DIY Balloon Advent Calendar

I know, in the blogging world, it is customary to post ideas at least a week before events happen. I totally dropped the ball on our advent calendar this year because I really didn't have an idea...until today. So if you've got balloons laying around the house, you can totally make this one happen for you!

Last year, Patrick and I did a Christmas joke advent calendar for the Brodster. We loved how excited he would get every morning to get a new joke to tell his friends at school. This year, I wanted to really create new family traditions and memories, so each day, we would have an activity to do as a family. Surprisingly, it was also a great way to keep our holiday schedule in tact because I was able to add events to the countdown. Cheers to multi-tasking!

Materials needed:
- Balloons
- Permanent marker
- Twine or ribbon
- Masking tape
- Cardstock
​- Hole punch

Instructions:
​1. Write down 24 activities/events on  small cardstock cards
2. Hole punch on the corner of the cardstock cards
3. Add a small twine tie to each card and set aside
4. Blow up and tie off 24 balloons (not with helium! They won't last all month)
5. Number each balloon (1-24) with a permanent marker. Make sure the balloon knot is at the top when writing the number.
6. Tie a long strand of twine to each balloon
7. Grab you cards and loop the desired card to each balloon.
8. With masking tape, attach each twine strand to the ceiling.

​You're done! For the kiddos to get the activity of the day, they will need to pop the balloon to get the card! Or if you're like me, cut a small hole at the top of the balloon and watch it slowly deflate (popping balloons make me a nervous wreck - LOLZ). 

Need some ideas for activities? Here are a few of ours:

Decorate the christmas tree
Watch Home Alone
Make a gift
Read "Reindeer Potluck"
Write a letter to Santa
Have hot chocolate with marshmallows
Make paper snowflakes
Watch Elf
Visit Candy Cane Lane
Decorate a gingerbread house
Play Holiday Memory Game
Put stamps on our family Christmas Cards
Go to a live Christmas show
Celebrate Festivus (or watch the episode)
Bake cookies for Santa

Who's ready for the countdown! WE ARE NOW! Haha!