Backyard S’mores Winter Activity (Activity Advent Calendar Idea)

If you are hoping to replace your kids’ advent calendar full of chocolate with meaningful activities, this backyard s’mores winter activity is perfect for you. Easy to pull together last minute with snacks and holiday treats that you might already have on hand, your little ones will love this dose of holiday magic!

^{This post was originally published in 2017 and has been updated with more helpful tips and content in 2023.}

One of my favourite traditions we started with our kiddos is doing an activity advent calendar each year. Every year it looks a little different but the idea is that on each card, envelope, or with a note inside a box every day an activity is written. It’s completely customizable and you can leave the activity note until the night before to make sure you have the time/energy/stuff to make it happen.

For example… last year Aubrey broke her collarbone. So we had virtually NO outdoor activities. This year, we had a baby- so the first week of December is pretty low-key (Christmas story, anyone?!).

And if there’s no snow, then don’t write down ‘build a snowman’ and save it for the day you get a big dump. Kind of awesome to have that flexibility, right?

BUT coming up with ideas in the moment… at 10pm, standing there staring at your kids’ advent calendar questioning why you started one in the first place? We don’t want that. I shared a giant list of advent activity ideas in case this has ever been you.

SEE my FREE PRINTABLE advent activity calendar list of ideas here

One of my kids’ favourite activities that is on there is this fun backyard s’mores winter activity. The best thing about it is you might already have everything you need for it on hand. We always have tealights, always have giant marshmallows and often have some kind of cookie and candy during the holiday season. So you can pull this together on super short notice.

When I worked with kids straight out of highschool, this is an indoor activity we did one very rainy day of summer camp with the 5 and 6 year olds. We lit tea lights on the floor of our daycare room and roasted mini marshmallows over the flames with toothpicks and used teddy ghrahams with little chocolate chips. It was so fun and I was impressed at how careful the little ones were with the flame. So now that I have my own kiddos, I was excited to recreate it… but festive!

This backyard s’mores winter activity can just as easily be an indoor s’mores activity if the weather isn’t conducive to being outside. We chose to be outside since our kiddos were a bit stir crazy with the new baby coming home a couple of weeks before this. The fresh air was so great for them (and me!) and they ran around the yard after we sugared them up.

I love that we have photos from this special winter memory to look back on! You can see we do this almost every year now in our activity calendar- we’ve included the photo in our yearly activity snaps!

While this is super easy to put together last minute, I’m not supermom. I did have a brand new baby when we did this so on a visit with the babe, my sister-in-law helped me pull this one together! I’m so grateful for loved ones who value fun and magical memories as much as I do.

It was totally not planned for that day (as some of the best things aren’t) and used only things we have in the house. It started with hot chocolate and marshmallows then turned into s’mores with Oreos (the only cookies we had in our house) and the kids even chipped in their candy canes they got at the Santa Claus parade.

Not only did those kiddos look super cute drinking their hot chocolate with rosy red cheeks and noses, they had a ton of fun- so I put this as number one on my list of 133 advent activity ideas (get that here)… because you really should try it!

Okay… can I get the elephant out of the room, though? The elephant being the most giant marshmallows you’ve ever seen? Haha! They’re not even the normal big marshmallows, these are extra-giant for some reason. They’re all we had and they’re totally not the best ones to roast over a tiny flame.

When we’ve done indoor s’mores in the past, we would either use the mini marshmallows over tea lights like this (can even use toothpicks for these tiny ones) OR we would use cans of gel fuel (they’re the tins catering companies use to warm chaffing dishes) for the regular sized marshmallows. You can see what that looks like at this cozy christmas party here.

We also pulled out our new holiday mugs (they’re from my handlettered collection!) and gave the kids some hot chocolate with whip cream and sprinkles. That pillow’s from my holiday collection as well! *update! I’m so glad you loved my hand lettered goods! I’ve moved away from producing physical goods and instead create SVGs for you to make your own with my designs! and the best part? Most of them are FREE!*

For this Simple Holiday S’mores winter Activity, You’ll Need:

• Marshmallows
• A heat source (tealights or gel fuel)
• Skewers (or toothpicks if you’re using mini ones over tealights!)
• Cookies (here we used oreos, but any work!)
• Treats for topping (here we had candy canes, but we also love peanut butter, peanut butter cups and salted caramel)
• Bonus points for hot chocolate with whip cream and sprinkles!

To set this s’mores winter activity up looking all woodsy and festive, we laid everything out on wooden serving boards, popped the skewers in a rustic jar and decorated the table with lanterns of candles and festive greenery. Some holiday throw pillows and tartan blankets bring it all together, making a yummy snack into a full activity they’ll remember as holiday magic ;)

I love how easily seasonal greenery can make any table look effortlessly decorated. It’s one of my home decorating staples to update my home season to season without adding clutter.

I love how easy it was to pull this together in a hurry (an extra set of hands made it go way quicker!) and it makes me happy to think that these will be some of the memories our kids will have of the holidays as they grow.

What are some of your favourite memories of the holidays growing up? Why not carry that on with your kids as an advent activity?

How to display an activity advent calendar

I have created my fair share of advent calendars over the years to house these activity ideas. The last few years, I’ve stuck to my free printable mini envelopes displayed on our dining room mini tree, but here’s some ideas for you!

Want TO SNAG MY printable list of ADVENT ACTIVITiES? GRAB IT HERE!