24 Positive Affirmations for Advent

As much as December is a lovely, glittery, warm time of the year, for many people it’s also a time for stress or hardship. I know as a busy mum, I’m usually the last person I get to treat well. I’m so busy rushing around making sure everyone else has the perfect Christmas that I usually end up neglecting myself. I know that once I hit peak exhaustion, my mental health can start to take a hit.

Sometimes, when things start to get on top of me, I remember that as twee as it sounds, affirmations can help. What I like to do is write down positive affirmations on little pieces of paper or card and pop them in a jar. Each day I pull out a new affirmation, read it and put it in my pocket to look at again when I have a moment later, when I need reminding that I am good enough, or that anything is possible.

Download your free sheet of 24 positive affirmations for Advent here!

They remind me a little of the little scraps of paper you get in fortune cookies, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Whatever you do this Christmas, please do find time to be kind to yourself. Self care is so important, especially when your energy reserves are running low.

24 Positive Affirmations for Advent

Say YES to new adventures
I value myself
Do it for your future self
We rise by lifting others
Good things are coming
Remember you are amazing
Be kind and be kindest to yourself
You are enough
You are entirely up to you
You deserve happiness
Today is going to be a great day
Be present and take a deep breath
You’re doing great
I choose to be happy and love myself today
I believe in myself
Anything is possible
I am grateful for the life I have
I accept myself as I am
Today is a new beginning
Forgive yourself for your mistakes
All of your problems have solutions
My challenges help me grow
I am in control
I will get through today

Download your free sheet of 24 positive affirmations for Advent here!

If you liked this, you might also like these 24 acts of kindness for Advent. Merry Christmas!

Make Your Own Yorkshire Tea Advent Calendar

Fancy Advent Calendars are all the rage these days. I’ve seen gin calendars, beer calendars, LEGO calendars and skincare calendars; but alas there are no Yorkshire Tea calendars. I have searched high and low for a Yorkshire Tea calendar (other tea brands are available) but ended up deciding to make my own.

Tea drinkers are usually fiercely loyal to their brand. My best friend loves tea, specifically Yorkshire Tea and with lockdown once more gripping the country, I felt it was time to make them a special Advent gift.

The idea is a simple one. Find a new Yorkshire Tea tea towel and sew individually wrapped Yorkshire Tea teabags onto it. It’s not really much more complicated than that, but here’s how I did it.

How to make a Yorkshire Tea Advent Calendar

You will need:

A Yorkshire Tea tea towel, I bought mine from eBay
24 individually wrapped Yorkshire Tea teabags, I got mine from Amazon
A permanent marker
A needle and thread

Making your Advent Calendar

Lay your tea towel on a flat surface and decide how best to place your individually wrapped teabags. I took a photo so I could remember what worked best, because I can be a bit forgetful. You might want to iron your tea towel before you start, I didn’t because I’m quite lazy.

Using the marker pen, number each teabag. Feel free to write a joyful message on the back of some of the packets if you wish. Shuffle your teabags so they are now in a random order.

Remembering the pattern of how you’re going to sew them onto the tea towel; take your needle and thread and stitch a couple of tacking stitches through the top sealed edge of the teabag. Sew each one onto your tea towel and continue until you’ve sewn them all on.

That’s it.

Should you be a bit worried that your sewing might not be up to much, you could get 24 safety pins and pin the teabags onto the tea towel instead. If you’ve gone for the sewing option; then I’d advise the recipient that a quick snip each day with some small scissors will release the bag from the tea towel and bring them some brewing up joy.

If you’re looking for more Advent Calendar ideas, you can read about my Reverse Advent Calendar or find out about some interesting Advent Calendars you can buy.

Five Quite Interesting Advent Calendar Ideas

Christmas is the time for spreading a little bit of magic and cheer. What better way to do that than by doing something each day during Advent. In the olden days, when I was a little girl (in the 80’s), my advent calendar was a cards with windows which you’d open and there would be a picture behind it. It was all very lovely, but times have changed and kids and grown-ups expect more.

I’ve picked out five quite interesting advent calendar ideas for you, which if you’re quick, you can get cracking with before 1st December!

Traditional Chocolate Advent Calendar

There’s something simple and cheery about traditional chocolate advent calendars, they’re great for children and adults too. They come in a pretty huge range of different themes and characters; but this colourful Teletubbies Advent Calendar is a winner. Behind every window in this kids’ advent calendar there’s a delicious milk chocolate treat to help you count down the days until Christmas.

The Teletubbies Advent Calendar can be found in a wide range of retailers, but I’ve spotted it in B&M for just 89p – a bargain!

Elf & Seek Festive Countdown

Little Treats Bakery have recently launched a fun, festive countdown activity in the form of freshly baked festive treats. Known as Elf & Seek, you get a box of 24 individually wrapped and decorated gingerbread elves to hide around the house each day of December.

Elf & Seek is an interactive, exciting and tasty way to keep the magic of Christmas alive. Simply hide one of the little elves around your home each day of December and the kids have to hunt it down as they countdown to Christmas. It’s the perfect advent calendar if you’re a bit tired of the same old kind of calendars each year.

The fun doesn’t stop there. Take a selfie of your biscuit elf, uncovered from its hiding place; share it on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #ElfieSelfie – the winner will win an extra special, tasty treat; a hamper of biscuits tailored to a theme of their choice!

Elf & Seek Festive Countdown is available to order from Amazon for £10.

Playmobil 1.2.3 Advent Calendar

For little ones (18 months+) this Christmas they can enjoy an outdoor Christmas with Santa and his forest friends. The 1.2.3 Advent Calendar “Christmas in the Forest” contains twenty-four surprise items for each day of Advent. With a bright and colorful design and large, rounded pieces, this Playmobil 1.2.3 set is ideal for toddlers.

This adorable advent calendar includes Santa, elf, angel, reindeer, sleigh, gifts, dog, bunnies, fox, forest animals, and other accessories to help complete this woodland Christmas scene.

Costing just £21.99 the Playmobil 1.2.3 advent calendar is the perfect way for little ones to count down to Christmas!

LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar

Star Wars fans young and old will love this year’s LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar. Open a door of this advent calendar each day in the run up to Christmas to discover a LEGO Star Wars themed minifigure, starship, vehicle or other collectible. There’s even a foldout playmat featuring images from Jakku, Starkiller Base and deep space for epic Star Wars encounters.

The LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar is recommended for ages 6 years+ and is brilliant (we had one last year)!

Reverse Advent

The old saying goes – it’s better to give than to receive. At Christmas I find this to be especially true. Last Christmas we put together a reverse advent calendar for our local foodbank. I would very much encourage you to think about doing the same.

No only did it make us feel warm and fuzzy; it fed a family or two for a few days. It also taught my son a few lessons about empathy, caring for others and made us all think a little less about what we wanted and more about what other people needed just to get by. Never bad things to be reminded of.

You can read my blog post about our reverse advent calendar and read about what you need to put one together too.