For two years in a row my children have been waiting New Year with advent calendar. Every December night, fairies left little notes with tasks, gifts or sweets. Not surprisingly, the eldest daughter has a waiting calendar this time too. And I recall with horror what it is like to be a pre-dawn fairy and hastily compose assignments and inexpensive but effective surprises ... In general, this year I decided to prepare more thoroughly and focus on assignments. After all, waiting for the New Year is a reason to spend time with children pleasantly and joyfully.

I invite you to join! In this article, you will find 16 simple and effective tasks and necessary materials to them. You can arrange a waiting calendar for the second half of December or alternate my assignments with yours. I hope you find something new and interesting among these ideas!

This year I decided to make a very simple calendar. These are 16 envelopes, each of which contains a piece of paper with an assignment. I cut out the envelopes according to the template. First I bend small triangles, then a semicircle, glue them. I glue circles with numbers on the envelopes.

You can download a template for an envelope, a list of tasks, and other materials.

And now yourself tasks:

1. Remember all the good things that happened this year.
We remember what happened in our family this year. I recently learned about the tradition of recording the highlights and putting leaflets, photographs and mementos in a special box. It can be opened on New Year's Eve and the whole family can rejoice in pleasant events again. We do not have such a box yet. But there are posts in social networks and photos. And, of course, the most memorable moments, like a vacation or the first September 1, we have not forgotten anyway;) I suggest you print photos and decorate the wall with them, for example, in the form of such a Christmas tree.

2. Arrange an ice rink for toys.

Photo from the site of Masterina

Ice balls can be made. Shove in balloon moss, a spruce twig, berries or leaves, pour tap water, tie a ball and send it to the freezer.
Or you can arrange a real ice rink for toys. Freeze water in a deep baking sheet or container, and toys in small tins. Well, after freezing, all that remains is to turn on incendiary music and have fun! I myself have not tried this idea yet, you can see in more detail:

3. Write down what you want to do (or get) next year.
We are writing a list of wishes and plans for the next year. I am already looking forward to this task, because I am going to do it with the children. You can just tell about planning whatever you think is necessary. You can combine it with writing wish lists or choose one or the other.

4. Send greeting cards.
You can congratulate not only close friends and relatives. Try to remember everyone who can be pleased with your open letters. An old grandmother who has not been visited for a long time. A friend who recently moved to another city and is bored there. The class teacher. Stock up on postcards and stamps in advance. By the way, you can print the postcards yourself and color! Coloring pages and postcards by artist Yulia Grigorieva can be downloaded for free.

5. Draw winter picture on the glass.
This is a traditional winter joy from my childhood. Mom always painted pine branches with toys in gouache on the window pane. You can draw something more intricate with your children, for example, inspired by the stickers of Yulia Grigorieva.

6. What do you know about Santa Clauses?
Ask children issues related to the New Year, Santa Claus or winter. It is most interesting if you have watched a suitable film before (for example, "A Christmas Story", 2007, Finland) or read a book (). And after answering the questions, the children, of course, will receive small gifts.
I prepared my questions based on the book "Around the World Santa Claus" by Anna Nikolskaya and Alexander Golubev.
1. Where was Saint Nicholas born? (in Demre, in Turkey)
2. What is Christmas Eve? (the eve of the feast of the Nativity of Christ)
3. In which country did the custom of exchanging Christmas cards originate (in England)
4. Who in the UK is on TV on Christmas Day? (Queen Elizabeth II)
5. What is the name of Santa Claus in Sweden? (Yul Tomte, or Christmas gnome)
6. Where does Joulupukki live? (in Lapland on Mount Korvatunturi, Finland)
7. Why does Santa Claus need bells? (With their help, he controls the deer)
8. What country is Uwlin Ungun from? (this is the Santa Claus of Mongolia)
9. What do naughty children get from unkind characters who accompany some Santa Clauses? (coal and potatoes)
10. How does Christmas Nisse help people choose a tree? (Climbs to the top of the most beautiful tree and sways on it until they pay attention to the tree)
11. What are the other names of the Russian Santa Claus? (Ded Studenets, Ded Treskun, Moroz Ivanovich, Frost Red nose, Morozko).
12. Where does he live? (in Veliky Ustyug)

7.Shey christmas tree toy.

