How to make an advent calendar

With just under two weeks to go until the beginning of December I thought I should pop in a feature on how to make an advent calendar. There are plenty of ideas on the web and I put together a few of my favourite - and ones that are easy to make at home.

 

This gorgeous advent calendar is very easy to make. All you need is a framed canvas, some card cutouts and items to display. In fact, you can make a simpler version using a piece of softboard, found at your local Builders Warehouse.

Advent calendars are a great way to build excitement as you get closer to Christmas Day. These calendars are typically a large card with many 'windows' and every day a window is opened to reveal an image, poem or part of a story.

 blog.envelopments.com took this concept a step further, making the calendar dimensional using small boxes adorned with an individual graphic and filled with treats and toys. Here is a small box template that you can use to create boxes for your advent calendar. Print out and use, or enlarge as required.

Original and cute... This advent calendar uses nothing more than the humble clothes peg, fabric and colourful cord. Wrap small gifts in brown paper and hang from the pegs.

 

Enjoy the Christmas countdown with a handmade wooden advent calendar tree. The tree is made from pine and 25 gifts are randomly placed on the tree. Each day, starting on December 1st, a gift is removed from the tree and opened. Part of the fun of this calendar is that days aren't arranged consecutively and there is a "search" feature as part of the experience.

Recycle or repurpose containers that you have collected. Colourful wrapping or scrapbook paper, or even fabric, can be glue to the containers with spray adhesive and then finished off with 2 to 3 coats of clear acrylic sealer (ModPodge).

 

 

ABOVE: Here's another advent calendar that can be made using recycled cans. Don't throw your cat food or small tin cans away. Stick colourful wrapping paper to the bottom of each can; fill with a gift and stick onto a piece of card with glue dots. The colourful cans are easily pulled off for each day.

Simple, classic and fun! Count down to Christmas with a 24-pocket Advent Calendar. Each pocket is big enough to hold treats for counting down to Christmas. The backing is the same fabric as the front border and is lightly quilted together with a layer of batting and with the festive buttons randomly scattered across the front in between the treat pockets.

Another sewing project is this Advent Calendar with red and green fabric and white numbers on red background. Perfect for filling with little holiday treats. The Advent Calendar features 24 little stockings strung on 2 metre long red ribbon.

Jenny at allsorts.typepad.com designed this adorable white and red Advent Calendar. No sewing machine required for this one and she provides full instructions on making the little pockets, as well as printing out the tags. Each little pocket holds a square of Ghirardelli peppermint bark chocolate and a paper dangle. Each day you would eat the chocolate and hang the dangle from the button, so you could see how close you were getting to the big day!

If you prefer to keep it simple, this Advent Calendar will count down the days 'til Christmas. Open a numbered door December 1st - 25th to reveal a very happy holiday pattern. Use your computer and printer to create your own unique Advent Calendar, or buy online and print out. You will also find instructions on thesmallobject.com on designing a basic Advent Calendar.