapstick
  • make jewelry with Shrinky Dinks
  • go to the zoo
  • water party
  • make homemade salsa (ha! I'm going to put them to work!)
  • make a time capsule of the stuff we did over the summer
  • go to the Aquarium
Want a Summer Fun Calendar? I made two! Leave a comment with something fun I can do with the girls the next time they go off track and you'll be entered to win. You can have one entry for each idea.   


I'll draw and post the winner a week from today, on Tuesday, July 14. Good luck!  
(Contest is now closed.)
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Comments

  1. AliciaJuly 7, 2009 at 8:21 PM

    wow-that is a lot of work!!! Lets see what ideas I can come up with...
    -the Park
    -the Dinasour museum in Ogden
    -the Children's museum (there's one in Ogden that was way cute, but also the one in SLC)
    -make goodies and deliver them to someone in need...
    -swimming
    -make your own orchestra...create the instruments and then play them
    -make puppets and do a show (sock puppets or there are lots of foam puppet crafts)
    -go on a hunt at wheeler farm (there is a lot of land in the back that they can run and find different items).
    -children's gyms
    -a hike? that might be ambitious!
    You are so creative!!! Those girls seriously have the best Aunt!

    ReplyDelete
  2. *Aliese*July 7, 2009 at 8:49 PM

    * Make a fort and have a pajama party with snacks and movies (a fabulous "rainy summer day" activity)

    ReplyDelete
  3. WendyJuly 7, 2009 at 9:11 PM

    Go to Thanksgiving Point to the Children's Garden or the Farm (I am counting that as 2) and since I am still drugged up from getting my tonsils out today, I think that is as creative as I can be!

    You really are the coolest aunt. Happy Summer Fun!

    ReplyDelete
  4. RachJuly 8, 2009 at 9:48 AM

    Tiff! It turned out sooo cute! Great job. I want to see it in person . . .

    ReplyDelete
  5. J and TJuly 8, 2009 at 12:45 PM

    I wanted to make one of my own, but winning yours sounds like a much better idea! Here are some of my ideas...
    -Get a Community Exploration Pass at the Salt Lake City Library. You can reserve it the first day of the month (call right when it opens). You get four free admissions for the month to Utah History Museum, Red Butte Gardens, The Discovery Kids at Gateway, and the Utah Museum of Fine Art. Ask me if you have questions. I got one this month.
    -Marshmallow roast up the canyons.
    -Make candle holders. Get glass baby food jars, mod podge small squares of tissue paper on it. Put a small tea candle inside. They turn out so pretty!
    -Have a Harry Potter Marathon. I'm not sure how old the girls are, but you could watch the Harry Potter movies getting ready for the new one to come out. I have a little quiz (that Kylie made) which places you in one of the Hogwarts house, and there is a trivia game, too.
    -COME SWIMMING ON A TUESDAY MORNING (but not camp week).

    Hope those ideas work for you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. ShaunaJuly 13, 2009 at 8:23 PM

    Here are my ideas:
    -make popsicles. My mother-in-law gave me a super recipe a few weeks ago: Mix 1 small jello, 1 kool-aid (not pre-sweetened), 1 cup sugar, 2 cups boiling water. Add 4 cups cold water and freeze.
    -press flowers
    -use pressed flowers to make bookmarks, stationary, notecards, etc.
    -make sidewalk chalk (I have the recipe around here somewhere. If you want it send me a note and I'll dig it out.)
    -go to Tracy Aviary and feed the pelicans
    -get a cheap bird watching book and go bird watching.
    -go on a nature walk and use your findings to make a stepping stone (use plaster of paris)
    -make body tracings on butcher paper and decorate them

    ReplyDelete

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