12 GREAT DIY ADVENT CALENDARS

Counting down the days until Christmas can extend the joy of the season for you and your family.

Your countdown calendar can be as grand or simple as you like.  I've put together this list of some of my favorites.  Maybe there will be one just perfect for you!

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1. You could make this simple one on a mantle with garland or on the wall with some dowels tied together or on a wooden ladder. 

Decorate them with pretty ribbon or cloth.

Then, hang decorated burlap or cloth bags that you’ve numbered.

2. Just load up a few plastic cups, small folding boxes or use toilet tissue rolls. 

 Fill with a treat or small gift and wrap tissue paper, fabric or wrapping paper around them using a rubber band. 

Hot glue everything to a foam board to set up the decorative display or hang them with string.

3. 

This advent calendar is great if you want to do one without the toys or candy. Santa's beard will grow a little bit every day — by exactly one cotton ball. All you have to do is cut out Santa's head and red hat on pieces of construction paper. Draw on his eyes, pink cheeks and nose, as well as a number for every day of the month leading up to the holiday.

4. Make your Christmas countdown fun, and educational. To make this one economical you’ll want to get the books from second hand stores or library book sales. Pick up 25 childhood books, maybe some festive ones. Then wrap them up in kraft paper. Decorate with calendar numbers, ribbons and organize all of the books in a cute basket or bucket.

5. A creative way to reuse your glass jars or other containers. Start by painting them a festive color and adding your countdown. You can even draw on math equations, riddles to make things interesting. Once you load them with small presents, you can secure wrapping paper or cloth to act as a lid.



6. Maybe, you want an advent calendar without treats and toys. Activity calendars can be just as fun as item calendars. Make a simple advent with decorative envelopes or Christmas shapes cut out of cardstock or old Christmas cards. Then fill envelopes with small papers or write on the back of paper cutouts your theme activities. Some activity theme choices are, Christmas movies, Christmas songs, Acts of kindness or fun Christmas crafts and or baking activities.







7. This punch box advent calendar would make any kid excited for the next day to come! Check out the Studio DIY tutorial here.



8. All this simple fortune cookie style advent calendar takes to make is a large jar and some paper made fortune cookies. You could write an activity on each, like bake christmas cookies, watch a movie, dress up for a family picture, play a board game. Or you could make a game and write an age appropriate clue to a spot in the house where they will find a small treasure.


9. A different kind of advent to celebrate the season is an Advent Blessings Jar. This will make it an even more meaningful season.
Choose a charity that is special to your family. Something that your kids can get excited about. Love cats? Choose to donate to a local animal shelter? The more meaningful, the better. 

Write one different blessing your family should be grateful for on twenty-four popsicles or craft sticks. Make them countable blessings. Like ‘How many modes of transportation do we have to use?’ Then count them - car, truck, bus, ATV etc. 

Now each day choose a stick.  Then put your families pre-determined coin (nickel, dime, quarter) in for each answer. Other blessing questions could be, how many heat sources do we have, how many ways to cook our food and how many winter coats do we have, how many people sit around our table? 

The donation and your family’s gratitude will add up quickly. On Christmas Eve, add up your coins that will be donated to your chosen charity.


10. Reuse this DIY muffin tin advent calendar year after year. Make custom covers with pretty paper or use the free printables! This is a quick and easy option that is also budget-friendly when creating your own DIY advent for kids or adults.

11. The over the door clear shoe organizer is another economical reusable option. Can use papers and decorations to match your holiday theme. Number your pockets, in order or not, and slip a small wrapped package in each.
12. Make an advent from a cereal box with this handy tutorial.