I propose to sew a Christmas tree toy from felt. It is very easy to work with this material, it does not fray. Sold in fabric and art stores. Prepare felt in two to three colors (often sold in sets). We will sew gifts from the Burda magazine. They can be hung on a Christmas tree and used as doll pillows after the holiday. Let's cut out two squares with a side of 6 cm. And from felt of a different color - a strip 25 cm long and 1 cm wide. You can lay a decorative stitch along the line in the middle of each side (on a typewriter or by hand). We grind the squares on three sides. A child of 6-7 years old may well do this by overcasting on his own. We fill the square with synthetic cotton wool (or unnecessary pieces of fabric) and sew up the fourth side. We wrap the strip around the gift and tie it. You can sew a pendant-tag to a gift or decorate with a flower.

8. Explore the snowflakes.
We go for a walk with a magnifying glass and examine the snowflakes, and at the same time tell everything we know about them, as well as about the snow. And at home we cut out snowflakes from paper. Or, through a file, we apply stained glass paint to the snowflake drawing (it is often contour, in tubes). When the snowflakes are dry, we decorate the windows with them.

Here's what I'm going to tell you:
« Snowflake Is the smallest ice crystal. The snowflakes are shaped like a six-pointed star. A snowflake grows around a tiny piece of ice or a speck of dust, water particles attach to it and form a crystal. There are a lot of attachment options, so there are no two identical snowflakes in the world. But they almost always have six rays - no more and no less!

In frosty weather, small grains fall, and in warm weather, snowflakes stick together, and snow flakes are obtained. The biggest in history, the snowflake appeared in America at the end of the 19th century. It was larger than the album sheet!

Snow consists of many snowflakes. Usually it is white, but there were times when it snowed blue, red and even black! Have you heard the snow creaks on a frosty day? Crystals break. The colder it is outside, the harder and more fragile the snowflakes become and the louder the crunch underfoot. Experienced observers can even distinguish the air temperature by ear - by the crunch of snow.

When snow falls and the wind blows at the same time, it happens blizzard... The wind picks up snowflakes from the ground and carries them with it. The wind howls: "I will blizzard ..." Therefore, a blizzard is sometimes called a blizzard. And also: a blizzard or a blizzard.

And when there is too much snow, and it does not have time to melt, it turns out glacier... Glaciers are found in the coldest parts of the planet: Antarctica and Greenland. "
(I learned all this from Olga Dvornyakova's book "A Book about Snowflakes" and from the cards "The World in the Palm")

9. Go with your parents to the forest.

I think the skating rink and the skis are already planned as December events. Why not go to the forest with the whole family on a weekend? It seems to me that this will be a real adventure for a city child. With the study of bird tracks, with floundering in the snow, with hot tea from a thermos. And maybe even with a small miracle. The daughter of my friend once met Father Frost himself in the forest. To do this, you simply had to walk along the tangerine path.

10. Dress up the tree.
The child goes to the closet, and there a surprise awaits him: the toys for the Christmas tree are gone! .. Personally, I love quests and use every opportunity to come up with them. V simple version Is a chain of riddles that leads to the desired goal. At the place where the Christmas tree decorations were supposed to be, the child finds a leaflet with a riddle:

There's a cold inside me
Ice and frost.
There could easily
Live the Eskimo.
There's a cold inside me
But warm outside
As if in a closet
I brought winter.

In the refrigerator is the following riddle:
The house is a glass vial
And a light lives in it,
During the day he sleeps
And how will he wake up -
It will light up with a bright flame.

There is only one lamp in our house that you can put something in. There, the child finds another piece of paper with a picture of a saucepan.
In the cabinet with pots - a riddle about the bath:
I am not a sea or a river,
I am not a lake, not a pond
But like morning or evening -
People all run to me.

And finally, in the bathroom - a riddle about the balcony:
I'm at home - and not at home,
Between heaven and earth,
Guess, friends,
Where am I?
A file with riddles is also included.

11. Bake and garnish a gingerbread cookie.

I advise you to prepare the dough the day before so that you can focus on cutting out the cookies and decorating that day. The smallest can be given multi-colored sprinkles, nuts, raisins, tiny sweets. They will enthusiastically sculpt all this little thing on the glaze.

