1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to make an Advent calendar of experiences. 4 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:24,240 Speaker 1: Lots of people of all ages enjoy using an Advent 5 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:28,319 Speaker 1: calendar to count down the days till Christmas, opening a 6 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:32,880 Speaker 1: little door to find a new delight every day. These 7 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: calendars should technically start on the first Sunday in Advent, 8 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:40,599 Speaker 1: that is November this year, but for secular purposes, they 9 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: tend to go from December one until Many of these 10 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 1: calendars have a little box each day to fill with 11 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: candy or a trinket. This is nice in theory, but 12 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: many of us don't need twenty five more days of clutter. 13 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: So instead, to keep the delight but skip the stuff. 14 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: Why not fill an Advent calendar with experiences. Each day's 15 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: box could contain a slip of paper inviting the recipient 16 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:16,559 Speaker 1: to a holiday or winter themed activity. Some ideas singing 17 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: Christmas carols, going caroling in your neighborhood, having hot chocolate 18 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: with peppermint marshmallows, making a gingerbread house, decorating holiday cookies, 19 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: making paper snowflakes, going to a local production of a 20 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: Christmas carol or The Nutcracker, watching your favorite holiday movie 21 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: on TV, going to choose your Christmas tree, decorating the tree, 22 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: going for a walk in your neighborhood to check out 23 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: the holiday decorations, driving around to see epic lights displayed 24 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 1: in your town, Going to the holiday lights display at 25 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: the local park or zoo, going to see Santa Claus. 26 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: If you start brainstorming ideas of fun holiday activities, you 27 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 1: may be surprised at how many you come up with. 28 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: Once you have a list of ideas, it's wise to 29 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: time specific activities for days when they are likely to work. 30 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: For instance, on a night and your kids have hockey practice, 31 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: having hot chocolate with peppermint marshmallows is a lot more 32 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:28,959 Speaker 1: doable then going to the holiday lights display at a park. 33 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,639 Speaker 1: If you keep a master list of dates and activities, 34 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: maybe a simple spreadsheet or a list in your bullet journal, 35 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:40,799 Speaker 1: you can make a switch of activities and dates. If 36 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: you need to say it's raining the day you plan 37 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: to go cut a Christmas tree, you can easily pull 38 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:51,679 Speaker 1: out the slips of paper and swap days so you 39 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: go see Santa that day and get your Christmas tree 40 00:02:55,080 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: the next day when the forecast is sunny, hang on 41 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: to the master list of activities and dates. If your 42 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: family enjoys this advent calendar of experiences, you can pull 43 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: out this year's list next year as a starting point. 44 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 1: That will be much easier than beginning with a blank page. 45 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: Making an advent calendar of experiences is a great way 46 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: to build in holiday fun and delight. With just a 47 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: little bit of planning, you can inject holiday fun into 48 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: every single day until Christmas. That will truly make this 49 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: the most wonderful time of the year. In the meantime, 50 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making 51 00:03:52,080 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to 52 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 53 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook 54 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the 55 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also 56 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i 57 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out 58 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward 59 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of 60 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,599 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, 61 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever 62 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.