This post is meant to inspire you with a fun and easy DIY Advent calendar!
It’s that time of year again: the build-up to the Christmas season. My family gets very excited to celebrate the holidays and we like to get things started as soon as possible!
One easy way is to use an Advent calendar. Advent calendars have their origin in the mid-19th century in Germany with the Lutherans who used to count down the days to Christmas with chalk marks or by lighting calendars. Gerhard Lang, a German child, was lucky enough to have his mother stick candy on a piece of cardboard for him to remove each day. Bible versus are featured on many versions as Advent calendars are meant to herald the ‘advent’ or ‘coming’ of Christmas.
Many articles I read credit President Eisenhower with popularizing Advent calendars in the US. The commercialization of Advent calendars has taken away the true origin of the calendars and each year there are so many choices and creative varieties. Reminding ourselves about the meaning of Advent calendars is important.
An article in Chatelaine Magazine did a great job showing all the Advent calendars you can buy, including ones from David’s Tea, The Body Shop and Starbucks as well as ones including make-up, beer (believe it), and pet treats!! These Advent calendars range in price from $12 to $250.
Many other sites, including popsugar.com featured DIY Advent calendars. So, this year I thought I would make a 12 day Advent calendar as well as buy one with 12 items, making up the 24 required days. Yes, my girls will have to share and get one gift each, every other day!
Here are some suggestions for making a DIY Advent calendar (for girls):
- Purchase a set of nail polishes, makeup brushes, hair ties, lip balms, etc. from any drugstore or dollar store
- Purchase a few bags of small chocolates or candies like Hersheys Kisses and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups to include in the boxes or on the side
- Collect boxes from around the house of various sizes
- Place purchased items in the boxes and wrap them in Christmas wrap or tissue paper
- Label each box with a number
- Arrange the boxes in a pattern on a table or mantle or stick them to cardboard
- Let the countdown begin!!
Have you ever made a DIY Advent calendar – I’d love to hear about it!
Enjoy!
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