Share verified recipe from girlfriend to girlfriend:
Flour 800-900 g (partially rye or whole grain)
Egg 2 pcs. (one protein should be left for the glaze)
Honey - 2-3 tablespoons
Sugar - 150g.
Butter - 150g.
Spices (cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, allspice) - up to 2 tablespoons
A little salt
Soda - 1 tsp
1/3 cup milk or water
We mix butter, sugar, honey, salt, water or milk and heat to melt everything (I do this on a steam bath). Add all the soda and some of the flour, the mass will greatly increase in volume.
Remove from heat and stir in the yolks and one protein, spices and stir with your hands so much flour that it looks like a dumpling dough. We put the dough in the refrigerator overnight, it is possible for a day.
Before cutting, we take it out of the refrigerator for half an hour or an hour. We roll a layer 0.5 cm thick and cut the figures with molds or a knife. And bake on baking paper for 7-12 minutes (until slightly golden brown).

Glaze: Beat the whites with a mixer until stable peaks. For 1 protein, add 1 tsp of lemon juice and stir in the powdered sugar.
For contour glaze - 200-240 g of powder.
To cover the whole gingerbread - 150-180 g of powder.
It is most convenient to draw with the help of disposable pastry bags, from which we cut off the corners. You can take new files instead.

12. Make a postcard.
I believe that high-quality materials are very important for successful creativity (it's just that my girls create "postcards" almost every day). Prepare nice thick paper in advance. You can buy a couple of scrapbooking sheets or print the one I have chosen on thick paper. More options and.

For a small postcard, I took a sheet of thick cream paper 16.5 * 23 cm. I folded it in half and bent it. Using curly scissors, I cut out a green rectangle 14.5 * 9 cm. From paper of a contrasting color, I cut out a triangle with a short side of 7 cm and a height of 12 cm. I cut the triangle into 4 parts. All these blanks can be given to the child along with a glue stick. Invite the children to decorate the card to their liking: gift boxes, rhinestones, or stickers.

13. Pack your gifts.
Stock up on rolls of bright rustling paper and patience. Or maybe you will wrap your gifts in strict craft paper and tie them with silk ribbons? In any case, do not forget about cute labels, they will not let the gifts get confused. The labels can be purchased from the scrapbooking department, cut out of cardboard, or printed by yourself.

14. Draw a poster or your own walking game.
You will need an A3 or larger sheet. Stickers that children can receive as gifts when completing assignments will come in handy. You can fantasize about the adventures of your favorite characters. We drew this one last year.

15. Draw a winter fairy tale.

Photo by Lisa Arie

I never thought that a light table could be made so easy! Details in Lisa Arie's blog. She, by the way, has a lot more interesting things. For example, a book with 15 ready-made assignments for the joyful anticipation of the New Year.
I think we will start drawing with Christmas trees, and then remember some a suitable story, for example, "Winter's Tale" by Sergei Kozlov.

16. Say it differently.
In anticipation of the New Year, I propose to stretch out, playing with words. We gather with the whole family and make words to each other as in the alias game. The players take turns taking sheets of paper with words. Their task is to explain the hidden word so that the rest will guess. You cannot use the same root words. The more words a player can explain in one minute, the closer to victory. If a child is involved who does not yet know how to read, words can be replaced with pictures. File with words attached.

I hope my findings will help you to make the anticipation of the holiday unforgettable. Happy Advent!
And a few more ideas for the tireless:
1. We hang the bird feeder.
2. Make a Play-Doh with cinnamon or sparkles.
3. Coloring the New Year's coloring book.
4. We arrange a snow sensor box.
5. Making homemade ice cream.
6. Prepare hot juice with spices.
7. Making a snow lantern.
8. Making a candlestick from salted dough.
9. Making blue kraft paper pom-poms.
10. Craftsmanship glass bowl with a blizzard.

Children of any age adore New Year's holidays. And it's not just about gifts, but about the opportunity to have fun with a noisy company. , funny tasks, funny forfeits - they are ready to take part in all this until the morning. Especially loved are New Year's forfeits for children, which are both interesting, exciting and fun. Children's forfeits should be made taking into account age-related interests, so we offer assignments for both preschoolers and schoolchildren of primary and secondary grades.

