How to Make an Advent Calendar: Start Now
Advent calendars are a fun way for the grandkids to channel their excitement as they count down to Christmas.
Last year, I made tiny stockings from felt. It wasn’t meant to be an Advent calendar, but once I had the idea, I wanted to pursue it.
So, I enlisted 10-year-old Miss T to help with the project. Stitching up 24 stockings is a feat, so we took turns at the sewing machine. Find instructions for making tiny stockings here.
Note: only invite a child who has taken sewing classes or is an experienced sewer. Sewing tiny stockings on an electric sewing machine can be dangerous for a novice.
Many Types of Advent Calendars
If you’re not into sewing, at the end of this post, I’ve provided a simple alternative, an Advent calendar using small paper bags, along with a link to my curated collection of more Advent Calendar ideas on Pinterest.
Kids’ project: make a simple wreath
Tiny Stockings Become an Advent Calendar
Stitching and decorating 24 stockings was time-consuming. While the first stockings had lace trim and sewn-on buttons, and embroidered numbers, towards the end, we were resorting to foam Christmas stickers, stick-on numbers, and a glue gun.
Next, I struggled to come up with a way to display the stockings. My best thought was to string them up and hang them, but that would take too much space on a wall.
How to Display your Stockings for an Advent Calendar
In the end, we hung the stockings on the children’s Christmas tree, which we set up for them each year.
If you don’t have a Christmas tree, just group the stockings in a small wicker basket. Or hang them like a mobile on a decorated wire hanger.
What to Put in your Advent Calendar
In Japan last month, I scoured stores like Daiso or Hands, to find small, fun things suitable for Advent calendars. In the U.S., there may be a Daiso near you, as the company continues to open more stores in the U.S. Dollar stores and Target are also good options.
Here are some ideas:
- Tiny craft items like washi tape, a tube of glitter, or a tape runner
- Stickers
- Stationary items like cute paper clips or erasers
- Miniature ink stamps and ink pad
- A small Christmas ornament
- Tiny candy canes or Christmas candy (like chocolate snowmen)
- Hair ornament
- Small LEGO sets (you can break them up over more than one day)
- Nail polish or tinted lip balm
- Small car or truck
- Trading cards like baseball or Pokémon cards
- Promissory notes, like a trip to a favorite ice cream store
Easy Alternative: Paper Bag Advent Calendar
Tuck little gifts into small paper bags. The ones I bought were $7.29 for 100 bags. Write or stamp numbers onto paper punch-cut shapes from cardstock, by using a Cricut machine, or cut freehand. Adhere to the bag.
Or simply write numbers on the bags with colorful markers. You could even get kids to decorate the bags with markets before you stuff them.
More Ideas for Advent Calendars
For other great Advent calendar ideas, visit my PInterest page. You’ll need to sign up for a Pinterest account (free).
Next Week: We’ll Plan our Holiday Table Setting
I love to come up with a new table setting idea each holiday season. We’ll look at what I did last year, with a Christmas tree theme, and other table setting ideas from years past.
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