Christmas Tree Advent Calendar

Countdown to Christmas with this Christmas Tree Advent Calendar made into a punch pinata. The kids will love the countdown.

Is there anything sweeter than a Christmas tree advent calendar? I think not!

Oh my gosh friends... I am so excited for our advent calendar this year.

We love the idea of a wooden tree Christmas advent calendar. This year, we took our love of pinatas and Christmas and came up with a fun advent calendar that combines them.

As you may know, we are slightly (okay majorly) obsessed with punch piñatas.

Other DIY Pinatas

We love making them so much and the kids love playing with them, that we decided it was time for another... A Christmas Countdown Version.

It combines the idea of a punch pinata with a Christmas tree. It can become a holiday tradition year after year.

The idea of a Christmas tree that provides small surprises each day of the holiday season warms my heart.

Supplies Needed

Two Piece of Green Poster Board
2 Packages of Mini-Paper Bags
Tissue Paper

Number Stencils
White Paint
Stencil Sponge or Paint Brush

One piece of Duct Tape
Ruler
Masking Tape

X-acto-Knife
Scissors
Circle Stencil (jar lid, cup, bowl) approximately 3 inches in diameter.

Toys, Chocolate, Treats
Hole Punch
1 foot of yarn

How to Make a Christmas Punch Pinata

The Tree Structure

First thing to do is to do is to tape the two pieces of poster board together on the long edge using the duct tape.

Next is to draw out your tree onto the poster board. Hint: I drew it out on a piece of paper first to make sure I had enough width for the number of holes.)

I drew the base approximately 5 inches wide and made each tree level approximately 8.5 inches apart. Once you have the tree drawn, using the scissors, cut it out.

Then using your circle stencil (I used a cup lid), on the backside of the poster board draw your circles.

Advent Calendar

Just remember that most wooden advent or box advent calendars have 24 days. They are designed with 24 numbered doors.

For this project we went with 25 days. We love the idea of one last present on Christmas morning.

Using the x-acto knife, cut out the holes.

Next you will need to cut out your tissue paper. Using one of the circles cut from the poster board. Cut out two squares of each color tissue paper.

On the back side of the poster board layout your tissue papers to cover the holes.

Using the masking tape or clear tape, tape the tissue paper to each hole. You may need to trim the tissue paper that hangs over the edges of the trees.

Next you are going to turn your tree over and start to stencil the numbers onto the tissue paper. I used a 2 inch stencil. Lightly press the paint and let dry.

Dry the numbers.

Advent Calendar Goodies

It is time to fill up the holes. We filled the holes with light weight chocolates, stickers, and trinkets that I know my kids would love.

It is always a good idea to head to the dollar store and grab some goodies that are small enough to fit in the bag.

It can also be fun to write a special note or verse in each of the spots for the kids to discover each day.

These are great items to find in the party favor aisles. Just remember they have to be pretty small to fit in the 3 inch hole. Lay out all your goodies, it is time to add the paper bags.

For the paper bags, you will only need the bottom 3 inches of the bag.

Cut each of the tops off the bags first. Then make a cut, using the scissors, along the corners down from the top approximately an inch. Fold each of the sides down.

Once you have them all down, lay them out over each of the tissue holes covering the trinkets underneath. Using your tape, tape each of the corners down to hold the treats in place.

The last step is to hole punch two holes at the top. Then tie your yarn to each hole creating a holder.

Viola, you have yourself the most fun punch pinata advent calendar. You can hang it on the back of a door using a nail or wreath hook. You are guaranteed to have some HAPPY HAPPY kids this Christmas season!