The holiday season will be here before you know it! One of the best ways to build festive anticipation with your family is by creating your own DIY advent calendar you can all countdown together. Whether made from wood, fabric, paper, or chalkboard, these homemade calendars allow you to hide sweet treats and fun surprises behind each numbered door or pocket leading up to Christmas.
In this post, we’ll share 7 creative ideas for making your own personalized advent calendars at home. With step-by-step instructions, suggested materials, and decorating tips, you’ll find inspiration for crafting unique calendars the whole family will love opening each day in December. From simple designs using paper bags or wreath forms to more elaborate creations with wooden boxes, fabric pockets, and book pages, you’ll discover amazing ways to bring the Christmas countdown tradition to life with DIY advent calendars made by you. Let’s start crafting these fun holiday projects!
Wooden Box
Supplies:
Unfinished flat wooden boxes (24-count), one for each person
Wood numbers and letters
Paint and brushes
Brad nails and hammer
Small treats, gifts, or notes
Instructions:
Paint the wooden boxes and let dry
Attach numbers 1-24 to the boxes using brad nails
Place small items or notes in each numbered compartment
Have family members open one box door each day
Paper Bag
Supplies:
24 brown paper lunch bags
Decorative stamps or stickers
String or twine
Hole punch
Calendar treats and gifts
Instructions:
Decorate bags with stamps or stickers
Punch a hole near the top and loop string through to hang
Number bags 1-24
Fill each with a small treat, joke, or gift
Fabric Pocket Advent Calendar
Supplies:
Fabric squares or felt
Number stencils or iron-on vinyl numbers
Hot glue gun
23 clothes pins
String for hanging
Small items to place in each pocket
Instructions:
Cut 24 matching fabric squares
Add numbers to fabric squares
Fold each square in half and glue sides shut to form pocket
Clip pockets onto hanging string with clothespins
Put gift or treat in each pocket for the corresponding date
Chalkboard Advent Calendar
Supplies:
Unframed chalkboard or chalkboard paint
Chalk
24 tiny paper gift bags, envelopes or boxes
Command strip or hooks
Small gifts, candy, notes to fill bags
Instructions:
Create a 24-section chalkboard grid
Number sections 1-24
Attach chalkboard to wall with command strip/hooks
Place corresponding surprise in each gift bag/box
Reveal item in one box per day by erasing chalk number
Wreath Advent Calendar
Supplies:
24 mini wreath forms or rings
Florist wire
Holiday greenery, pinecones, berries
Ribbon, pinecones, ornaments
Command hooks
24 gifts or treats to attach
Instructions:
Wire a small gift or treat onto each wreath form
Decorate blank wreath forms with greenery and embellishments
Hang wreaths on command hooks numbered 1-24
Remove one wreath per day to reveal gift
Christmas Tree
Supplies:
Felt or construction paper
24 paper cones
Number stickers 1-24
Mini treats and gifts
Command hooks or thread
Instructions:
Cut out 24 felt or paper tree shapes
Form paper cones and attach treats inside
Affix numbers 1-24 to trees
Hang trees on wall or string with command hooks/thread
Remove one tree each day to uncover treat
Book Page
Supplies:
Old book
Craft knife
Ruler
24 paper envelopes
Glue or stapler
Hole punch
String or ribbon
Small gifts or candy
Instructions:
Cut pages into 4×6” rectangles
Stack and staple/glue pages into book form
Hole punch top corner and string ribbon through
Attach envelopes numbered 1-24 to pages
Place gift or treat in each corresponding envelope
Open one envelope per day
Here are some interesting facts about advent calendars:
- The first printed advent calendar originated in Germany in the early 1900s and was designed by Gerhard Lang. The original was made out of cardboard and featured 24 little windows that opened to reveal Bible verses and Christmas images.
- The largest advent calendar in the world measured 54.11 square meters and was created by the city of Gengenbach, Germany in 2016. It featured a giant wooden nutcracker motif with 24 illuminated windows that locals could open each day.
- Advent calendars have grown into a huge industry today, with many featuring popular themes from TV shows, movies, toys, and books. Some of the most unique recent versions include LEGO, Playmobil, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and superhero advent calendars.
- Beside small gifts and chocolates, modern advent calendars sometimes contain useful everyday items or beauty products like teas, coffees, candles, lip balms, and mini hand creams. These “useful calendar” variations are growing in popularity.
10 more interesting facts…
- While most advent calendars count down the 24 or 25 days until Christmas, some now extend the tradition to countdown other yearly events like weddings, birthdays, or the first day of school after winter break. The countdown calendars can be adapted to various occasions.
- The original advent calendars were meant to involve children in the Advent season and help them visualize the time until Christmas, rather than just treats. The first is said to have been made in 1851.
- Early Advent calendars were often handmade and stitched or glued together. Cookie sheets and matchboxes were also commonly used to make DIY versions before printed ones were available.
- The pictured advent calendar as we know it today was invented by German Richard Sellmer in 1920. He created a calendar with little scenes behind doors for his son.
- In the 1930s, Gerhard Lang began mass producing advent calendars for sale, first with 24 cards on a string and later in booklet form.
- After World War II, advent calendars became popular across Europe and over time spread to North America and other regions influenced by Christian traditions.
- Advent calendars have expanded far beyond paper versions, with products like fabric calendars, wood calendars, foam calendars, and reusable options becoming popular.
- One of the most expensive advent calendars was created by Tiffany & Co. in 2018. The jeweled calendar was valued at over $112,000 and included diamonds, emeralds and pearls.
- Beside Christmas, other versions celebrate Hanukkah, Winnie the Pooh, Star Wars, Harry Potter themes. There are even cheese, tea and pet treat advent calendars now!
- The world’s tallest advent calendar was unveiled in 2018 in Hamburg, Germany. The digital illuminated calendar measured approximately 98 feet tall.
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