In this article:

Fanta for children 5, 6, 7, 8 years old

Preschoolers and younger students are fun and playful kids who love different games, fun and contests. Table forfeits will help to entertain both familiar and unfamiliar company. But even the easiest and funniest tasks always require the help of adults.

"Photo portrait"

Funny forfeits invite you to take a close look at the neighbor on the left, at the neighbor on the right, then blindfolded, describe how they look with full details of their appearance (moles, hair color, etc.). If the company is small, you can describe everyone.

"Speaker"

Speak a tongue twister (the text will be written by adults, focusing on children).

"Pig"

Eat different fruits finely chopped on a plate without hands.

"I can do everything"

The presenter pronounces the text, and the performer should repeat (show) it, but in motion. “I'm going to Kindergarten, with my right hand I brush my teeth, and with my left hand I wash my eyes. With my left hand I comb my hair, and with my right hand I eat porridge. I do exercises with my left hand, swing with my right leg, with my left hand I stroke my tummy after breakfast. I wave my right leg, my left hand is doing exercises again, with my right one I am combing again. With my left hand I drink milk, with my right I put on my pants, and with my feet I go to school, and now I have a ski on one leg and a roller skate on the other. "

"Driver"

Organize a little train and take all the guests to their rooms. Required condition: nothing to demolish on its way.

"Correspondent"

In 60 seconds it is beautiful to describe today's children's holiday.

"Turtle"

Cover yourself with a blanket, choose a lion cub and perform a children's song "Lion and Turtles".

"Chronicles"

"Wizard"

Fulfill the wish of the second player from the left.

"Detective"

Friends must hide an object in the room, and the player must find it according to the "hot" and cold clues.

"Anonymous"

Create harmless nicknames for everyone, including yourself, and call each other that way until the end of the evening.

"Pantomime"

To depict with the help of pantomime how a bear hibernates and sleeps in winter.

"Poet"

Tell a quatrain about the New Year's holiday.

"Storyteller"

In the task of 5 words, come up with a take off a fairy tale.

Words: "Forest, hut, boy, beast, Baba Yaga."

"Artist"

Draw a Christmas tree blindfolded.

"Smeshinka"

Laughing for two minutes without any reason, thereby making friends laugh.

"Sweetheart"

This participant in the New Year's holiday needs to eat a cake without hands, while the child must stand on his feet, and the cake must lie on a chair.

"Circus"

Hold on for a minute on one leg, you can jump without touching the floor. If touched, 10 seconds are added.

"Portraitist"

Draw, holding a pencil between the toes, a portrait of any of the guests, pointing at him to the rest.

"Sign language interpreter"

Choose a partner who will tell any meek fairy tale or poem, and the phantom will have to show it in a mute language with different movements.

"Master of the Year"

Congratulate guests on behalf of the host of the Japanese calendar year. Everything should fit the gait, mannerisms, and voice.

"Fairy tales"

Think of any 10 fairy tales, cartoons, films for children that talk about winter, Christmas or New Year. An example for the presenter:

1. "12 months",
2. "Nutcracker",
3. "Winter's Tale"
4. "Snow Maiden" (from the cartoon "Well, you wait"),
5. "The Snow Queen",
6. "The Adventure of Viti and Masha",
7. "Morozko"
8. "Last year's snow was melting"
9. "Winter".

"Expert"

Recall 10 songs that talk about winter, Christmas or New Year. An example for the presenter:

• "Three white horses"
• "Tell Snegurochka where she was",
• "Song of Santa Claus" (from the cartoon),
• "If there was no winter"
• "Snowflake",
• "Ice ceiling"
• "5 minutes",
• "Umka",
• "The Forest Raised a Christmas Tree",
• "Little Christmas tree".

"Fashion show"

Arrange a fashion show with the assembled guests. If they are not very smart, you should stock up on various wardrobe details and dress up. Tell about children's costumes, show all their beauty on the catwalk.

"The president"

Come up with 5 new decrees on behalf of the president and announce them, entering the appropriate role.

"Spring"

Show the Snow Maiden or Snowman, which began to melt with the arrival of spring and the appearance of the first rays of the sun.

"12 months"

List 12 months first from 1st to 12th, and then vice versa.

"New Year costume"

From the materials at hand, make yourself a cool New Year's suit.

Fanta for children from 9 to 12 years old

Children 9, 10, 11 and 12 years old are very fond of new year holidays and various funny Games, contests. Involve them not only in the process of the event, but also in the preparation for it, and they will be happy. Guys will be able to pick up cool details for children's New Year's contests, and perhaps even suggest interesting ideas... But leave the children's New Year's forfeits as a surprise, children adore them so much.

"Juggler"

This player needs to show everyone how he juggles with three apples or oranges.

"Sculptor"

Depict such plot tasks with the help of guests:

• "Three heroes".
• "Monument to the Janitor".
• "Kitten from Lizyukov Street" (remember exactly how he is depicted).

"Rapper"

Sing the song "A Christmas tree was born in the forest" in the style of rap, always dancing.

"Chronicles"

The player is given two minutes. In the first minute, he must tell how he spent the week, describe the daily schedule: from morning to evening. For the second, tell the same thing, just the opposite, you should start from tonight and end on the morning of a week ago.

"Screenwriter"

Come up with a short screenplay featuring your friends, with a good ending.

"Choreographer"

Come up with simple movements and show them to everyone, then dance to the music together.

"I love everyone, I praise everyone"

This phantom needs to tell the best about everyone present, making compliments.

"Gorgeous"

Childishly depict in front of an imaginary mirror how adult women are painted, from beginning to end, and not just eyes or lips alone.

"Storyteller"

In the task there are 5 nouns, 5 verbs, come up with a take off a fairy tale.

Nouns: "Forest, night, witch, magic, princess."
Verbs "Hid, saved, ran away, cried."

"Pantomime"

Show pantomime morning awakening and getting ready for school.

"Cook"

Prepare a fruit salad from what is on the table for a certain period of time and treat friends, waiting for an assessment of your skill. Remember to wash your hands before cooking.

"Caring friend"

Tie the neighbor on the left with a towel instead of a napkin and feed him blindfolded.

"Artist"

Create a New Year tree from any guest. Dress up with improvised materials, napkins, spoons, etc.

"Bukvoed"

Within a minute, name 10 cities (and countries) with the letter "A".

"Clown"

Make all the guests laugh. You can show a pantomime or come up with some kind of joke.

"Gibberish"

For a certain amount of time (depending on guests), pronounce the names of friends in reverse.

"Pop the ball"

Clamp the balloon between your legs and burst it.

"Confession"

Tell your friends about your prank, which you haven’t told anyone about.

"Dance of the Little Swans"

Put on a tutu, a cap and dance the dance of little swans. You can also wear butterfly wings or something else funny.

"Reflection"

Choose a partner for yourself, repeat the movements after him for two to three minutes. For example, this could be a children's pantomime of dressing up for a holiday or the action of a lunch meal.

"Crayfish"

Walk around the whole apartment with your back without turning even once. If the player turns, then you need to go through a new one.

"Twins"

Choose your partner. Children need to stand shoulder to shoulder, hug each other around the waist with one hand. Free hands they will have to eat, feed each other and walk around the room like Siamese twins.

"Ryaba chicken"

Tell a fairy tale, showing and playing each character, including the author, yourself.

"Merry Singer"

Sing any modern song with different sounds: "oink-oink", "be-be", "woof-woof".

"Chick"

Show how a chick hatches from its egg and how it takes its first steps.

"Tightrope walker"

Depict a tightrope walker with closed eyes walking through the room. In this case, it is necessary to do the same "pas" as a circus artist supposedly can do.

Games with Santa Claus for children.

Interesting and exciting games, puzzles and mazes on New Year's theme for children.

Exercise 1

Consider Christmas decorations... Find the toy that disappeared from the second picture.

Color the jewelry in the desired colors.

Assignment 2

Connect the dots in the correct sequence, and you will find out what gift Santa Claus is carrying on his back.

Assignment 3

Color this funny picture in the colors you want.

Assignment 4

Tell me who owns which item. Put the corresponding numbers in circles.

Assignment 5

Find 6 differences between pictures. Color the second picture in the desired colors.

Assignment 6

Connect the dots in the required sequence and you will find out what the Troll is drawing.

Assignment 7

Decorate christmas balls... Trace the patterns with pencils of the desired colors.

Assignment 8

Color the picture at the bottom of the page using a sample.

Assignment 9

Write the corresponding numbers after the equal signs.

Assignment 10

Together with the Troll, find an extra item in each group. Color the items in the desired colors.

Assignment 11

Color the fragments of the picture in the desired colors. Make up little story according to the picture.

Assignment 12

Guide the Troll to his New Year's gift.

Assignment 13

Find the correct shadow of the Troll

Assignment 14

Circle only those pictures in each row that repeat the pattern.

Task 15

Dress up the Christmas tree. Color the Christmas decorations

Task 16

Find the same snowman as in the color picture and paint it in the desired colors.

Task 17

Combine objects from the first block and objects from the second into logical pairs.

Place the corresponding numbers in circles.

Have you decided to make an Advent calendar this year, but don't know how to fill it? In our article you will find a huge number of different Advent calendar tasks for children.

Advent calendar assignments for kids

1. Take a family photo near the Christmas tree.

2. Go to the pine forest and collect cones (which can be used to create).

3. Learn a New Year's song.

4. Learn the New Year's verse.

5. Make for grandparents (details for making postcards can be immediately attached to the Advent calendar, if the size allows).

6. Color in the New Year's coloring book.

7. Make a snowman out of paper.

8. Prepare delicious cocoa (you can even arrange or cocoa).

9. Bake delicious cookies and visit or invite guests to your place.

10. Watch a New Year's film or cartoon (you can use our lists of films and cartoons).

11. Decorate the Christmas tree.

12. Write a letter to Santa Claus.

14. Find out who Santa Claus is (fairy tales, history, cartoons).

15. Travel with Santa Claus (travel on the map - New Year's traditions in different countries).

16. Make a snowman.

17. Draw a winter landscape.

18. Write a list of the most pleasant events of the outgoing year (you can still view the photos and make a photo collage).

19. Make a Christmas garland.

20. Decorate the house for the New Year (you can prepare ideas and materials in advance, or invite your child to come up with a decoration, for example, for his room).

21. Take a walk in the evening through the city, beautifully decorated and glowing with New Year's lights.

22. Cut paper snowflakes.

23. Make a bird feeder or put seeds in a bird feeder in a nearby park.

24. Conduct an audit of your things and make room for new ones.

25. Learn to draw snowflakes, Christmas trees, snowmen.

26. Go sledging, skiing.

27. Go to new year performance v puppet show, circus or cinema.

28. Make a New Year's applique.

29. Go to the New Year's fair or a beautifully decorated square with a Christmas tree.

30. Make an ornament in the shape of an angel.

31. Record the New Year's interview (you can choose the questions). It will be interesting to choose questions with the child and ask them to all family members.

32. Make wrapping paper... Give the child big leaf paper or wallpaper and have him draw something on it. This wrapping paper can be used to wrap gifts for grandparents.

By the way, use our downloadable printout to compile your list of tasks and gifts for your Advent calendar.

photographer Rimma Murzilina
MUAH Irina Pleshakova

3rd day. Learn poems for our grandfather for his birthday. An adult daughter, we will choose a poem together.

Grandpa, you are the most wonderful
Kind, cute and attentive!
I'm very interested with you
Everything that you say is useful to know!
Always be cheerful, laugh joyfully
Don't forget that grandchildren love sweets!
And live without grief,
Be healthy, I look forward to our adventures!

4th day. Today we have a candlelit dinner with the whole family!

Day 5. Grandfather's birthday, we repeat the learned verse and go to visit.

6th day. We are watching a film about Santa Claus: Where does he live? What does it do? After watching, we are sure to discuss the impressions with our daughter, what did she learn new? What did you like? What surprised you?

We watched a video from Veliky Ustyug. We saw how beautiful grandfather’s residence was, appreciated the size of Santa Claus’s wardrobe and decided that he could not do without helpers. Even if it seems that not a real grandfather came to kindergarten, then this is definitely his assistant on behalf of!

7th day. We take a magnifying glass for a walk and examine the snow and snowflakes. We discuss how different and amazing they are, unusual and lacy. We observe the melting of a snowflake on the hand, at the same time we pronounce the water cycle in nature (water, steam, ice)

Day 8... We make a snow angel for a walk. We leave various footprints in the snow: hands, feet, knees. We are looking for traces of dogs, large and small children, sledges, etc. We pay attention not only to the shape and size, but also to the depth of the tracks, we discuss that the depth depends on the weight.